Large Photos library and 250gb Macbook Pro

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Level 1

5 points

Large Photos library and 250gb Macbook Pro

I am consolidating all my photos libraries into one library on an external 1TB drive. It will be about 200+ GB. I would like to get the 2TB plan with iCloud so I can have the library accessible on all devices.

My problem is my Macbook Pro has 250gb and only about 150gb available. Can I attach the external drive to the Macbook Pro and designate the 200GB photo library as the system photo library, optimize it and then move it to the internal drive.

Any suggestions appreciated.

Posted on Sep 19, 2018 7:29 PM

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Answer 1

Old Toad

Level 10

215,706 points

Sep 20, 2018 9:51 AM in response to netforest

No. The optimization is based on the available free space on the volume holding the library. If the external HD has plenty of space the files won't be optimized. You need to do the optimization on your boot drive so the process can adjust the optimization based on the free space. As I recall it tries to keep 20% of the drive as free space.

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Answer 2

netforest Author

Level 1

5 points

Sep 20, 2018 9:29 PM in response to Old Toad

If I install the 240gb Photo Library on a external SSD drive and designate it as the system photo library and upload it to iCloud, what happens when I connect a new Macbook Pro to the iCloud? Will the library automatically download to my Macbook with optimization?

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Answer 3

Old Toad

Level 10

215,706 points

Sep 21, 2018 11:07 AM in response to netforest

Will the library automatically download to my Macbook with optimization?

I'm not sure if all of the Photos will be downloaded optimized or if the first photos to be downloaded will be full sized and when the free space begins to reach the predetermined limit they will be optimized.

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Large Photos library and 250gb Macbook Pro

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