Backing up photos on external drive, to clear up space on macbook

I'm a new mac user, and have the macbook with 80 gb drive, so photos will quickly fill it up - I've already gotten to only having 30 gb space left. On my windows machines, I'd drag and drop my various photo folders to ext drive, and then could delete them on the computer's int drive and from then on just copy new folders. From searching this forum, I understand that ideally I'd back up all my photos, events, albums, etc by dragging the iPhoto library from finder into the ext drive. But if I want to periodically back up my photos that way, I'll have a problem if I delete photos from my internal drive to free up space. Obviously, then if I back up my iPhoto library file to my ext drive, it will overwrite the old file with the new one that has photos deleted from it. I want to have a copy of all my photos on my ext drive (since I have a 500 gb ext drive) and have a way of not filling up my macbook's drive. Ideally, I'm looking for a solution that is easy to implement, and that doesn't entail having to purchase more software. Am I better off using time machine -could I configure time machine with one specific ext drive to just back up photos to it? (but then wouldn't it have to backup the entire iphoto library each time there was a change to it?)

Yes.
Copy the iPhoto Library to the external. Now you have two full copies.
On the internal, delete the pics that you don't want to travel with you. (Put them in the iPhoto trash and go iPhoto Menu -> Empty trash).
Now you have the full library on the external and a smaller one on the internal.
To switch between them: Hold down the option (or alt) key when launching iPhoto and select 'Choose Library'.
Working with multiple libraries is enhanced using iPhoto Library Manager and it's the best way to move pics, albums or events between libraries.
Regards
TD

Similar Messages

  • Backing up photos to external hard drive,and exporting back to CF card on camera

    iPhoto 5 on Mac Power PC G4, OS 10.4.11
    backing up photos to external hard drive (LaCie) My iPhoto Library contains a number of files (such as 'Library.iPhoto' 'iPhoto.db' 'ThumbJPG.data' etc) and a number of folders with dates such as 2005 etc, containing folders within folders, none of which with any contents.
         Is there a way I can organise just the photos on their own so that I can select just those to be backed up on my LaCie hard drive, without all those distracting and (apparently) unnecessary extra files and folders ?
    exporting edited photos back to CF card on camera I have tried everything I can think of to export photos from iPhoto back to the CF card on the camera, without success. It must be possible to do ?

    Edit: Note: It's been a while but the Export command may be in the Share menu on older versions...
    1. To back up an iPhoto Library
    Most Simple Back Up
    Drag the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to another Disk. This will make a copy on that disk.
    Slightly more complex:
    Use 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. Examples of such apps: Chronosync or DejaVu . But are many others. Search on MacUpdate
    2. To Back up Just the Photos
    Use the File -> Export command to export the images to where you want them.
    BTW: there are no user-serviceable parts in the iPhoto Library Folder. Rooting around in there can cause damage.
    3. Edited Photos to CF Card is a two part process:
    Exporting is just File -> Export. Choosing any setting except 'Original' and you'll get the Edited version.
    The CF Card? Just drag and drop there.
    But a couple of possible problems: Canon Cameras don't show up in the Finder. So you'll need to stick the card into a USB Card Reader for get them on there
    Camera Cards are all formatted FAT. That means there's a limit to the number of items on the top level of the card: Workaround: Export the shots to a folder and drag that over
    And, of course, if you want to see the shots in the camera, you'll need to put them in whatever specific folder it uses for the photos.
    Regards
    TD

  • Unable to access photos on external drive

    I have Aperture 2.1.3 and I have been using Photo Mechanic to quickly import, edit, and save my photos to one of my external drives. I have been using Aperture to adjust some of these images by importing them into Aperture but the stored files have remained on the external drive. Suddenly, when I try to import the photos from external drive for Aperture manipulation the photos are not available for import. But the photos are viable on my external drive, and If I use Photoshop or Photo Mechanic, I CAN access and import these same files .
    I hope this makes sense! I need advise!
    thanks to all!
    Tony P
    Radical Sports Photos

    .plist is the preference file. Go to your User/Library/Preferences and take com.apple.Aperture.plist (the preferences are in alphabetical order) and put the file on your desktop. Then restart Aperture. Aperture will return to its default settings and there will be a new preference file in the Library/Preferences folder.
    If this clears your problem, then your old plist file was corrupt and you should put it in the trash and rebuild your own preferences.
    If you still have the problem after restarting Aperture, then it's not the plist file, and you can trash the new plist and restore your old one from the Desktop back into the Library/Preferences folder.
    Have you tried to reboot the machine. Sometimes things go wrong in the connection with an external drive and rebooting the machine clears the problem. You could also reset the PRAM (on boot, hold down Command-Option-P-R and wait for the second chime). Sometimes the PRAM gets corrupted and this affects the relationship with external drives.
    You could also import the RAW files into Aperture, instead of using them as referenced files.

  • Need help moving photos to external drive

    Hi, all--here's hoping one or more of you Aperture veterans can help.
    Here's my situation: I'm not new to photography, but I'm new to Aperture. Just bought 3.3 and still getting to know what it can do. I'm an emigre from iPhoto, and one of the reasons I upgraded within Apple is that I was tired of the non-intuitive nature of PS Elements. I like to take pictures, not spend endless time in the dim glow of a screen digging through sub-menus for stuff, and from what I read, Aperture seemed more intuitive.
    But now I've got a seemingly very basic problem that hours of poring over discussion threads and searching through the hundreds of pages of the manual has done little to address with any clarity:
    How do I move (not just copy) older photos in projects to external drives, but in such a way that Aperture still keeps track of them, even when the drives are not connected? (The Aperture marketing I read/viewed clearly said Aperture could do this, and I'm running out of space on my MacBook Pro (15" from about 2008, running Lion) with lots of CF cards piling up.)
    Info that may help:
    -I need to move not just original (imported into iPhoto directly from the camera) photos, but also those I've adjusted in Elements, then re-exported into iPhoto (I would say "and now into Aperture," but as you know, there's no longer an import process b/w iPhoto and Aperture).
    -I shoot mostly RAW.
    -I have no idea whether the pictures are "Referenced" or "Managed" (for space reasons, I have yet to import any files directly into Aperture; all existing photos are from iPhoto, and if I was given an option when I set up Aperture, I don't now recall it).
    -I have external drives with plenty of space to move older pix to (I also have multiple backups, including Time Machine, additional external hard drives, and DVDs)
    Can somebody who knows how to do this safely please explain in clear language how to move photos as projects onto external hard drives so that Aperture keeps track of them via viewable thumbnails, even when the photo files themselves live on a hard drive that is not connected at the time?
    Thanks in advance!

    First things first:
    You can easily check if an image is managed or referenced by ctrl-clicking on an image version and selecting "Locate referenced files...". If Aperture says "No Referenced Files", your originals are managed by Aperture and stored within the library itself, otherwise it should show you the location of the original, and give you some options to verify the references and so on. I don't know which method is used when importing from iPhoto.
    Now, here's something you need to ask yourself:
    Does it make more sense for you to keep the library on your laptop and the originals on an external drive, or does it make more sense to move both the library and the originals to the external drives?
    In the first case, you can open and look at the thumbnails, but there's not a whole lot else you can do with your images when the external drive is off line.
    If you have vast amounts of originals, spread across multiple drives, it might make sense to keep the library on your laptop and connect whichever external drive you need at the time. However, it might also make more sense to split such a huge library into mutiple libraries, stored with their respective originals (which could be either managed or referenced).
    In my case, it makes sense to keep multiple libraries, with managed originals, but your mileage may vary.
    Here's a tip that might help you decide: A small library is quicker to navigate and work with than a huge one, although performance has improved vastly with later versions of Aperture.
    Once you have decided on the appropriate organization, you can start moving things around (after you've created the appropriate backups):
    If your library contains all managed originals already, and you want to move the entire library off to the external drive:Simply drag and drop the library itself (using Finder) to the new location.
    If your library use referenced originals, and you want to keep it that way, or your library manages your originals, and you want to start using referenced originals:
    Select all your images
    Click on the File menu and select Relocate Originals...
    Locate the destination for your originals, and pay special attention to the "Subfolder Format" and "Name Format". I'd suggest choosing "Project Name" and "Original File Name" for the two.
    Click on Relocate Originals, and twiddle your thumbs while Aperure moves all your originals to the new location.
    If your library uses referenced originals, and you wish to let your library manage the originals:
    Select all your images
    Click on the File menu and select Consolidate Originals...
    Decide if you want to Copy or Move the originals into the library. If you're running out of space, it might be best to Move.
    Click Ok, and wait for the operation to complete.
    (Optional) If you wish to move your entire library to the external drive, drag and drop the library to the new location.
    I hope that answers your question.
    Message was edited by: KluZz (oops, premature submission)

  • Moving photos from external drive to iPhoto '11

    OK. I'm going nuts. I recently purchased an iMac and I migrated all of the photos from my old G5 with no problems. All of my photos and their Album structures came along. Now, I also have a lot of different photos on a MacBook that is also running 10.6.6 and iPhoto '11. The MacBook is backed up onto an external drive which I am trying to use to move the photos to the iMac. I have tried what Terrence Devlin suggests. I tried to drag the MacBook iPhoto library into the iMac Pictures folder, but it asks me if I want to replace the existing iPhoto library. I most certainly do not. I don't want to lose anything that is already on the iMac.
    I tried manually exporting folders from the external drive by clicking individual albums in iPhoto and "exporting" them to the iMac desktop, but not all of the photos come in the export, no matter which folder I try to export.
    Yesterday, before I updated the laptop to iPhoto '11, I created a new iPhoto Library on the iMac and dragged the entire iPhoto Library from the MacBook into that new Library. It worked, however it all came over into one big album and my previous album structure was gone. There are waaaaay too many photos for me to go back through and sort them again. Did that happen because I was going from an older version of iPhoto to a newer version or will it happen again if I drag the MacBook iPhoto Library into a NEW library on the iMac? (I only ask before I try because it took several hours the first time.)
    So what do I do? I want all of my photos on the iMac with my existing Album structure. If I have to do it Album by Album fine, but how? Selecting every photo from an album and dragging it to a folder on the desktop doesn't work either. I can always take every photo minus one. Weird.
    Thanks,
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    What you want to do is merge the two Libraries? The only way to do this is to use the paid ($20) version of iPhoto Library Manager
    I created a new iPhoto Library on the iMac and dragged the entire iPhoto Library from the MacBook into that new Library. It worked, however it all came over into one big album and my previous album structure was gone
    Never import one Library to another. Every version and thumbnail is imported like a distinct photo, you lose all your Albums, Keywords etc., the link between Original and Previews is destroyed, the non-destructive editing feature is ruined and so on. In summary: it's mess.
    Regards
    TD

  • I'm out of space on my hard drive. How do I move move entire photo albums from iphoto and save them to an external drive to free up space?

    I'm out of space on my hard drive. How do I move move entire photo albums from iphoto and save them to an external drive to free up space?

    You do not move the albums - you move the entire iphoto library intake as a single entity
    Make sure your external drive is formatted Ma OS extended (journaled) - then
    Moving the iPhoto library is safe and simple - quit iPhoto and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity to the external drive - depress the option key and launch iPhoto using the "select library" option to point to the new location on the external drive - fully test it and then trash the old library on the internal drive (test one more time prior to emptying the trash)
    And be sure that the External drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) (iPhoto does not work with drives with other formats) and that it is always available prior to launching iPhoto
    And backup soon and often - having your iPhoto library on an external drive is not a backup and if you are using Time Machine you need to check and be sure that TM is backing up your external drive
    LN

  • Back-up to Lacie external drive

    I am monitoring a project using 2 cameras. Have been combining the rolls in iPhoto into 1 roll with dates. When I try to transfer the images to a folder created in the finder, repeatedly I'm told for example that jpg1 already exists and I cannot move another image also being a jpg1 into the folder.
    Sure hope there is a solution to this for I must get these image backed up on an external drive.
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    Jack

    Jack:
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    Do you Twango?
    MBP 2.16Ghz; G5 Dual Core 2GHz, 2G RAM ea, 250G HD; G4 Dual 1Ghz, 1.5G RAM;   Mac OS X (10.4.10)   22" LCD, 710G FW HDs, Canon: SD700IS/i850/LIDE 50, Epson R200, 30G iPod, 2G Nano

  • HT201250 Can I use Time Machine on two different Macs to back up to one external drive?

    Can I use Time Machine on two different Macs to back up to one external drive?
    I have one 1T Western Digital backup drive that works well with Time Machine and my MacBook Pro.  I now want to back up my wife's MacBook Air using Time Machine on her Mac and want to know if I can use the same WD external drive or if I need to get a 2nd back up drive?  If I can use one external drive for the two Macs do I need to do something special on the drive or will Time Machine do it automatically?

    Yes. You will need to configure Time Machine preferences on each computer to backup to the same drive. Note that you cannot connect the backup drive to both machines at the same time.

  • How do I move my photos to external drive

    How do I move some of my photos to an external drive to free up space on my hard drive?

    And what if I want some of my photos still on my internal drive?
    Can I tell iphoto which events I want on the external?
    I opened a new library on the external drive. This is working quite good - exept with AppleTV2
    So I am looking for a way to have only one (my default library) on the hard drive, but have SOME of the actual date on the external drive...
    Mr.Churchil here already suggested to create a new user with an own library. That sounds logical to me - but I don't knwo how to do it...
    Can I transfer whole events or photos from one library to another than?

  • How do I move a back up to another external drive and how does the Mac Book then find the new back up?

    how do I move a back up to another external drive and how does the Mac Book then find the new back up?
    I currently have the back up on a Time Capsule, I want to move it from the Time Capsule to another external hard drive.

    Did you read the link to the Pondidni website?  You will have to select the Time Machine HDD for the new MBP and the old one in System Preferences>Time Machine:
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  • Had to wipe my drive so I could do a clean install of snow leopard Now I look every where on how to move bookmarks, address book and I cal settings.  I have them back up on a external drive with Time machine but can not move, copy or restore my old sett d

    Had to wipe my drive so I could do a clean install of snow leopard.   Now I have look every where on how to move bookmarks, address book and I cal settings.  I have them back up on a external drive with Time machine but can not move, copy or restore my old settings.  The instructions I have found or no help or needs more clarafication on what to do.

    Use migration assistant to move your files.  http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4889

  • My 2007 Macbook pro Intel Core 2 Duo   Processor Speed 2.33 GHz has power issues with one or some of my USB powered devices. Last night I could not back up my Lacie external drives with software SuperDuper, hard drive copier. I also had a message that Tim

    My 2007 Macbook pro Intel Core 2 Duo   Processor Speed 2.33 GHz has power issues with one or some of my USB powered devices. Last night I could not back up my Lacie external drives with software SuperDuper, hard drive copier. I also had a message that Time machine failed. I have two powered 12V USB
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    My 2007 Macbook pro Intel Core 2 Duo   Processor Speed 2.33 GHz has power issues with one or some of my USB powered devices. Last night I could not back up my Lacie external drives with software SuperDuper, hard drive copier. I also had a message that Time machine failed. I have two powered 12V USB
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  • How to restore my back-ups to a external drive

    I recently installed a external usb 2.0 hard drive to my macbook pro.
    I changed my Itunes media files location to said new drive and did the files - Library - Organize Library. But what I really need is to restored from backup DVD's to this new location My DVD back-ups do I have all my content I want to get into the external drive (that has enough space to hold all the media). I was running out of room on the laptop so I would delete movies that I don't watch all the time (as I have a backup copy on DVD) download more media. Repeat the process a few more times until I finally broke down and purchased this external drive to stop the madness.
    But each time I put in my DVD backup it wants to restore to the laptop (even with new media location set). Any work around? Or
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    Hello Jayrajjpatel,
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    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14185
    If you’re restoring your system because of a problem with your startup disk, repair or replace the disk before following these instructions.
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  • , I-tunes can no longer 'locate' my library , after a botched cut & paste attempt to back-up onto an external drive. Still syncing with i-Pod but playlists lost , podcasts no longer syncing, Can't play music .. how to restore back to original state .

    I-tunes can no longer 'locate' my library , after a botched cut & paste attempt to back-up onto an external drive.Cant play any music as it "can't find" the library  Still syncing with i-Pod but playlists lost , podcasts no longer syncing.   How to restore back to original state . I have tried re-installing  - with no change

    I do the same thing as you do...
    My music is on an external drive as to not use up gigabytes of storage that need not be used for media.
    There are a couple basic principles to iTunes that I believe you should know.
    1. iTunes is not a media storage program. It does not store your media "in iTunes". It simply is an organization tool for your media already on a hard disk.
    2. As iTunes is not a storage mechanism, it has no way to "know" whether or not the media that is listed is actually there. This is where the "design" of iTunes comes into play.
    I like to think of iTunes as a bread-crumb trail. The "music" in iTunes, isn't actually there. The bread crumb is the location on the external hard drive.
    If that bread crumb trail disappears (in this case the external drive you use). If said external drive is not plugged in, that bread crumb trail is not able to be followed. iTunes is "lost" and unable to find the media. The only way to remedy this is to place the media on your local drive.
    To address your issue of the library. If you hold down shift, you can select your library on your external drive. It will be a file with an .itl extension. The folder name will be your external drive.
    I go into edit > preferences > advanced and set my library to the correct location. Make sure you check the box "Copy to iTunes Folder when importing" (or whatever it says).
    You can't fix the issue of iTunes not seeing the media if your drive is unplugged unless you physically move the content to your OS HDD...Or any other HDD you use.

  • I photo and external drive

    how do i save photos to external drive and possibly set it up that all photos go to external drive so i can save room on my hard drive

    Hello Myron,
    It can be very handy to store your iPhoto library (and your iTunes library for that matter) on an external drive. Make sure the drive is formated for Mac (MacOSExtended) rather than for Windows (MS-DOS, etc.). Storing Mac data on a windows formated drive reduces performance and can damage data over time.
    Apple documents moving the library to other locations on their website: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iPhoto/7.0/en/6331.html
    You can check to make sure your drive is formated correctly and re-format if needed following another knowledge base article:
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306143
    Please be aware that if you do have to reformat the drive it will ERASE any information currently on the drive.
    Cheers!

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