How do you copy your iphoto library to ext. hard drive?

I am sorry to ask this lame question, but: How do you copy your iPhoto library to an external hard drive, just to back it up? I'm confused, because of three things: a) I can't seem to find, in iPhoto pref's, where you select what the "path" is to the library; b) in the iPhoto library folder on my computer (which is NOT on my boot drive, but a different internal drive..) the newest "year" folder in there says 2005, yet we have imported many newly-taken photos for the last 3 years, AND c) in the user>Pictures folder there is a "file" called iPhoto Library, but I can't quite figure out exactly what that is, what it does, etc.
So, I apologize, but if someone can help me figure what I would like to think should be a very simple backup, I would be grateful. Thank you very much.

I am sorry to ask this lame question, but: How do you copy your iPhoto library to an external hard drive, just to back it up?
Drag it to the external drive
a) I can't seem to find, in iPhoto pref's, where you select what the "path" is to the library;
There not one - you change the path by launching iPhoto while depressing the option (alt) key and using the select library option to repoint to a different libary - however you would not do this to a backup library - it would just be a copy
b) in the iPhoto library folder on my computer (which is NOT on my boot drive, but a different internal drive..) the newest "year" folder in there says 2005, yet we have imported many newly-taken photos for the last 3 years,
This is probably an unused older library - a backup for a previous version
c) in the user>Pictures folder there is a "file" called iPhoto Library, but I can't quite figure out exactly what that is,
That probably is your iPhoto library and it is probably not a file but a Unix style "package"
Launch iPhoto and in events view select a photo and right click (control click) on it and select the show file option to see the path to the currently active library - I find the column view the easiest to see the path
LN

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HT5664 how do you copy the iPhoto library to the hard drive

I copied some photos onto a DVD and my new iMac won't let me download them into iPhoto. I don't understand the instructions to download the iPhoto library into the hard drive. How do I do that? What do I do once that part is downloaded?

1. Drag it.
2. If you're moving loose files, open iPhoto and import or drag them into it. If you're moving an iPhoto library, double-click it.
(93079)

How do you move your iphoto library to an external hard drive--step by step because I dont even know the basics--Help!

I have no more space on my hard drive and my computer keeps freezing. I would like to move my 10,000 photos from IPHOTO to an external hard drive but dont know how to do it. I am reading answers to similiar questions but dont know how to do even the simplest instructions like "after you quit Iphoto how do you copy the iphoto library from our pictures folder to the external disk????" Ugghhh I have no idea how to do this. Please help a busy mom of three who sits here for an hour and just spins her wheels!!!

Make sure the external drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled), quit iPhoto, drag the iPhoto library to the external drive, depress the option key, launch iPhoto and use the select library command to select the iPhoto library on the external drive
Fully test the library. Once you are sure it is totally ok delete the old library - test one more time prior to emptying the trash
Check and make sure that your backup system is backing up yor external drive
LN

How do you export your iphoto library from a mac air to an external hard drive to free up space on the mac air

how do you export your iphoto library from a mac air to an external hard drive to free up space on the mac air

Go to Pictures folder and copy the library to the external drive. Then, open iPhoto holding Option key and select the library in your external disk. Finally, delete the library on Pictures

How can I move my iphoto Library to another hard drive?

I would like to move my iphoto library to another drive. I've already copied it to the other drive, do I now just delete it from the internal drive? If so how does iphoto know where to find the photos?

doug4747
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.
Regards
TD

Copying saved iphoto library from external hard drive back to Macbook Pro

Please help, I have accidentally managed to permanently delete my iphoto library and by this I mean that I somehow dragged my library into trash and then emptied it. I don't know how this happend but I quite quickly found out I had done it and shut my computer down. I have since done a recovery with disk drill and have hopefully recovered most of my photos though I havent had time to look through all the 1000's of photos yet. I do have a copied version of my library on an external hard drive that I did in 2012 and I have tried to copy this library back to my pictures folder so i at least have my photos up to 2012 back but it is not working. I have read through some of the threads on here regarding iphoto library back ups and I think the issue might be that the external hard drive is formatted Fat32 and not os extended.
I am hoping someone can help me get this working. Here are the facts.
1. I am running iphoto 11, version 9.2.3 on a macbook pro running os x 10.6.8
2. The copied iphoto library is on an external hard drive that is fat32 formatted. I can open the package contents and see the originals folder with all the yearly folders inside and all the numbered folders inside that with the pictures in them, so I know the pictures are there.
3. If I try to copy the library folder over to the pictures folder on the macbook i just get a pop up window saying 'preparing to copy iphoto library' and the scrolling bar but the copy doesn't actually start.
4. If I try to open the library through iphoto by holidng down the option key, iphoto tells me that the library has to be upgraded but i am reluctant to upgrade the original copy of the library. I would prefer to copy it first in case anything goes wrong but then i have the problem above that the copy doesn't work
Thank you in advance for any help.

The copied iphoto library is on an external hard drive that is fat32 formatted.
Therein lies the problem. iPhoto libraries need to be stored, placed on a disk formatted OS X Extended (journaled). The FAT format doesn't support the complexity of an iPhoto library and can, and more often than not, corrupt a library.
Try the following:
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
1 - download the free version of iPhoto Library Manager and launch.>Click on the Add Library button,
2 - select the library you want to add from those in the selection window.
3 - make sure that in the rebuild window the checkbox "Scavange orphaned photos" is checked.
4 - now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the Library ➙ Rebuild Library menu option
5 - in the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed, i.e. in the Pictures folder of your MBP. Click on the Create button.
Note 1: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments. However, books, calendars, cards and slideshows will be lost.
Note 2: Your current library will be left untouched for further attempts at a fix if so desired.
OT

Moving iPhoto library to Ext Hard Drive please help

Hi, I am moving from a Imac to Mac Book air. I copied the pictures folder on Imac to the External Hard drive. Plugged EHD into mac book air. Opened Iphoto and held down option key and then selected the libary on the EHD. Lots of activity on ext hard drive, but my pictures are not showing up in Iphoto. Any help would be really appreciated. Some priceless family photos I need to get access to. My Imac is no longer working, so I am going to be using the MacBOok air as my primary

I copied the pictures folder on Imac to the External Hard drive. Plugged EHD into mac book air. Opened Iphoto and held down option key and then selected the libary on the EHD. Lots of activity on ext hard drive, but my pictures are not showing up in Iphoto.
What are you seeing, when you are opening the iPhoto library in the copied Pictures folder? An empty iPhoto window? Error messages?
Is your external drive formatted MacOS X Extended (Journaled)?
Do you have the same versions of iPhoto on your iMac and new MBA? What are the versions?
Regards
Léonie

HT1338 how do you copy all deleted emails to external hard drive

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If they are "deleted" emails, shouldn't you just empty the Trash in Mail?
I don't think you can move the storage location of the data files used by the Mail app, because they are stored in the Library folder of your user home folder, which is located on the startup disk (the internal drive volume) by default. You can change the location of your entire user home folder, but you don't want to put it on an external drive volume, because there may be situations (especially for a MacBook) when the external drive is not connected.
If you have a lot of stuff in your iTunes library, you may want to move your iTunes Media folder to an external hard drive volume, as a way to free up space on the internal drive
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449

How do i copy my iphoto pics to a hard drive

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Assemble the photos you want to put on the EHD in an album. It can be a Smart Album with the criteria Rating is 5 stars or Keyword is "XXXX".
Select all of the photos in the smart album and export out of iPhoto via the File ➙ Export ➙ File Export menu option with the following settings:
That will export the photos to wherever you choose and put them in folders corresponding to the Events there are in.
When you're satisfied you have the image files safely on the EHD delete them from the Smart Album according to the following directions:
Deleting Photos from an iPhoto Library
1 - from an Event or the Photos mode: select the photo(s) and use the Delete key to move the photos to the trash bin. Then empty the iPhoto Trash bin as follows:
2 - from an album, smart album, book, slideshow, card, etc.: select the photo(s) and use the key combination of Command+Option+Delete to move the photos to the trash bin. Then empty the trash bin as above.
NOTE: deleting a photo from an album, slideshow, book, etc., with only the Delete key only deletes that photo from that item. Deleting a photo from an Event deletes ALL occurences of that photo in the library.

How do you transfer your play lists from one hard drive to another on the same computer?

I had itunes running on my old computer.
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Mac Pro Tower 2.0GHz Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Hi
Will Kappy's answer in this thread (link below) help?
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HT1751 how do you restore your playlists from the external hard drive after a crash

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I own a MacBook Pro and an iMac. How can I copy my iPhoto library from my MacBook to the iMac?

I own a 13" MacBook Pro and a 27" iMac and I have different iPhoto libraries for each one of them.
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1. By eirher a: renaming one of the Libraries or b: copying them to another folder
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3. Yes.

I just backed up my photos by copying my iPhoto Library onto an external drive. Now the Library on my MacBook won't open. I can only open the photos if the external is plugged in. How can I resolve this issue?

I just backed up my photos by copying my iPhoto Library onto an external drive. Now the Library on my MacBook won't open. I can only open the photos if the external is plugged in. How can I resolve this issue?

Exactly what did you do?
The correct steps are
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
My guess is that that you have not switched iphoto to use the external drive yet - opttion launch and select libary
LN

How to copy iPhoto library to external hard drive?

I have been trying to copy my iPhoto library to a Seagate external hard drive. I cannot seem to drag and drop the iPhoto library from a Finder box across to the external hard drive. The hard drive has enough space/capacity to hold the library contents but will not allow me to drag and drop. Any tips?

Not without more information - what happens - what errors do you get - if the external drive formatted Mac OS extended (journaled)?
This procedure has been used thousands of times successfully
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

How do you copy your iphoto library to ext. hard drive?

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