Can I store my photos on an external hard drive instead of on my MacBook?

I would prefer to store all my photos on an external hard drive instead of taking up memory on my MacBook Pro. Is there a way to tell iPhotos to load/look at an external hard drive for all photos and info, like you can tell iTunes to look at a particular drive for all your songs? Thanks in advance for your help and knowledge. I'm new to the Apple world, but am really liking it so far.

Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
Regards
TD

Similar Messages

  • I have a new MAcBook Air and my photos don't fit on the internal hard drive.  I want to store my photos on an external hard drive which I will connect to my Air when using Iphoto.  How do I set an external hard drive as the default drive?

    I have a new MAcBook Air and my photos don't fit on the internal hard drive.  I want to store my photos on an external hard drive which I will connect to my Air when using Iphoto.  How do I set an external hard drive as the default drive in Iphoto?

    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.
    3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
    4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
    Regards
    TD

  • I have so many photos I only have 1G of memory left.  How can I move the photos to my external hard drive that is connected to my iMac?

    I have so many photos on my Mac I only have 1G of memory left.  How can I move the photos to the external hard drive that is plugged into my iMac.

    1GB? It's a miracle your Mac is running at all!
    This is our resident iPhoto guru, Terence Devlin's, advice:
    You can move your iPhoto Library to an external disk:
    1. Quit iPhoto
    2. Copy the iPhoto Library Folder as an entity from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
    3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
    4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.

  • I have macbook pro 13" I want to know how to copy files from my mac to the external Toshiba Hard Drive. I can't even delete files from my external hard drive. please help me my macbook HD is almost full and I have to copy my images to the Toshiba HD

    I have macbook pro 13" I want to know how to copy files from my mac to the external Toshiba Hard Drive. I can't even delete files from my external hard drive. please help me my macbook HD is almost full and I have to copy my images to the Toshiba HD

    To delete files from your external HDD, attach it to your MBP and drag the unwanted files to trash and then empty trash.
    Then you select the files that you want to transfer by 'drag and drop' to the external HDD and trash the files on your MBP.
    Ciao.

  • Iphoto: How to safely delete or move photos.  I have over 7000 photos.  When I deleted some, I found that the event still shows up with a blank frame.  Can I move some photos to an external hard drive but leave the pointer in iphoto?

    iphoto: How to safely delete or move photos.  I have over 7000 photos.  I would really like to move tsome of the older photos to an external hard drive. (They are backed up in Time Machine, but I like the immediacy of having them available.)  So question 1 -  is it possible to split the iphoto library so that the directory tree points to an external drive in some cases?  And if that doesn't work--I am willing to export and delete some of these photos.  However, an earlier delete left me with events that have a name in the event folder, but no photos.  Question 2 -- How do I properly delete photos so that all references disappear?
    example:

    Warning: Time Machine is not an Archiving application. It keeps rolling back ups. That means if you delete something from the source Mac it will eventually be also deleted from Time Machine. How long that takes depends on the amount of disk space TM has. So, remember, backing up in Time Machine is not the same as Archiving.
    For the blank thumbnails: This can happen if you try delete too many photos at one go. Experienced users suggest you should delete in batches of 100 or so.
    Yes you can split the Library, where some of the Masters are stored locally and some on an external disk, but really, you don't want to do that. iPhoto's file management tools are limited at best, and if the path to the files changes then you could find yourself repairing the links to the files - all of them, one by one.
    Better: Have your entire Library on an External Drive.
    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.
    3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
    4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
    If you want to have a smaller library on your internal disk:
    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
    Regards
    TD

  • Can i move original photos to an external hard-drive

    Hi
    I want to free up some space and would like to move all the original copies of my photos to an external hard-drive, whilst keeping the iphoto library on the macbook. Is this possible, or do the originals need to be kept within the iphoto folder?
    Thanks
    Jamie

    Yes and No
    The Yes part:
    It is possible to run an iPhoto Library with the Originals stored outside the Library folder, but I strongly caution against it - especially if the Library and the files are on different volumes, as you propose. Why? the short answer: if the files become detached from the database then you will end up reconnecting every single one, one by one. For more see this:
    https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3062728?tstart=0
    Further, if the external is not plugged in when you launch iphoto it will ask you where each file is. All of them. One by one.
    So that's really a 'Yes... but...' I suppose.
    The No part:
    You have currently got a Managed Library. There's no way to convert to a Referenced one.
    Then there's the... 'how much money do you want to throw at this' bit?
    If you purchase Aperture this is a cinch. It can relocate masters, reconnect them if they get seperated and so on. Pay more, get more options. And Aperture can use the same Library as iPhoto, but there is a bigger learngn curve.

  • Can i put my photos on my external hard drive and still open them in iPhoto

    I am an amateur photographer and an art teacher and i have thousands of photos and music files on my computer that i would much rather put on my external hard drive so they dont take up so much room on my computer. I would like to extend the life of my computer as long as possible and want to keep as much memory free on the actual computer as i can. is there a way for me to put my pictures and or music on my external hard drive and still have it open regularly like it does now in iphoto or itunes?

    they are backed up but there are thousands of them i have a small business selling my photos online and i was wondering if i could put them on the external hd and still have them open in iphoto or put my music on the hd and have it open in itunes so i dont have all of it on the computer. i take hundreds of photos a week and my photo gallery is not shrinking by any means any time soon so the more i can put in places other than my hard drive the better but i need them accessible at all times through my iphoto and other programs like photoshop illustrator etc.
    DR.

  • I have just replaced my hard drive and downloaded Yosemite and now I can't access my photos from my external hard drive

    II've just replaced my internal hard drive for my desktop because it failed And installed Yosemite.  I had an external hard drive but it had Mavericks and now I can't access my old iPhoto.  What can I do?

    backup your iPhoto and install iPhoto 9.6 - if you had iPhoto '08 or earlier then you need to download and run the iPhoto library before launch iPhoto 9.6
    If that does not help then you actually need to tell us information and details - like version of iPhoto. exactly why you can not access your photos and any message you got
    LN

  • Can you store iPhoto events on an external hard drive?

    I am a professional photographer and work in iPhoto (yes, also use Photoshop, Aperture, etc.), but organize all my photos by the events in iPhoto for quick and easy viewing, e-mailing, sharing with other applications, etc.
    All my photography events are eating up my hard drive memory quite fast and I also backup everything on a 1TB external WD Hard Drive.
    I'm curious to know if there is a way I can delete my events from iPhoto on my computer's hard drive and have it read only from my external drive?  I'd like to have my personal photos available on my computer's hard drive and event photos in iPhoto on my external drive (and not eat up a ton of memory).  Essentially, every time I open up iPhoto with my external hard drive plugged in, I'd like to see all my photos by events. 
    Is there a way I can do this?
    Thank you in advance!!!

    Interesting - and thank you for the speedy reply John!
    So if I wanted all my wedding photography on a different 'library' on my external hard drive I would simply hold down "option" when opening up iPhoto and create a new library on my external drive?  This way, I can easily switch between my professional work and my personal work?  Every time I wanted to switch I would simply hold down "option" when loading up iPhoto? 
    Would my Time Machine Back-up also back-up my library on my external hard drive?  I presume that the answer here is no, however, thought I would ask anyway.  Not sure how comfortable I feel about leaving all my photos only on an external drive not backed up in anyway. 
    If you are able, please do let me know your thoughts - thanks!

  • How can I store iPhoto files on an external hard drive rather than on the iMac drive

    How can I store my iPhoto library on an external hard drive rather than the iMac drive to make my computer faster?

    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.
    3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
    4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
    Regards
    TD

  • My macbook memory is nearly full, how can I export older photos to an external hard drive, and then delete to free up some memory?

    I do not want to move whole iphoto library to an external hard drive as this will be a bit of a pain. I just want to moves older photos out of my iphoto library, and save them on an external hard drive to save for the future. I have heard that if you copy and move/paste from iphoto then it only copies a small version of the file, not the original full sized version. I would not want to lose any quality of the pictures I have currenty saved.
    I would appreciate if anyone could advise what is the best possible way of doing this. I am very nervous about not being able to use my photos in the future due to file size, or even worse, losing them.
    many thanks,

    In iPhoto, Select All the Photos you want to move... Then goto  > File > Export >
    Choose the settings as seen here
    Click Export and select your External Drive
    Best to create a Folder to put them in... and away you go...

  • Can I set up photo library on external hard drive

    HI peeps
    is it possible to create a library on extern HD the same way as can be done with aperture?
    IF so how please.
    thanks

    Yes. Launch Photos with the Option key held down and create a new library there.
    (126884)

  • Storing Photos on an External Hard Drive

    Hi,
    I am looking to store my photos on an external hard drive; I would like to place my iPhoto folder there and have the application access the photos from there instead of storing them locally on my computer. I would also like to have new photos automatically pushed there when I connect my camera. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to do this? I can't find a preference or an option to do this.
    Thanks,
    Jennifer
    PowerBook G4   Mac OS X (10.4.8)  

    Jennifer
    Quite straightforward:
    Copy the iPhoto Library Folder from your Pictures folder to the external hd.
    Hold down the option (or alt) key and launch iPhoto.
    Use the dialogue to Locate, and navigate to the new location.
    From this point on that will be your default library, all new pics will be uploaded there etc.
    When you're sure that all is well you can delete the iPhoto Library Folder from your internal hd.
    Regards
    TD

  • I photo storage on external hard drive

    Can I keep my I photos on an external hard drive instead of on my Mac--if so how do I do it?

    1. Quit iPhoto.
    2. Copy the iPhoto Library file (inside your Pictures folder if you haven't moved it) to your external drive.
    3. Open iPhoto and immediately hold down the option key. You'll get a dialog box asking which library you want to use. Click the "Other Library..." button and select the copy of your library on the external drive. From now on this library will be used until you change it.
    4. Once you've verified its working correctly you can delete the original library file (on the internal drive) if you wish.
    Make sure your external disk is mounted each time before opening iPhoto.

  • I have a macbook pro with only 128gb of hard drive. I have lightroom installed and all my photos on an external hard drive. Can I store my lightroom library on the external hard drive too?

    I have a macbook pro with only 128gb of hard drive. I have lightroom installed and all my photos on an external hard drive. Can I store my lightroom library on the external hard drive too?

    Yes. Find the LR catalog file by looking in Edit/Catalog Settings/General. Close LR and navigate to that spot. The catalog file is the one that ends in .lrcat - move it to wherever you want. Next to the .lrcat file is a subfolder called Previews.lrdata. You can move that over as well, but if you don't LR will generate new previews. Double-click on the .lrcat file in its new home and LR will open with that catalog. Set Preferences to When Starting Up Use Most Recent Catalog.

Maybe you are looking for