How to merge photo libraries

Open the Finder Preferences to make the drives visible.

• Bring the Finder forward by clicking on the Desktop or the Finder icon in the Dock.
• In the main menu bar go to "Finder > Preferences > General":
• enable the Hard disks and the external disks to show in the Finder.
• In the Sidebar tab enable also your disks to show, and everything else you would like to see there, like your Pictures folder.

Now you should be able to select your disks on your Desktop or in the Sidebar and enter ⌘I to open the Info panel.

I've been experiencing performance problems with my Mac.

Download and run Etrecheck. Copy and paste the results into your reply. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.

Photos cannot merge libraries.

You will have to export the photos from one library and import them into the second library too create a merged library.

Or use the application PowerPhotos (the full, paid version) to transfer the photos between libraries.

This user tip explains the options to merge libraries in more detail:

See: Notes on Merging Photos Libraries

Where are your libraries stored? Is your current Photos Library on your new My Cloud Drive?

If yes, that will be the reason, why Photos created a new library on your system drive. Photos has not been designed to work with a library on a NAS. The Photos Library needs to be on a drive formatted MacOS Extended (Journaled) and locally mounted. Otherwise Photos may continually lose the connection to the library and create a new library on the internal drive.

Move your Photos Library to a locally mounted volume, if you do not want to risk a library corruption and data loss. Apple warns against putting the Photos Library on a network share, see this link:

Sharing photo libraries among multiple users - Apple Support

Be sure to choose a locally mounted drive. Storing your library on a network share can lead to poor performance, data corruption, or data loss.

The device itself was formatted to run Mac OS. When installing I was given an option of being formatted for Mac OS or Windows.

I am pretty sure that the Western digital software will use a file system format, that allows you to read and write single files using a Mac, but the file system format will not be MacOS Extended (Journaled), and then it is dangerous to store photo libraries on this drive. This can create ambiguous filenames. There is no save way to share a Photos Library on a network share drive and to share it between several users this way. Photos is a single user application and not ready to be used with a network library.

Don't risk your photos by putting them on a network share.

Use a drive that is plugged into a USB port of your MacBook Pro: Sharing photo libraries among multiple users - Apple Support

By default Photos libraries are in the pictured folder - if they are not then you have put them some where else - to see where a librar is launch the Photo application and in the Photos preferences ==> general the path to the library is shown 0 you can switch libraries by holding down the option key while launching Photos and select a library from the select libraryh window - the path is shown then also

there is no Photos library app - there is a Photos app (by default it is shown on the Dock) and one or more Photos libraries with directions above - there is nothing called Photos library app

and there is no single Mac OS format, there are several - select the device and get info to see the format - for Photos it can only be Mac OS extended (journaled) - is it?

the drive must be connected with a fast wired connection - no wireless or network connections

we placed these folders in a Shared Folder. Idea being my wife snd son could access (mainly) my iTunes library to stream music etc.

If your Photos library is in this shared folder it may be a problem to - Photos is not a multi user program and if different users access it it must be on a drive with ownership ignored - again we need specific details about your set up to now

basically I'm guessing (and you have not provided enough information to be sure) that you have many issues and that the solution is going to be to have the Photos library on your internal drive (hopefully it has not been permentantly damaged by all of this but we do not have enough information to know at this time) or on a local drive formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) connected with a fast wired connection like USB, FireWire or ThunderBolt

LN

If the drive is not the correct format things may work for a while but damage may be occuring and an upgrage may then make things quit working

This is very simple

the photos library MUST be only on a drive formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) - is yours? Check the drive format in teh finder by selecting the drive and getting info

Until you do this simple tsep it is not possible to continue - and it is the most like cause of the issue so please verify your drive format

LN