I can not move iPhoto library to external

I cleared out (formatted) a WD HD and want to use it for my external iPhoto library. My Macbook Pro is not big enough to house 400GB of photos. When I select iPhoto library from pictures and drag it to my HD it has a little xed out white circle. Can anyone tell me why this will not let me move the library?

I just did a windows format since I could not do anything on my Mac. Looking up how to format a HD for a Mac was helpful and I am now moving my photo library YEAH!! Thanks!

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Can't move iPhoto library to external drive

My poor little iMac only has 200 MB of hard drive space on it, so I need to make some room! I'd already moved my iTunes library from it last year, but I figured now I need to move my iPhoto library to my external hard drive too.
I went to Apple help for instructions, which said drag the iPhoto library folder to the hard drive. I couldn't find an icon that looked like a folder in Pictures, but I found an icon that said "iPhoto Library" so I moved that icon to my external hard drive. On the hard drive, the icon turned into a blank document icon. I put my iMac's iPhoto library in the trash, reopened iPhoto, selected "choose library" and tried to choose the iPhoto library that was on the external hard drive, but it was grayed out, so I couldn't! I went through all these steps several times.
Also, just for curiosity's sake, I double clicked on the iPhoto library blank icon on the external hard drive. It said it needed an application to work with it, so I tried to choose iPhoto, but that wasn't working either.
I have iLife '08, by the way. The hard drive is a 250GB WD. Can anyone tell me how to do this?

What is the size of the resulting file on the external HD? Also how is the external HD formatted? If it's one of the FAT formats for PCs that may be the problem. Try copying that file back to your desktop and see if it will reconvert back to a library. If that's the case, reformat the HD to OS X Extended (journaled).
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto 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), 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 08 libraries 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.

Can't read iPhoto library from external drive

I suddenly can't can't read iPhoto library from external drive. I have talked to WD and nohing is wrong with the network drive. I can open images and files from it. But, I can't read in iPhoto Library.

Network Drive? a NAS?
iPhoto needs to have the Library sitting on disk formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Users with the Library sitting on disks otherwise formatted regularly report issues including, but not limited to, importing, exporting, saving edits and sharing the photos.
Basically, you need to move the library to a correctly formatted disk.

If I Move iPhoto Library to External Drive Does It Keep Organized?

Can anyone tell me:
In iPhoto 09 8.2.1 if I take the time to organize, edit, "faces" "events" etc...and I move iPhoto to an External Harddrive, a Western Digital "My Book"...Does moved library stay edited, organized face tagged, etc?
Thanks

See this document how to format a drive for photo libraries: (it explains it for aperture, but it is done the same way for iPhoto)
Format external drives to Mac OS Extended before using with Aperture
Also if I do format the drive how will that effect what is already on there (not just photos but documents, etc)?
I thought you were buying a new drive to use with iPhoto. If there are already documents on the drive, you need to copy them temporarily somewhere else. Reformatting will erase a drive completely.
Disk Utility (it is in the "Utilities" folder in "Applications") will show you, if your drive needs formatting.
The left pane shows your disks and disk partitions, and the right pane lets you do useful things, like reformatting and repairing your drive.
If you select the drive in the left panel, you see the formatting in the footer of the panel.
Is your drive correctly formatted?

Can't Open iPhoto Library on External Hard Drive

Hi, please help!
I currently have 2 iPhoto libraries. 1 is on my external hard drive- and isn't recognized by iPhoto anymore. And the other is a newer one, on my internal hard drive.
Here's what I did:
I copied my entire iPhoto library to my external hard drive (it is a Seagate, Mac OS extended drive) a few months ago, and I went ahead and deleted my iPhoto library on my internal hard drive. Then I started importing new photos from my camera, and a new iphoto library was created automatically on my internal hard drive.
I tried to access photos from my old library yesterday by plugging my external hard drive in, and by hitting the "option" key when opening iphoto. Unfortunately, when I search for the library on my external HD, the only items that appear are music. None of my loose photos or my iphoto library are recognized by iPhoto.
Anyone have a fix for this? iPhoto doesn't recognize that any jpgs/photos are on my hard drive, but when I go through finder- I can see my library, as well as many other jpgs stored on my hard drive.

Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
Sounds like iPhoto is not seeing a valid database there.
Try these in order - from best option on down...
1. Do you have an up-to-date back up? If so, try copy the library6.iphoto file from the back up to the iPhoto Library (Right Click -> Show Package Contents) allowing it to overwrite the damaged file.
2. Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. This will create a new library based on data in the albumdata.xml file. Not everything will be brought over - no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your albums and keywords back.
Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one.
3. If neither of these work then you'll need to create and populate a new library.
To create and populate a new *iPhoto 08* 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. From the Originals folder 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

Move iphoto library to external drive...now what?

I copied my iphoto library over to my external drive and now I would like to delete my iphoto library. Before I do that, I want to know what to delete. The largest folder is called "originals" then i have a bunch of folders that are named years...etc. What should I delete? What should I not delete? Can I now copy my husband's iphoto folder to the same external folder so that we can share? We may just use one account on our imac for music and photos...too complicated to share.

Hi megan,
If you have launched iPhoto with the Option key and chose to open another library and chose the one on the external and everything is working fine, you can delete the entire iPhoto Library folder in your Pictures folder.
iPhoto is now using the library on the external.
You can copy your husbands to the external if you wish but it cannot have the same "iPhoto Library "name or it will replace yours when it is moved there.
If you want to merge the libraries though, you can use iPhoto Library manager (paid version)
the situation is a little more complicated and has different steps depending on what you want to do.
If you are wanting to use the same library I would purchase iPhoto library manager, use it to merge yours and your husbands library.
Copy the merged library to an external. To share this library, the external must be set to "ignore permissions"
Instructions are on the iPhoto Library Manger documentation link for sharing la library.
iPhoto Library Manager
iPhoto Library Manager documentation
this page will show you everything you can do with iPhoto Library Manager.

Move iphoto library to external drive

Hi everyone. I'm a first-timer here. I'm trying to free up space off my local hard drive and want to move an iphoto librabry to an expernal drive. When I do I get this message after more than an hour: "The Finder can’t complete the operation because some data in “File Name” can’t be read or written. (Error code -36)". I wonder what I can do to move the library? If it's a corrupt photo(s) or video(s) how can identify which one(s) is/are corrupt as there are literally thousands of photos and videos. Any help is appreciated. Cheers.

What format is the extrenal drive? How are you moving the iPhoto library?
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

Can't copy Iphoto library from external drive to hard drive

I have a 210 gig iphoto library that I am trying to copy from an external hard drive with 440 gig of avaliable space. I am getting a message say it can't copy because there is not enough space. The math doesn't add up

Try the following:
1 - run Disk Utility and repair disk permissions.
2 - launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
3 - Run Option #4, Rebuild Database, followed by Option #1.
4 - try dragging the library to your internal drive again.
OT

Can't read iPhoto library from external drive via airport extreme base stat

I can't seem to open my iPhoto library from my external USB drive that is hooked and being shared through my airport extreme base station. If I plug the external drive directly to my mac via USB it works but not when going through the base station.
This only started happening when I upgraded from iLife'06 to iLife'08.
Anyone have any ideas on how to fix?

That's a problem that many are posting about. Haven't read of a solution yet. Be sure to report the problem to Apple at: http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphoto.html.
Do you Twango?
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto 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 written an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger), 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 08 libraries. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

Can't open iphoto library from external hard drive

I'm backing up my enormous iPhoto library to two external hard drives in order to free up space on my computer. Before deleting the photos permanently from the laptop, I wanted to double-check that the copies of the library I made on the two externals would actually work on another computer, should something happen to my laptop. When I plug my external hard drive into my laptop and use option+click on iPhoto to choose which library I want to use, it opens up the library from the external just fine, no problems. However, when I plug the same external into a different Mac computer and do the same process, I get the immensely frustrating message of "You can't open photo library blah blah blah changes have been made using newer version of iPhoto". However, both my laptop and the second computer are running the exact same version of iPhoto (the most recent), so that can't (or at least shouldn't) be the problem. I found suggestions to rebuild the library, which I did, but the same result occurs. I double-checked to be sure that neither computer needed updates (they didn't).
When I plug one of the externals into the second computer, though, I can open up the package contents of iPhoto library and all the photos are visible, so I know the information is all there. But I don't want to lose my albums, etc.
So do I just delete the copies of my library from the externals and try it all over again? I'd prefer not to, since I have 40,000+ photos, and that takes a while.

To reinforce what Larry pointed out both Macs must be running the same version of iPhoto. And the external HD must be formatted as shown in this screenshot:
and don't forget the ignore ownership.
OT

Can't transfer iPhoto library to external drive

Hi guys,
Need some help here.
My hard disk ran out of space and I am trying to transfer all of my photos in iphoto library into my external hard drive, which I have been using for my PC. I tried dragging the library icon to my external drive icon, but I kept getting the "block" sign and it simply would not allow me to transfer the library.
I've attached the screen shot of this to help you better understand what's going on.
Can you PLEASE help?
Thanks!

what format is the external drive? If you used it with a PC it is incorrect for iPhoto - iPhoto must be on a drive formatted Mac OS extended (journaled)
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

Can't open iPhoto library on External HD

Saved photo library on iMac (iPhoto '08 version 7.1.5) to external HD (Mac OS Extended - journaled), it shows 50GB of photos saved, which is the correct size.
connected ext HD to MacBook Pro (Mavericks) running iPhoto 9.5.1.
Opened iPhoto while holding option key and switched from default library (on MBP) to library on external HD.
iPhoto opens new library but there are no photos only a yellow sticky note that asks to either connect a camera, drag files or import photos.
Used iPhoto Library Upgrader to update iPhoto '08 library but note said the library (on the external HD) did not need updating.
Any suggestions?

I dragged the iPhoto library from the Pictures folder to a WD EHD.
The iPhoto library from the iMac is backed up with Time Michine on a Lacie EHD. How do I rebuild the database on the WD EHD? When I open iPhoto while holding the option and commansd keys it opens the library on the iMac. It took 18 hours to move the library to the EHD and I would rather not have to do that again. I would rather rebuild the library on the EHD.
Thanks for your help.

Can't access iPhoto library on external hard drive (from Mavericks days) now that I'm running Yosemite on my Macbook.

I have an iPhoto library on an external hard drive (from when I had Mavericks), but now that I've upgraded to Yosemite, "Photos" won't open my iPhoto library. Ideas for how to import that iPhoto Library into Photos?

"Photos" won't open my iPhoto library. Ideas for how to import that iPhoto Library into Photos?
What is the file system of the external drive, and how is the drive connected? DO you get an error message? If yes, which message?
You can only open a library on a directly connected drive, formatted MacOS Extended (Journaled). If the drive is correctly formatted, hold down the alt/options key while you are launching photos, and then select your library from the Library Chooser Panel.
If the library is not listed in the panel, use the "Other Library" button.

Can i put iphoto library on external disk?

i'd like put my iphoto source library on an external disk to keep space free on my startup disk. i can do this in itunes pretty easily. having trouble finding a way to do it in i photo. is it possible? (i'm not talking about backing up, but putting the primary library on an external drive).

Mark
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

Move iPhoto library with external images to another computer &external disk

Hi guys,
I have just received my shiny new MacBook and now I want to move my iPhoto library from my "old" Mac mini to the new computer; to make things slightly more complicated, I have, for historic reasons, all my photos external to the iPhoto library on a hard drive called "Mobile". In addition, in the new environment the photos shall reside on yet another external drive which will be called Mobile3 ...
Any idea how I can achieve this ?
Many thanks, Jurgen
Mac mini, MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.8)
Mac mini Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Jurgen:
Welcome to the Apple Discussions. I think I know now you can do that.
1 - copy the iPhoto Library folder intact into the MacBook's Pictures folder.
2 - move the container folder for the "source" files to Mobile 3. Try to keep the path names as consistent as possible except for the HD name.
3 - open the library on the MB and double click on a thumbnail. When the window comes us to find the source file do so.
That should re-link all of the files in the library or at least in that roll. The worst case scenario would be do to that once for each roll. If you have the file path identical to the old HD except for the HD's name it should work.
In the event you have to create a new library and start fresh (unlikely) or want to just make sure your source file as permanently associated with the keywords and comments you're assigned in iPhoto try Tutorial #1.
Do you Twango?
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto 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 written an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger), 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. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

I can not move iPhoto library to external

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