gjsiowa

Q: Using iPhoto library on external hard drive with new "photos" app

Dear all,

 

I recently upgraded/ purchased a new MacBook Pro and have been encountering a series of issues. It feelse like every time I try to do something on the new computer (new iPhone and new iPad Pro), I encounter obstacles that take days to research, this is not very Apple-like, which is usually plug in and go.

 

So, one issue is that on my old MacBook Pro I had iPhoto. My library got huge, so I copied it to an external hard drive. On my old MacBook pro to view, download, and otherwise work with my photos, I would simply connect the external hard drive and open Iphoto using the library on the external hard drive.

 

I was assured in the Apple Store that I would simply do the same with the new "photos" app. "Simply" this is not true (several wrong queues from Apple Store staff make me question their knowledge).

 

It appears that "photos" app might be trying to import the library (which is huge about 131 GB and counting), instead of just using it. I get a message that "there is not enough disc space to migrate my library, it needs at least 459 GB of additional free space." Does it mean on the laptop or the external hard drive?

 

I DO NOT USE ICLOUD, I DO NOT WANT TO USE I CLOUD. I work in Africa where I have spotty power and internet.

 

How do I get either "photos" app working with my external hard drive iPhoto library, or get iPhoto back on this new computer so I can continue to work. I need to be able to import to this external library when I connect to SD cards, iPhone and iPad. I don't need to store anything on the laptop.

 

I need a simple step by step as other posts I've found online do not seem to help (or I don't understand them).

 

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

iPhone 6s, iOS 9.3.1, iPhone 4, iOS 7.1.2

Posted on May 21, 2016 10:46 AM

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Q: Using iPhoto library on external hard drive with new "photos" app

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  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie May 21, 2016 11:17 AM in response to gjsiowa
    Level 10 (107,185 points)
    iCloud
    May 21, 2016 11:17 AM in response to gjsiowa

    It appears that "photos" app might be trying to import the library (which is huge about 131 GB and counting), instead of just using it. I get a message that "there is not enough disc space to migrate my library, it needs at least 459 GB of additional free space." Does it mean on the laptop or the external hard drive?

    How is the external drive with your iPhoto Library formatted?  Is the file system on that drive MacOS Extended (Journaled) as it should be for a phot library, or is it a different file system?  Most drives come with a file system suitable for Windows, and if you did not reforms the drive before you used it for your iPhoto Library the filesystem may still be wrong.

     

    Photos cannot migrate an iPhoto Library to a Photos Library, if the file system is not MacOS Extended (Journaled).   In that case it will try to create the migrated Photos Library on your system drive and probably run out of storage.

    You can check the file system of the drive, if you select it in the Finder and use the command "File > Get Info".  If the file system is whong, move your iPhoto Library to a different drive that is formatted correctly .  You can reformat a drive using Disk Utility. But reformatting erases the drive, so you need to move the document and data to a different drive before you reformat a drive.

     

     

    , or get iPhoto back on this new computer so I can continue to work.

    With OS X 10.10.3 or newer you need iPhoto 96.1.  That is the only compatible version.  You can only update iPhoto to this version, if you own an iPhoto version that is associated with your AppleID at the AppStore - if you purchased iphoto from the App Store or it came preinstalled on a new Mac with MacOS X 10.7 or newer. If your iPhoto came on installer DVDs and not from the AppStore, there is no longer any way to update to a version that is compatible with El Capitan.

    See Barney's User Tip:   Can't Update iPhoto because it is not available in the App Store

  • by gjsiowa,

    gjsiowa gjsiowa May 29, 2016 7:56 AM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    May 29, 2016 7:56 AM in response to léonie

    So, I actually have the iPhoto library on 2 different external hard drives. 1 drive is MS-DOS (FAT32), the other is Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled, Encrypted). I've been using the Mac OS one as a back up.

     

    The first one was the one I used all the time with the old Mac. So, I'm confused why it doesn't work with the new one.

     

    Can I use the copy on the Mac OS formatted hard disc, there's only 54.33 GB free space. It's the same hard disc that I use for my back up (time machine), it won't interfere with that? And somehow I'll need to find a way to back up the library, I guess another external hard drive.

     

    Originally, iPhoto just came on the Mac (I purchased in 2009), so how could I tell if I could upgrade and get it on the new MacBook Pro?

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie May 29, 2016 8:22 AM in response to gjsiowa
    Level 10 (107,185 points)
    iCloud
    May 29, 2016 8:22 AM in response to gjsiowa

    The first one was the one I used all the time with the old Mac. So, I'm confused why it doesn't work with the new one.

    A MS-DOS (FAT32) drive has never been supported by Apple. You have been lucky if it worked previously.  See Apple's documentation:

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203786

     

    If you try to the iPhoto Library on that drive in Photos, the Phots for Mac application cannot create the migrated copy on that drive.  It will instead create the migrated library on your internal drive.

     

    Your second drive has also a problem, because the format is Case-sensitive. If your internal drive is not case-sensitive, you may run into inconsistencies and filename conflicts.

    And Photos will not migrate the library on a drive that is used by Time Machine.

     

    The best would be to copy your library to  a new drive, formatted Mac OS Extended (Not Case-sensitive, Journaled).  Then migrate the library to Photos on that drive.

     

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN May 29, 2016 8:24 AM in response to gjsiowa
    Level 10 (84,752 points)
    Photos for Mac
    May 29, 2016 8:24 AM in response to gjsiowa

    Both are problems - the FAT one will not work at all and the case sensative one is likely to be problematic

     

    For the Photos library the dive must be formatted Mac OS extended (journaled), connected with a fast wired connection like USB, FireWire or ThunderBolt, always available prior to Photos being launched and not be used as a TimeMachine Backup volume - with the proper EHD every thing will work perfectly with Photos - with out the correct specs you wil have probelms

     

    LN