I was trying to move my photos from the iPhoto library to an external hard drive.  I now have a desktop display of thousands of cascading photos.  How do I remove them from my desktop screen?

I was trying to move my photos from the iPhoto library to an external hard drive.  I now have a desktop display of thousands of cascading photos.  How do I remove them from my desktop screen?

Strangely enough we can not see you so it really helps if you share with use exactly what you have, exactly what you did and details about the problem
what version of iPhoto and of the OS? What exact steps did you do? where are you seeing these "thousands of cascading photos" now and using what software and what exactly did you want to accomplish
The correct way to move your iphoto library to an external drive is to verify the drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journal) and then drag the iphotl library intact as a single entity to is
The correct way to move some or all of your photos is to select them in iphoto and export 9file menu ==> export  --  https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4921 ) to the external drive
LN

Similar Messages

  • I´ve moved the iphoto library to an external hard drive. Now I want to create space on my macbook by deleting the iphoto-files from the internal iphoto.. How do I do this?

    My macbook has been telling me that it is running out of space. Therefore I moves the iphoto library to an extarnal hard drive. How do I free space on my macbook now? If I erase the files/library (I don´t now witch of them?) from the internal hard drive, will they still be there on the external one?

    Moving iPhoto Library - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1229. and http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2506.
    First, set up finder to show your external drive on the desktop.  To do this, click finder in your dock, then click the word finder beside the apple.  Select preferences.  When the preferences window opens, select the "general" tab, and under "show these items on the desktop" ensure you check off "external disks"
    Connect an external drive.  You should see an icon appear on the desktop.
    In order to move an iPhoto Library to this external drive, the drive must be formatted for a mac.  To check the format of the drive, open up disk utility (applications / utilities).   In the disk utility window, you will see the external drive on the left.  Select it.  Then go to the "erase" tab.  This tab will show the current format of this drive.  It must be "Mac OS Extended Journaled", or the iPhoto Library will not allow you to move it to that drive.
    As long as it is formatted correctly, simply click finder in the dock and go into your pictures folder.  Here you should see your iPhoto Library.  Simply drag the Library to the external drives icon on the desktop.   This will start to copy.  It may take some time to copy the library to the drive. 
    Once the copy is finished, you can then drag the iPhoto Library in the pictures folder, to the trash.

  • I want to transfer most of my photos from my iPhoto library to my external hard drive. I have been getting the message that my start up disk is almost full. I want to transfer and then remove them from my computer and have them only stored externally.

    My start up disk needs more space and I have tons of photos on my computer that I want to transfer to my external hard drive and remove from my computer to free up space. How can I do this and make sure all my photos are still properly saved and transferred. I dont need to transfer my whole iPhoto library just some really old albums.

    Here is some help.
    https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3849933
    After confirming that all your stuff is on the drive, delete the photos you have copied. You will need to empty the iPhototrash to free up the space.

  • How do I put photos in the iPhoto Library onto my external hard drive?

    I used an old iMac for years and I would go into the hard drive in the Originals folder and drag each folder onto the external hard drive. That way I could easily find the different shooting sessions. Now with my new Mac I find an iPhoto Library folder but none of the pictures are there. In asking other questions over the last 6 weeks I've learned that if you click certain keys on the keyboard you can bring up the folders to view. Am I supposed to do this or is it asking for trouble? What is the best way to get my individual folders in iPhoto onto my external hard drive? Thanks so much.

    Deborah
    used an old iMac for years and I would go into the hard drive in the Originals folder and drag each folder onto the external hard drive
    *It is strongly advised that you do not move, change or in anyway alter things in the iPhoto Library Folder as this can cause the application to fail and even lead to data loss*
    That way I could easily find the different shooting sessions.
    The Events feature will do that for you now in the iPhoto Window.
    There are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto:
    For 10.5 users: You can use any Open / Attach / Browse dialogue. On the left there's a Media heading, your pics can be accessed there. Apple-Click for selecting multiple pics.
    Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
    To upload to a site that does not have an iPhoto Export Plug-in the recommended way is to Select the Pic in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export and export the pic to the desktop, then upload from there. After the upload you can trash the pic on the desktop. It's only a copy and your original is safe in iPhoto.
    This is also true for emailing with Web-based services. If you're using Gmail you can use THIS
    If you use Apple's Mail, Entourage, AOL or Eudora you can email from within iPhoto. With 10.5 you can access the Library from the New Message Window in Mail:
    Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
    If you use a Cocoa-based Browser such as Safari, you can drag the pics from the iPhoto Window to the Attach window in the browser.
    Or, if you want to access the files with iPhoto not running, then create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use THIS
    Other options include:
    1. *Drag and Drop*: Drag a photo from the iPhoto Window to the desktop, there iPhoto will make a full-sized copy of the pic.
    2. *File -> Export*: Select the files in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export. The dialogue will give you various options, including altering the format, naming the files and changing the size. Again, producing a copy.
    3. *Show File*: Right- (or Control-) Click on a pic and in the resulting dialogue choose 'Show File'. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected.
    You can set Photoshop (or any image editor) as an external editor in iPhoto. (Preferences -> General -> Edit Photo: Choose from the Drop Down Menu.) This way, when you double click a pic to edit in iPhoto it will open automatically in Photoshop or your Image Editor, and when you save it it's sent back to iPhoto automatically. This is the only way that edits made in another application will be displayed in iPhoto.
    Regards
    TD

  • I am trying to transfer my photos from old mac to new mac.  I copied the iPhoto library to an external hard drive, then imported it to the new iPhoto.  It turned my 2000 photos into 12,000!!  What happened?

    And how do I turn off FACES? 

    I copied the iPhoto library to an external hard drive, then imported it to the new iPhoto.  It turned my 2000 photos into 12,000!!
    According to you youo did not do what I instructed - you said you imported the old library into th enew library which can easily take a 2000 photo library and turn it into 12,000 including two ro three versions of each photo pus all the face thumbnails
    The correct procedure has NO importing involved
    drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity from the old Mac to the pictures folder of the new Mac - launch iPhoto on the new mac
    That is it
    LN

  • I'm trying to transfer my pictures from my iPhoto library to my external hard drive. I dragged the iPhoto Library folder into the drive and after waiting a while it says Error Code -36. I need to free up space asap, what should i do?

    I'm trying to transfer my pictures from my iPhoto library to my external hard drive. I dragged the iPhoto Library folder into the drive and after waiting a while it says "Error Code -36 The finder cannot complete the operation because some data in 'iPhoto Library' could not be read or written". I need to free up space asap, what should i do??

    Yes, the Old Master file has a folder for each year where I find all photos from that specific year. I am attaching a screen shot of the file.
    In the meantime i have managed to download all photos (it did not download any video files though in mpg, avi, 3gp, m4v,mp4 and mov format) to a new iphoto library. Unfortunately the photos are quite mixed and often doubled up. I ma considering to purchase iphoto library which checks all duplicates in iphoto. this will save me a lot of time. What do you think?

  • I have iPhoto 11 on my macbook. I want to export photos to another iPhoto library on an external hard drive. How can I do this.

    I have run out of space on my internal hard drive on my macbook and I want to create another iPhoto library on an external hard drive using most of the photographs already on the hard drive.
    I did this easily on an old G4 mac and an old version of iphoto. I simply imported the photographs from the library already on the hard drive to the new library I created on the external hard drive.
    It does not seem to be possible to do the same thing using iPhoto 11.
    I have no idea where to find the files on the mac to do it the more direct way by just importing the files.
    Any ideas?

    Here's one way to do what you want:
    1. Quit iPhoto.
    2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the external drive.
    Now you have two full copies of the Library. To choose between them:  Hold down the option (or alt) key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library'
    3. On the Internal Library, remove the pics you don't want with you all the time.
    Now you have one full library on the external and another smaller sub-set on the Internal.
    A couple of comments:
    a. The external disk needs to be formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
    b: When you're removing the unwanted pics from the Internal Library you need to delete them in batches of about 100 or so. Trashing more at one time can cause problems with the database.
    c: Managing Multiple Libraries - including moving pics/albums/rolls and metadata between them - is greatly facilitated by using iPhoto Library Manager

  • How do I back up my entire iphoto library to an external hard drive that I have dedicated for photos only?  Can I simply drag the iphoto library onto my seagate (hard drive) icon?

    How do I back up my entire iphoto library on to an external hard drive that will be my second back up plan.  I already have one back up that is also synched with time machine.  But now I want to back up my iphoto library to a new hard drive to have a second copy. Can I simply drag the whole library onto the icon on my desk top?  THX

    WHile you can do it that way, the next time you back up you'll end up copying the entire library again, and,as you'l see, once a library gets bigger that can take a considerable amount of time.
    Try using an app that will do incremental back ups. This is a very good way to work. The first time you run the back up the app will make a complete copy of the Library. Thereafter it will update the back up with the changes you have made. That makes subsequent back ups much faster. Many of these apps also have scheduling capabilities: So set it up and it will do the back up automatically.
    Example of such apps: Chronosync - but there are many others. Search on MacUpdate or the App Store

  • I am not able to transfer pictures from my Iphoto file to my external hard drive.  When I drag and drop to the external hard drive, I get the universal circle with a line through it.????

    For some reason, my computer will not let me drop my pictures from the Iphoto location to my external hard drive. 

    The drive is formatted for Windows. To write to it from a Mac, you will either have to reformat it or install third-party software to enable writing to an NTFS volume (not recommended.)

  • I upgraded MacbookPro 2009 from 10.6.8 to Yosemite.  Beforehand I made a backup copy of my Iphoto library onto an external hard drive. Lets call it BU. I also deleted half of my photos from the default library on my laptop, lets call it DE. I then in

    I upgraded MacbookPro 2009 from 10.6.8 to Yosemite 2 weeks ago. My iphoto is now a nightmare. i went to our local apple retailer but they could not help either. Perhaps someone can help. Beforehand the OS upgrade I made a backup copy of my Iphoto library onto an external hard drive. Lets call it BU with 50GB. I also deleted half of my photos from the default library on my laptop, lets call it DE, now with about 20GB, to gain space. I then upgraded to Yosemite.
    I have also installed since a long time Iphoto Library Manager 3.8.6. (this may be the cause of the problem as it was not upgraded and perhaps thus not compatible with iphoto 9.6 which I have now after the upgrade to Yosemite) It all worked fine before the upgrade, switching in iphoto between the two libraries DE and BU.
    It also worked fine after the upgrade for a few days. At one stage Iphoto asked me to upgrade the iphoto version as it otherwise could not read the photos when I tried to load the BU library into iphoto. I did click yes to upgrade iphoto. As a result I became a brand new but totally empty library, no photos.
    BU was still on the external disc, however the "Master" file was empty. We fortunately discovered all photos were in another file called Old Master, also under BU. We made another copy of the Old Master file onto the external disc. Lucky we did, because shortly afterwards we could not open anymore the BU file thus had no access to anything in there. Now I have 17000 photos in a file called Old Master on my external disc and another smaller library  DE on my laptop. When I tried to import the photos from Old Master into a new iphoto library it was very messy. All events dates were mixed up, many photos were imported twice. I have no idea whether all my 17000 photos have been imported.
    Can anyone suggest what is the most time efficient way? How do I best import my 17000 into a new library ensuring I don't loose any in the process. I do not wish sorting through 17000 photos for a week or so. Shall i also get a new iphoto library version now? Thank you for anything that may work.

    Yes, the Old Master file has a folder for each year where I find all photos from that specific year. I am attaching a screen shot of the file.
    In the meantime i have managed to download all photos (it did not download any video files though in mpg, avi, 3gp, m4v,mp4 and mov format) to a new iphoto library. Unfortunately the photos are quite mixed and often doubled up. I ma considering to purchase iphoto library which checks all duplicates in iphoto. this will save me a lot of time. What do you think?

  • If I move the oldest 2/3 of my iPhoto library to an external hard drive, will I still be able to access those older photos? I assume that I will be able to select the source (internal hard drive or external hard drive)?

    If I move the oldest 2/3 of my iPhoto library to an external hard drive, will I still be able to access those older photos? I assume that I will be able to select the source (internal hard drive or external hard drive)?

    Yes, if you have a second library.
    Here's one way to do what you want:
    Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
    1. Quit iPhoto
    2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
    Now you have two full versions of the Library.
    3. On the Internal library, trash the Events you don't want there
    Now you have a full copy of the Library on the External and a smaller subset on the Internal
    Some Notes:
    As a general rule: when deleting photos do them in batches of about 100 at a time. iPhoto can baulk at trashing large numbers at one go.
    You can choose which Library to open: Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library'
    You can keep the Library on the external updated with new imports using iPhoto Library Manager

  • HT1229 Tried moving my library to an external hard drive and now when I open iPhoto, there are no pictures there!!!!

    I am using iPhoto '08 and moved my library to my external hard drive exactly as all the instructions online explained how to do.  I renamed the original "iPhoto Library.old" and ,y external hard drive shows a iPhoto library using the same amount of memory as what it shows on my internal hard drive.  Here is where is becomes a problem.  When I hold the option key and open iPhoto, the only box that comes up does not give me a list of libraries to choose from.  It give me the option to "Create new library" or "choose existing library". When I click "choose existing library" I can find the copied library on my external hard drive but when I open it, iPhoto shows No Photos.  When I have tried opening the original iPhoto Library (the exact same way using the option key and choosing library) that I have not done anything to, except rename it, it does the exact same thing: No Photos.  Both my internal and external hard drives show about 137 GB of space being taken up by photos but I can't access them.  My other big problem is that ,y internal hard drive is completely full, which is why I am trying to transfer them to an external, to free up space so I am very limited on what I can do because I have no free space.  Also, when I open iPhoto and try to go to the Preferences to change to path under advanced settings, it freezes and I have to force close it. 
    Ay advice would be greatly appreciated as I am getting stressed out that I can't open my thousands of photos!

    My guess is that the library has been corrupted from being run on an overfull HD.
    So, try rebuild the Library on the External
    Try these in order - from best option on down...
    1. Do you have an up-to-date back up? If so, try copy the library6.iphoto file from the back up to the iPhoto Library (Right Click -> Show Package Contents) allowing it to overwrite the damaged file.
    2. Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. (In Library Manager it's the FIle -> Rebuild command)
    This will create an entirely new library. It will then copy (or try to) your photos and all the associated metadata and versions to this new Library, and arrange it as close as it can to what you had in the damaged Library. It does this based on information it finds in the iPhoto sharing mechanism - but that means that things not shared won't be there, so no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your events, albums and keywords, faces and places back.
    Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one. 
    3. If neither of these work then you'll need to create and populate a new library.
    To create and populate a new *iPhoto 08* library:
    Note this will give you a working library with the same Events and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, modified versions, books, calendars etc.
    In the iPhoto Preferences -> Events Uncheck the box at 'Imported Items from the Finder'
    Move the iPhoto Library to the desktop
    Launch iPhoto. It will ask if you wish to create a new Library. Say Yes.
    Go into the iPhoto Library (Right Click -> Show Package Contents) on your desktop and find the Originals folder. From the Originals folder drag the individual Event Folders to the iPhoto Window and it will recreate them in the new library.
    When you're sure all is well you can delete the iPhoto Library on your desktop.
    In the future, in addition to your usual back up routine, you might like to make a copy of the library6.iPhoto file whenever you have made changes to the library as protection against database corruption. 

  • How can i move my Iphoto library to an external hard drive?

    How do I move my Iphoto library to an external hard drive?

    Here's a worflow for that:
    Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
    1. Quit iPhoto
    2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
    Now you have two full versions of the Library.
    3. On the Internal library, trash the Events you don't want there
    Now you have a full copy of the Library on the External and a smaller subset on the Internal
    Some Notes:
    As a general rule: when deleting photos do them in batches of about 100 at a time. iPhoto can baulk at trashing large numbers at one go.
    You can choose which Library to open: Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library'
    You can keep the Library on the external updated with new imports using  iPhoto Library Manager

  • How do I backup my iPhoto Library to an external hard drive and keep my photos grouped by their events?

    How can I backup my iPhoto Library to an external hard drive and keep my photos grouped by their events?

    I have attempted to make sure my iPhoto library has been backed up on the external hard drive and that it is safe to delete some events from my internal hard drive
    You need to think this through.
    Time Machine is a back up application. It keeps a rolling back up of the data. It's called rolling because it means you can revert to the data you had on a specific date and time. But that's not eternal, and as time goes by, and your drive fills up, older backups are deleted. So if you delete Events on your Mac they will - eventually - also be deleted from the Time Machine back up.
    If you wan tot archive data hendon't use Time Machine for that job. Here's how you might archive an iPhoto Library:
    Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
    1. Quit iPhoto
    2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
    Now you have two full versions of the Library.
    3. On the Internal library, trash the Events you don't want there
    Now you have a full copy of the Library on the External and a smaller subset on the Internal
    Some Notes:
    As a general rule: when deleting photos do them in batches of about 100 at a time. iPhoto can baulk at trashing large numbers at one go.
    You can choose which Library to open: Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library'
    You can keep the Library on the external updated with new imports using iPhoto Library Manager

  • I copied my iPhoto library to an external hard drive and all the event windows are black. Once you click on a square the photos are still there. How do I fix that?

    I copied my iPhoto library to an external hard drive and the event windows show up black.
    The photos are still there once I click on an event but they don't show in the window.
    My next step is to delete the iPhoto library from the internal memory to free some memmory space but I don't want to do this until I see that the library works fine on the external hard drive.
    How do I fix that?

    Hold down the "option" + "command" keys and launch iPhoto.
    Select the "Rebuild Thumbnails" choice.

Maybe you are looking for