Photos storage paradigm? (too many GB for new computer)

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Photos storage paradigm? (too many GB for new computer)

Summary:

I'm at the point of needing to upgrade and get a new-to-me iMac. Most of them don't have nearly enough storage space for my videos/photos stored in Photos. I'm looking for advice in how to plan to set up a new "main" computer to house/host Photos that will work for me. I realize I may need to update my paradigm of setup to get the best solution (had to do that for getting photos to and from the family's devices, and now that I've figured it out, it's working great!).

Details:

My current main computer is a great 2009 iMac. Came with a 1TB drive -- which failed 2-3 years ago. Replaced it with a 2TB (Seagate) drive which lasted all of one year and failed. Replaced that with a 3TB drive (I think it's a Western?) which is working fine... so far. I have Time Machine backups on a dedicated external drive (3TB), so it's not taken much to get up and running again when that's happened, thankfully. I did the physical replacement of the drives myself without incident.

My current Photos library says it's 708GB in size. The iPhoto Library.photolibrary folder is 558GB (can I do without this??). On my storage tab of "About this Mac" it's says Movies take up 609GB, and Photos take 379GB. "1.18TB free of 2.79TB"

I've considered using iCloud, but I currently can't feel like I can afford $120/year for storage... Amazon has unlimited storage for $60/yr, but I'm not wanting something that doesn't integrate well (although I'm slightly considering it for a backup option).

These are all our personal digital photos/videos for the past 14+ years, and no, I don't really want to split up the library and not have all at my fingertips... Besides, I want them all in a currently accessible digital format.

My ideas:

I could buy a new or slightly used iMac and replace the hard drive with a bigger drive (not sure how friendly current models are for that!) and carry on as I have.

I could get the new iMac and keep an external drive up and running with the Photos storage on it. But then I have questions about it being backed up with Time Machine.

What other ways are there to set this up that I'm not thinking of? Are there other considerations I'm not thinking of?

iMac, Early 2009, latest OS

Posted on May 10, 2016 10:47 AM

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Answer 1

Old Toad

Level 10

216,160 points

May 10, 2016 12:38 PM in response to MomE

My current Photos library says it's 708GB in size. The iPhoto Library.photolibrary folder is 558GB (can I do without this??)

If you're not using iPhoto you can delete the iPhoto library but you won't recover the entire 558 GB. The two libraries initially share the same data on the HD via hard links so they don't take up twice the amount of space on the hard drive.

New photos added to either library are independent of the other library.

Here's more info on hard links:

Photos saves disk space by sharing images with your iPhoto or Aperture libraries - Apple Support

The (hard) link between Photos and iPhoto

I've considered using iCloud, but I currently can't feel like I can afford $120/year for storage... Amazon has unlimited storage for $60/yr

The iCloud is not an off Mac storage system where you can put your PHotos library and operator it from there. It's a syncing system which syncs your photos between all devices that are signed in to the same Apple ID and have the iCloud Photo Library enabled. You can have the option to store only optimized version on your Mac to save space. However, the full versions will have to be downloaded any time the photos are needed for printing, in a project or for a slideshow.

All iCloud options are syncing features and require files to be shadowed on the Mac.

iCloud Photo Library FAQ - Apple Support

iCloud Drive FAQ - Apple Support

Also there is not online storage option that a Photos library can be stored on and either used or recovered in a guaranteed working condition. Their servers are not formatted correctly and are incompatible with Photos libraries.

I could get the new iMac and keep an external drive up and running with the Photos storage on it. But then I have questions about it being backed up with Time Machine.

That is the solution I would recommend. Time Machine will backup any external HD connected to your iMac. I have 2 EHDs connected to my iMac which are backed up to my 3rd EHD with Time Machine.

For best performance I would get an iMac with an SSD internal drive and at least 8 GB of memory. If you get the iMac from Apple get just the standard RAM because you can upgrade it yourself much cheaper by getting the modules from either Crucial.com or otherworldcomputing.com. Be aware, however, that many 21" iMacs can't have their RAM added to after purchase. They are not user upgradeable. All 27" iMac have user upgradable RAM.

If you purchase an iMac second hand be sure the previous owner has prepared it according to this Apple document: What to do before selling or giving away your Mac - Apple Support. Otherwise you could get into problems setting it up for your use.