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Q: Can I back up my Photo library to an external hard drive?

I want to back up my photos by putting a copy of the Photo library on an external hard drive. Can I do this, and if so, how?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Yosemite (10.10.4)

Posted on Apr 19, 2016 8:02 AM

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Q: Can I back up my Photo library to an external hard drive?

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  • by Niel,

    Niel Niel Apr 19, 2016 8:05 AM in response to Cutter6666
    Level 10 (311,951 points)
    Apr 19, 2016 8:05 AM in response to Cutter6666

    Yes. Drag-copy it to a volume formatted as Mac OS Extended.

     

    (141657)

  • by léonie,Apple recommended

    léonie léonie Apr 19, 2016 8:07 AM in response to Cutter6666
    Level 10 (105,771 points)
    iCloud
    Apr 19, 2016 8:07 AM in response to Cutter6666

    You can simply drag your Photos Library from your Pictures folder to an external drive to create copy there.

     

    The drive should have the file system MacOS Extended (Journaled) and be directly connected, not a network volume.

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Apr 19, 2016 8:07 AM in response to Cutter6666
    Level 10 (84,217 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Apr 19, 2016 8:07 AM in response to Cutter6666

    Yes - but a much better idea is to run TimeMachine so you always have a current backup - not just a random manual one

     

    LN

  • by léonie,Apple recommended

    léonie léonie Apr 19, 2016 8:09 AM in response to LarryHN
    Level 10 (105,771 points)
    iCloud
    Apr 19, 2016 8:09 AM in response to LarryHN

    It is good to have both .    a Time Machine backup plus an occasional complete copy. The copied library is more readily accessible, if we just need to restore a single photo.

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Apr 19, 2016 1:33 PM in response to léonie
    Level 10 (84,217 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Apr 19, 2016 1:33 PM in response to léonie

    True which is why I run TM and do a daily bootable clone (both are incremental)

     

    But if you are only going to do one which is implied in the questionsI believe that it should be TM

     

    LN