HT204476 Can I delete my iPhoto Library after migrating to Photos?

My iPhoto Library is about 450 GB in size. This morning I migrated it to Photos. After a reboot my Mac started complaining that I have no disk space left (I have a 1 TB drive in my MacBook Pro). It appears that the Photos migration process duplicated my iPhoto Library and I now have two photo libraries, each measuring 450 GB, based on looking at the Finder's Info windows for each library. But I understand there's some fancy, convoluted new file storage methodology being used with the new Photos library, so I'm not clear on precisely where my actual, precious photo files are.
My compulsion is to just delete the old iPhoto Library, since I've migrated to Photos and I won't be using iPhoto anymore. But there's this niggly feeling that Apple had made it more complicated than that, that I now must have an iPhoto Library and a Photos library taking up space on my hard drive and totally confusing my file management practices. I was hoping this transition would be easy, clear, and safe but Apple has made it complicated and worrisome for some reason.
Bottom line: can I delete my old iPhoto Library? Or would this be a catastrophic action?

I have the exactly the same problem. But when upgrading it created in total three libraries?!!!? This is very unlike Apple to do this. What to do?

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Can i delete my iPhoto library (since I have Photos)?

Now that I've upgraded to Photos, can I delete my iPhoto library in User/Pictures? With Photos, it created a parallel (same size) Photos library next to my iPhoto library. Not sure I want two of the same photos on my HD and backups (since the size is considerable). It made my SugarSync go over its limit, for instance. I know that keeping the iPhoto library enables me to click on it specifically and open up the photos in iPhoto (instead of Photos). If I delete my iPhoto library, just keeping my new Photos library with the same photos and movies, will it be detrimental in any way to my seeing the photos in Photos? Does Photos have any dependence on the iPhoto library, or is the iPhoto library just an archive at this point? Thank you!

With Photos, it created a parallel (same size) Photos library next to my iPhoto library.
The size you are seeing in the Finder is misleading. The new Photos Library and the iPhoto Library are sharing the image files and each photo is stored only one, see: Photos saves disk space by sharing images with your iPhoto or Aperture libraries - Apple Support
Also: http://sixcolors.com/post/2015/02/the-hard-link-between-photos-and-iphoto/
You could delete the iPhoto Library and the Photos library will continue to work, but deleting the iPhoto Library will not free much disk space, because of the hard links from Photos. I would wait a bit, before taking this step and deleting the iPhoto Library. Check your photos library thoroughly, before you delete if.
If you should discover later, that the migration of your libraries has been faulty and you need to repeat it after repairing your libraries, you will be out of luck.
Remember, it is is just a few days after the first release of Photos as version 1.0. There are very likely some bugs and I would not burn all bridges before the library has been thoroughly tested and you are very confident, that this early Photos release is working well on your Mac.

What to do with old iPhoto library after migration to Photos

After migration to Photos my hard drive is maxed out. I want to move the 15gigs old iPhoto library to an external drive to free some space as some have suggested. Others here have said you can just trash the old library. There must be a reason 10.10.3 was designed to retain the iPhoto library. Trash it--really? Another suggestion was to put my 15 gigs on a flash drive. So the question is: does Photos need to be able to see the iPhoto library as it would if on an external drive connected to my Time Machine?

Thanks for your reply but I'm still confused as to how I lost over 10Gigs of HD space after the migration. I understand the conversion is supposed to create more space, not less. When I look in the pictures folder in Finder, I see 2 LIbrarys, iPhoto and Photos, each of them approx 15 Gbs. according to the Get Info menu. I guess what I don't understand is if the iPhotos Library is not needed and is moved to an external drive why that wouldn't free that amount of space.
Also, if "optimization" is supposed to move "some" high res images to the cloud to make room on the HD, how is it that I find myself with only 1gb left on my HD? What is the criteria that triggers "optimization" and how much room can we expect it to shoot for? There seems to be a variety of answers on this subject, many of them sound like guesses. Apple's explanation is vague about how it works, so hopefully someone has the accurate, in depth scoop on this.

Can I delete my iphoto library?

Folks, I upgraded from Iphoto to Aperture. Ive moved the Iphoto library to Aperture...can I safely delete the iphoto library now so as to save space on my hard disk? thank you.

As Kimmba alluded to it depends on how you imported the masters into Aperture.
When you run File->Import->iPhoto Library you are given a few choices of what to do with the masters. The most import option is Store Files:, this determines where the masters go.
If you chose In the Aperture Library then it should be safe to delete the iPhoto Library.
I always recommend to new users that they keep there iPhoto Library for some period of time after switching just to make sure everything went as expected. This way if you should need to, you could wipe the Aperture library and start from scratch (except of course for any new images imported only into Aperture). It's very rare that you get the desired Aperture structure right on the first attempt and while you could rearrange things in Aperture it sometimes is easier to just start over.
Of course it's always best to make a backup of the iPhoto Library and keep it safe before deleting it no matter what else you do.
regards

I can't access my iPhoto library after downloading osx maverick

I recently installed OSX maverick, and now I can't get into iPhoto library. The message I get is this, "You can’t use this version of the application “iPhoto” with this version of OS X. You have “iPhoto” 9.2.1" . I'm not very technical so apologies if there is an obvious answer to this. Thanks.

This screenshot shows which previous versions of iPhoto are compatible with Mavericks. It also indicates which versions qualify for a free upgrade to iPhoto 9.5.1 and which require a purchase:
Note 1: every day more users are reporting problems with iPhoto 8.1.2 so I've included it in the non compatible category.
Note 2: If your previous version of iPhoto was iPhoto 7 (08) or earlier you'll need to download and run the iPhoto Library Upgrader 1.1 application on the library before opening it with iPhoto 9.5.1

I have deleted the iphoto library and lost my photo's......

i have deleted the iphoto library and cleared my trash and now all my photo's are gone. I have bought software to retrieve deleted data but not sure what file I am looking for. Can anybody help?

best solution is to restore yoru backup form before you made this error - that is the reason you must always have a good backup
If you don't you should start backing up immediately
to use the photos you recovered you look for photos (typically they have a .jpg or .jpeg extention to the name - and select the largest version of each photo and import it into iPhoto
Note that for not much more that the cost of the data recovery software you could have had an extrnal hard drive and been running TimeMachine so none of this would be required
LN

If I use a backup machine that has a folder of my iphoto library, can I delete my Iphoto library without the machine updating and deleting the photos as well?

Hey everyone, I have a Lacie 1 TB back up machine that I use to backup every once in a while everything I have in my macbook pro.
I don't know if there's a difference between a hard disk in which you save whatever you want or a back up machine that backs up whatever you have in your computer once you connect it, so, My question is the following:
Having backed up my Iphoto (I checked if there's a folder in the machine with all my photos), can I now get rid of all my photos in the laptop so there's more space? If I delete my photos (in Iphoto), does the back up machine automatically update its folders and delete my saved iphoto contents as well?
Thank you!
I'm doing this because my laptop is running really slow lately and makes a lot of noise (like an airplane getting ready for take off) even though I've used it for a year.
I use a Macbook pro 15''
OS X Version 10.8.4
processor: 2.2 GHz intel core i7
Memory 8GB 1067 MHz DDR3
Startup disk : macintosh HD

Okay:
Except an arrow turning in circle near the ''wireless'' or ''sound'' symbols on the top of the screen. If I click on it, I see ''enter time machine'', ''back up now'', ''open time machine preferences''.
You're using Time Machine to back up to the External Disk.
Back to your first question:
Having backed up my Iphoto (I checked if there's a folder in the machine with all my photos), can I now get rid of all my photos in the laptop so there's more space?
No.
Time Machine keeps a rolling back up of your data. Eventually, anything you delete from your Mac will be deleted from iPhoto too.
If space is an issue then get another HD. They're not expensice and you can put your iPhoto Library on it.
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

Iphoto 11 on MT Lion can not find my iphoto library after a a hard drive replacement and restore from time machine...HELP

I have an iMac with the recalled seagate drives and I have everything backed up on Timecapsule and on Carbonite. I also copied all my photos to a file prior to having the hard drive replaced. The merge back to the mac worked well except that now iphot can't locate my library. In iphoto 11 they moved it out of the pictures file and it is hidden. Does anyone know how to find it so I don't have to reorganize 20,000 pictures?
Thank you!

In iphoto 11 they moved it out of the pictures file and it is hidden.
They didn't, I'm afraid. The iPhoto Library is still stored in the Pictures Folder by default, and it's not hidden.
Can you see it in Time Machine?

I can not delete an iPhoto library album on iPhone 5

on my iPhone 5, in photos, I have under 3 albums, the Camera RollI with 2613 pix, an Photo Library folder with 522 pix and a Iphoto Library folder with 518 Pix. The contents of the Photo Library folder and Iphoto Library folders are almost identical except for 4 pictures. I would like to delete the entire two library folders on the phone to safes pace but do not know how to. There is no delete/waste basket button when I open any of the pictures in htese folders. Pictures from the camera roll folder have a delete/waste basketet button to delete any of picture, but not such button in the library folders. How do I get rid of pictures in these twolibrary folders?

the problem is that these two library folders do not show up in iphoto on the desk top when i sync the phone via cable connection. they are on my phone only. The pictures exist in iphoto on the desk top but the folders Iphoto library and Photo Library do not exisit in iPhoto on the desk top nor are they visible in Iphoto on the desk top when I sync the iphone via cable.

What to do with your iPhoto library after "upgrading" to Photos?

I just updated OS 10.10.3 (Yosemite) and saw the Photos app installed. Also, the iPhoto app's icon is gone from the dock, but the app still remains the application folder. I started the Photos App and went through the library transition. My library is very larger, around 172 GB. Now that I have Photos installed, can I remove the iPhoto app and its library or do I need to keep because I now have a Photos library and an iPhotos library. I do get nervous about deleting libraries, so any advice or warnings would be nice. Thanks.

Keep it for now. Photos saves disk space by sharing images with your iPhoto or Aperture libraries - Apple Support.

How can I save the iPhoto library ( ie all current photos) to another media / HD and maintaing the access to it

I am struggling with the export features of iPhoto:
- That is for the mac, (but also for iOs7 on the iPad would be interesting)
1/ how to generate a backup ( from the iPhoto library) -
- just rename it and then copy it to another device / HD ?
2/ what is the recommended procedure, to have several Photo - Collections, ( iPhoto libraries)
and then to switch between them.
Thx in advance

iPhoto for Mac
Back up:
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.
Example of such apps: Chronosync - but there are many others. Search on MacUpdate or the App Store
Switching between Libraries:
Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library'
or
File Menu -> Switch to Library
or
Double click on your preferred Library.
There is no recommendation to have multiple libraries. They're inconvenient.
iPhoto for iOS:
The iPhoto for iOS forum is here
https://discussions.apple.com/community/app_store/iphoto_for_ios
Regards
TD

How can I open my iPhoto library after I installed a new HD?

My hard disk crashed. I got a new one installed. Now, when I sync my iPhone or open iPhoto I get:
"You can't open your photo library using this version of iPhoto.
You have made changes to your photo library using a newer version of iPhoto. Please quit and use the latest version of iPhoto."
Can this only be fixed by reinstalling Maverick? When I first installed it, my computer slowed down to 80% its usual speed and I saw no benefit.
Can I install the new version of iPhoto without having to install Maverick? If so, where can I find it to download it?
Take Care,
Mick J Rogers, LCSW
...........0
.......(_)>(_)
"One person with a vision can change a town; two people who share a vision can change the world."
Cicely of Northern Exposure
System Version:          Mac OS X 10.7.5
<E-mail Edited by Host>

Ok, here it is:
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                    Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB
          MATSHITADVD-R   UJ-898
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Mick Rogers, LCSW BCD
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"One person with a vision can change a town; two people who share a vision can change the world."
Cicely of Northern Exposure
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Imported iPhoto library, can I delete the iPhoto events?

Hi,
I'm very new to Aperture, so far I'm impressed.
I have imported my iPhoto library and now I see a folder called 'iPhoto Lirary' that contains 'Events' and then events (that look like Aperture projects).
The question is, can I delete the 'iPhoto Library' folder?
and also, can I, delete the Aperture projects without impacting the actual pictures?
Thanks!!

Gecko,
The library is the humongous collection of files and relationships between the files -- it is the Aperture database, stored in a Mac OS "Package". It's the thing you "open", like you open a document or spreadsheet to see what you've previously stored in it.
A Project is a logical group of photos within a library. Aperture allows you to create as many projects as you like within your library, and you can store as many photos as you like within each project (although some users here have found poor performance with 2000+ photos in a single project).
What I wasn't clear with was, are the photos stored in the library and files I see in a Project are 'sortcuts' to the photos in the library?
I suppose that depends on your point of view concerning referenced versus managed. I prefer to think that all my photos are part of the Aperture library, but only the managed masters are actually stored within the library. With that line of thinking, all of my photos in a project are the actual photos - some of them are stored within the library (managed) and some are stored outside (referenced). When I think of "shortcuts", I think of albums. Albums in Aperture are like playlists in iTunes. A photo lives in one project in your library, but you can point to that photo in a many different albums. Aperture doesn't take up extra space in each of the albums; rather it just points back to (is a short cut to) the photo in a project.
If I Import into a Project, are the photos stored in the Library?
You should make sure you read about masters versus versions. It's hard to talk about how Aperture works (with even an innocuous sounding question like yours) without understanding masters versus versions. Master photos are stored in the library package if they are managed; they are stored where you tell Aperture to store them if they are referenced. Versions aren't really stored anywhere -- they are virtual, merely a set of instructions on how to manipulate (adjust) a master. However, thumbnails and previews for all photos are stored within the library.
Aperture tries to minimize the necessity to know if your photos are references or managed -- it really should not matter since Aperture is keeping track of them all. With Aperture, that distinction between managed and referenced is relevant in only 2 conditions: only managed masters are backed up when you create a vault; and only masters which are immediately accessible can be edited with adjustments. For the latter, that means that 1) all managed photos, and 2) only referenced photos which are on a drive which is currently connected to your system, are available for adjustments.
nathan

How can I access my iPhoto library folder?

My hard drive recently had to be replaced, and when they replaced it, they updated to OSx 10.9. I had not backed up my photos before my hard drive crashed, but they backed up all my files for me. I went to open my iphoto library from the backup files and as a new (to me) version of iphoto 11 opened, I got a message saying that it had to update the photos in my library in order for them to be compatible with this version of iPhoto and that after updating them, I'd no longer be able to read them on an older version of iphoto. I clicked ok. It only imported 9 photos (out of several thousand). I went to finder and tried to open the iphoto library folder (which contains the library file and the cache, etc.), but the folder will not open. Instead, when I click to open the library folder, it brings up iphoto, as though to indicate that my library is there. Did I somehow unknowingly overwrite my library or something?? Any ideas why I can't access my iphoto library? Are my photos gone?
I'm stupid so I don't have copies of the photos anywhere else. I don't have Time Machine or anything. Did I irreversibly screw up??

I didn't think to check what photos were there or what the library size was before trying to import at first. How do I restore my backup of the iphoto library? (sorry if that's a stupid question). I checked in the Masters folder and only saw a few of my photos (the same ones that were imported to iphoto).
I definitely know it was a mistake not to have a backup of the photos. It'll be the first thing I do if I can get them back. The mistake I was referring to in my initial post was clicking "ok" when it asked to update---but from what you're saying it sounds like that wouldn't have deleted anything.
I'm thinking maybe the backup is not complete (even though I asked the tech people 5 times if it was!), because I checked the imovie events folder, and it's also empty (and it definitely shouldn't be)! If this turns out to be the case, I may have to go back to the repair place to see if they can still pull files off.

Cant find my iTunes library after migration from old PC to new Mac

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HT204476 Can I delete my iPhoto Library after migrating to Photos?

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