Disk containing iphoto library is low on space

When attempting to download pictures I get the message "The disk containing your iPhoto library is running low on space” and cannot download the pics. What to do? I don’t want to delete my pics from computer...

Buy a larger external hard drive and move the iPhoto library to that.

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Disk containing iPhoto is running low on space, photos cannot be imported???

How is this possible? I have 659 GB space available? Please help! I want to import more pics.
Mac OS 10.6.7
2.3 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory: 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Volumes:
Capacity:    209.7 MB (209,715,200 bytes)
Writable:    Yes
BSD Name:    disk0s1
Macintosh HD:
Capacity:    749.81 GB (749,812,400,128 bytes)
Available:    659.43 GB (659,425,685,504 bytes)
Writable:    Yes
File System:    Journaled HFS+
BSD Name:    disk0s2
Mount Point:    /

You have a damaged library. First, try this: launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and create a new, test library. Import some photos and check to see if the same problem persists. If you're able to create the new library confirms that it's your current library that's the culprit.
If that's the case make a temporary, duplicate copy of your library and apply the three fixes in order as necessary.
Fix #1
1 - delete the iPhoto preference file, com.apple.iPhoto.plist, that resides in your Home/Library/Preferences folder.
2 - delete iPhoto's cache file,, Cache.dbt, that is located in your Home/Library/Caches/com.apple.iPhoto folder.
3 - reboot, launch iPhoto and try again.
NOTE: If you're moved your library from its default location in your Home/Pictures folder you will have to point iPhoto to its new location when you next open iPhoto by holding down the Option key when launching iPhoto. You'll also have to reset the iPhoto's various preferences.
If that doesn't help try the following: make a temporary, duplicate copy of the library and try the two fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #2
Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys depressed and follow the instructions to rebuild the library.
Select the options identified in the screenshot.
Fix #3
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
Click on the Add Library button, navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the File ➙ Rebuild Library menu option
In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
Click on the Create button.
Note: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments but not books, calendars or slideshows. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
OT

Absurdly huge iPhoto library devouring hard drive space

Is it normal for the iPhoto library file to take up 100's of GB after just half a year of moderate use? My shiny new macbook almost choked and died from having only a couple hundred MB left on the drive; in Disk Analyzer, everything else is dwarfed by the immense blue square of the iPhoto library. that plus iTunes's little habit of making multiple duplicate copies of any file it gets its hands on, and there's certainly no chance of using this machine to do anything actually productive.
Does everyone really just lug around dozens of terabyte external drives just to be able to look at pictures? what kind of horrible future have we entered?
Is there a way to find out which 'events' in iPhoto are taking up the most space, or to tidy up the originals/edits? Also, many pix are duplicates because of the "make copies when importing" default setting - is there a way to flag those, say, by showing the path that a given event or collection or whatever was imported from so I can go back and wipe that?

One important thing to keep in mind is this: What is your camera set to in terms of picture size? Set to 3MP you can print nice 5x7s or 8x10s with 8 or even 6 MP. Some cameras boast 10+MP, which is great if you're going to print something huge.
The higher the MP, the more HD space you require!
I lowered my camera res to 4MP and with 10 years of casual photos, I have around 20GB in iPhoto. For special occasions and events I'll UP the MP to 6 in case I want to possibly have a nice 8x10 later, which so far I've never done.
Consider that a 1080p HDTV is 1920x1080 is less than 3MP resolution (2048 x 1536), so if you plan to feed images to your TV, 4MP will meet your needs - as well as look great on those much-smaller digital picture frames.

QUESTION help!!! iphoto library is low resolution

HELP! I want to resort my ophoto library. I was in the iphot library trying to delete unwanted photos ( I KNOW THIS WAS WRONG ON MANY MANY LEVELS). But I tried to rebuild my library and now the photos are low resolution. I backed up my library and they are low resolution too. The message I get is the library cannot be imported because the file is in iphoto library. HUH??? I just want it back the way it was. Please someone help....

Well you're learning the cardinal rule of iPhoto:
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.
You have corrupted your library, and by the sound of it, caused massive duplication.
You need to create and populate a new library.
To create and populate a new 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. Sort each Events folder inside the Originals by SIZE. Trash any files smaller than 100kb. This is also an opportunity to find and trash duplicates. When you have made your choice in each Event Folder in turn 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.
Regards
TD

Can't see photos of iPhoto through my Apple TV after moving the iPhoto library to my Airport Extreme Disk. It keeps "loading user's library" forever...

Hi there,
some days ago I purchased an Airport Extreme router with disk to move my iphoto library there and free space of my crowded macbook pro.
Everything was working well (iphoto takes a little bit longer to start and quit) but now I can't see my photo library through my apple tv.
It keeps loading the library forever.
Is there any problem doing that?
Thanks
jm

Help,
Thanks for the quick answer and for the welcome.
Yes I selected it in the iTunes sharing options (in fact several times, with resets in between just in case)
I think that it's related to the size of the library (more than 8 gb) and e fact that is in a remote disk (in the AirPort Extreme)
Hope anyone has the solution :-))
Thanks again!
Jm

IPhoto library is missing, no disk to mount a new library on

I recently moved all of my iPhoto library to an external hard drive, which was then reformatted incorrectly. All of my files are now gone, and when I try to start a new library in iPhoto, I get an error saying "Please make sure the disk containing your library is mounted and restore iPhoto." How do I create a new library and mount it on my internal hard drive so I can upload photos directly to my computer? As of right now, I can't access the application, as it quits after this error message appears.
I currently have iPhoto '06 and i'm runnning Mac OS X 10.4.11, if that helps at all.

To allow you to quickly recover from this type of library damage in the future see the tip at the end of my signature below:
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier) database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger or later), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 6 and 7 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.≤br>
Note: There now an Automator backup application for iPhoto 5 that will work with Tiger or Leopard.

I'm getting the error msg "iphoto library cannot be found".

I have a MacBook Pro and I'm trying to clean up the hard drive and free up space. I'm getting an error msg that "iphoto library can't be found. Make sure the disk containing your library folder is connected." I'm concerned that I may have deleted important info for iphoto to properly work. I'm unable to get iphoto to work. I also cannot empty the trash because of an error msg that "the operation cannot be completed because the "item" is in use." Even when all applications are closed.
I'm operating a very old Mac OS X 10.6.8. Although all software is up to date.
Anyone know how to solve this problem?

With the Error 2, let's try a standalone Apple Application Support install. It still might not install, but fingers crossed any error messages will give us a better idea of the underlying cause of the issue.
Download and save a copy of the iTunesSetup.exe (or iTunes64setup.exe) installer file to your hard drive:
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
Download and install the free trial version of WinRAR:
http://www.rarlab.com/download.htm
Right-click the iTunesSetup.exe (or iTunes64Setup.exe), and select "Extract to iTunesSetup" (or "Extract to iTunes64Setup"). WinRAR will expand the contents of the file into a folder called "iTunesSetup" (or "iTunes64Setup").
Go into the folder and doubleclick the AppleApplicationSupport.msi to do a standalone AAS install.
Does it install properly for you?
If instead you get an error message during the install, let us know what it says. (Precise text, please.)

How to share iPhoto library with other ID

i'm sure there is similar post/response to this but been trolling the message boards and can't find a similar situation.
the scenario goes like this.
- single macbookpro 10.7.2
- user1 is primary/admin user in which is owner of laptop
- pictures are in iPhoto v9.2 under user1
- user1 does all the pic uploads/edits/etc as the primary user of the macbook
- user1 is not a hardcore photo editor type and just primarily uses iPhoto for basic cropping and organization/viewing
- pics sync to user1 iPhone/iPad(iOS5) via PhotoStream and sync'ing of albums
- wife has her own iPhone, separate apple ID and uses user2 on the same macbookpro above that user1 is using
what we are trying to get done...
- wife wants to be able to see albums on her iPhone and also have ability from laptop/iPhone to select pics to upload into her facebook as needed
- bonus would be if wife can also view my/user1 PhotoStream
looking for any assistance on how to get this done painlessly with least possibility in corrupting iPhoto library in which user1 uses and avoid having to create/copy all pics into user2 iphoto library and waste HD space.
if it is easier to re-send a link to someone else that has conquered similar challenge, pls send across. much appreciated.

The thing is, the whole point of having separate accounts is to keep your data seprate from hers. So, any attempt to overcome this can be kludgy.
For iPhoto 09 (version 8.0.2) and later:
What you mean by 'share'.
If you want the other user to be able to see the pics, but not add to, change or alter your library, then enable Sharing in your iPhoto (Preferences -> Sharing), leave iPhoto running and use Fast User Switching to open the other account. In that account, enable 'Look For Shared Libraries'. Your Library will appear in the other source pane.
Any user can drag a pic from the Shared Library to their own in the iPhoto Window.
Remember iPhoto must be running in both accounts for this to work.
If you want the other user to have the same access to the library as you: to be able to add, edit, organise, keyword etc.
Quit iPhoto in both accounts. Move the Library to the Users / Shared Folder. (I would note that some Lion users are finding Permissions issues with this.)
(You can also use an external HD set to ignore permissions, a Disk Image or even partition your Hard Disk.)
In each account in turn: Double click on the Library to open it. (You may be asked to repair the Library Permissions.) From that point on, this will be the default library location. Both accounts will have full access to the library, in fact, both accounts will 'own' it.
However, there is a catch with this system and it is a significant one. iPhoto is not a multi-user app., it does not have the code to negotiate two users simultaneously writing to the database, and trying will cause db corruption. So only one user at a time, and back up, back up back up.

I deleted my Iphoto library and I want it back!

Yesterday, my computer sent me an advice telling that I should delete some itens from my Boot Disk, because it was almost full. So, I decided to clear my Trash, but (I don't know why and how) my iPhoto Library was inside it and it was gone forever with all my photos.
Well, I was calm because I thought I had it saved in my external HD, because of Time Machine (I have a MacBook Pro OS X Snow Leopard 10.6). So, when I went there, I've found all my other files, except my photos. The lastest Backup with my iPhoto complete was from August 2010.
I have tried to make Backups directly from the iPhoto and it didn't work out. Then, I tried to use the program "Find any file" and looked up for my iPhoto Library (Library6.iPhoto) and the only result was my empty iPhoto again. So I tried to make a backup of that old iTunes (August 2010) from my external HD, but, when I saw, it was also deleted because of a new actualization of my HD that occurred meanwhile.
What shoulsd I do to recover my iPhoto library from my External HD?
Is there any other way to recover also all my recent photos?
Please, help me! I am completely desperate!
Thanks,
Toni.

How are you looking for your iPhoto library backup? The way to do that with Time Machine is to launch TM and in the resulting window(looks like a finder window) going back to the time you want to restore, selecting the iPHoto library (it is a single entity - you can not restore pieces of it) and clicking restore
BUT
You must have aminimum of 10 GB of free space on your boot drive after restoring the iPhoto library - how much free space do you have?
LN

IPhoto Library -Recovery Possible

Hello-
Yesterday my hard drive on my iMac died. Which ws unfortunate. What is more unfortunate is that it died while backing up my iPhoto library.
So now on the back-up disk the iPhoto library is a fraction of it's old size and only contains a few photos (i looked on a friends mac) is there anyway to recover the old iPhoto library before this botched back-up ? I'm assuming the pictures are still somewhere on the back-up drive, but they can't be seen.
Please let me know.

Without the Originals I'm afraid you're out of luck.
I'm sorry but I don't understand the rest of your post.
I'm guessing that you have a back up on this drive, and attempted to make a new back up by dragging the Library +on top of+ the existing back up. Is this the case?
Your next move is to try an file recovery utility such as File Salvage to scan the disk to see what is recoverable. This will do the scan without needing you to purchase, however, actual recovery will require that you buy.
Set it to scan for jpegs or whatever format your camera uses.
In the event of different versions of the same photo being found *always choose the largest filesize* - that has the best chance of being the original file.
Regards
TD

How do I transfer iphoto library to external hard drive keeping events intact?

Had a one to one session but forgot how to do this. I would like to transfer my iphoto library to an external hard drive keeping the folders and events intact. I figured out how to send all my photos to the hard drive but they all transfer in single images, if that makes sense, and then i have to go thru all of the 15,000 images by hand and sort them into folders. Ahhhhhhh!
When they showed me how to do this at apple I am able to open my external hard drive and see a folder labled 'iphotolibrary" and I am able to click it open and then all my events show up just like in iphoto library.
Also does your iphoto library "Trash" take up space on your HD? Forgve me if thats a dumb question but I am kind of a computer "dummy".
thanks so much. My hard drive has VERY little space left on it so I need to transfer ASAP.

I just posted this to another topic, but it applies here as well. Hopefully there's no prohibition on cross-posting on this board, my apologies to all if there is:
"I haven't read the whole thread, so someone could have already mentioned this, but I did the same thing, move my music library to an external drive. The Help articles are helpful, but only up to a point. When that didn't work, I called up AppleCare support up, and they took me through all the standard steps, and got stumped at the same point I did. Finally she suggested trying something, and that ended up doing the trick. So here in brief is what you do:
1) Copy over your "iTunes Music" folder to the external hard drive
2) Go into Advanced preferences to have iTunes look for the "iTunes Music" folder in the new location. If you're like me, your music won't appear in the Library.
3) In iTunes, go to the Library window (which is probably blank), then in a Finder window, find the icon for the "iTunes Music" folder in the new location. Drag that icon onto the Library window.
You should now see a progress window pop up showing all the songs that it's populating the Library window with."
20" Intel iMac 14" iBook G4, 233 MHz Beige G3 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Back up iphoto library

Hi-I'm trying to backup my iphoto library to free up space on my 2009 13" 250gb Macbook. My library is about 25gb in size and I have a 1.5tb western digital external HD. I have already moved the "iphoto library" package file to the external HD. All of my pictures are still in iphoto and I want to delete them. Other discussion posts talk about choosing a different library when you open iphoto - I don't understand what the purpose of this is or how to do it correctly.
So my questions are:
1. Is it now safe to delete the library package file from my Macbook since it's on the external HD?
2. How do I restore that library to another computer at some point?
3. Can I access the backed up library (on the external HD) from iphoto?
Thanks in advance...

Post in the iPhoto forum.

Can I house me entire iPhoto Library on iCloud drive

My iPhoto library is 9GB of space taken up on my Mac Book Pro 2011 13"
Can I house my iPhoto Library entirely on iCloud Drive to regain that space or does it need to be on the Mac if I want to grab a pic or two for some small copy/paste situation, or to make a slideshow or burn a DVD?
Or is the size insignificant to make any read write faster if I did house it on Cloud drive or another external drive on my work desk.

Thank you both, now that is a perspective I did not have and the help I needed to sort out this buggy issue in my head.
And i did not know that what's on the cloud drive is still on my Mac, and now that I think of it, THAT'S A DARN GOOD THING and the reason and need for the cloud had just become more clear to me. I was thinking anything I put on cloud drive went there from my Mac and was not on my Mac any longer.
Age does not necessarily equate to wisdom, that's why I need this Apple Community.
Thanks to both of you.
jojoguitar
mn_usa

I get this when i try to add photo to iphoto:The disk containing your iPhoto library is running low on space.

i get this message when i try to add photo to iphoto: The disk containing your iphoto is running low on space

1 - NEVER assume - it makes an "*** out of u & me"
2 - for the third time - how much space do you have on the drive where your iPhoto library is located?
If you continue to refuse to answer that simple question then no one can halp
LN
PS - your iPhoto library is NEVER automatically moved anywhere - to move it
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

When importing photos, iPhoto now says that the disk containing my iPhoto library is running low on space. what is the best thing to do?

is it best to purchase external hardrive to store my photos?
will this let them be viewed in iphoto?
please advise. i do not want to remove my images.

You don't have a choice and you're in a very dangerous situation.
OS X needs about 10 gigs of hard drive space for normal OS operations - things like virtual memory, temporary files and so on.
Without this space your Mac will slow down as the OS hunts for space on the disk, files will be fragmented, also slowing things down, apps will crash and the risk of data corruption - that is damage to your files, photos, music - increases exponentially.
Your first priority is to make more space on that HD. Nothing else can be done until you do.
Purchase an external HD and move your Photos and Music to it. Both iPhoto and iTunes can run perfectly well with the Library on an external disk.
To move 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.
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.
And don't forget you'll need another disk for backing up.
Regards
TD

Disk containing iphoto library is low on space

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