Can I safely deleted migrated photo library?

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Level 1

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Can I safely deleted migrated photo library?

My hard drive is about to run out of space and I would like to delete the file in my Pictures folder that's labeled "Rebuilt Library.migratedphotolibrary". That file is 71.71 GB and hasn't been accessed since April 2016 when I migrated from iPhoto to Photos. The other large file in my Pictures folder is named "Rebuilt Library". That file is 63.42 GB, and I assume is my current active photos file because that one is accessed regularly. But I don't understand why the migrated library folder is 8 GB larger than the up-to-date folder. I have full backups of my hard drive on 2 external drives. Asking the community whether it's safe now to delete the migrated library?

Posted on Nov 7, 2017 12:24 PM

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Answer 1

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léonie

Level 10

200,639 points

Nov 8, 2017 8:42 AM in response to C M Clements

If you are sure, that all photos have been migrated correctly from your iPhoto Library, and you not need to look up any items that will not have been migrated ( your books or calendars, slideshows, ssome smart albums, the descriptions of albums and events), then you can delete the "Rebuilt Library.migratedphotolibrary".

I would keep the backup copies on your external drives, however.

The iPhoto Library can be larger than your new Photos Library, if your Photos Library is syncing with iCloud, or if the iPhoto Library has been synced with iTunes. The PhotoCache inside the library created by iTunes can be huge..

Deleting the "Rebuilt Library.migratedphotolibrary" may not free much storage however, because the photos in your new Photos Library and the iPhoto Library are connected by hard links. This way, they are stored on the same blocks of the disk and are using the storage only once, even if the Finder is showing two large libraries.

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

When Finder reports the file size of your Photos library, it includes all your originals and previews. It may look like your remaining iPhoto or Aperture library is taking up twice the space on your hard drive, but it isn't—your images exist only in one location, even though you may have more than one photo library.

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