Importing photos from an external hard drive to Photos app as albums

it is driving me nut. I have spent hours searching for an answer, but they are all about iphoto or aperture, which I dont have on my newly bought (April 2015) macbook pro.
I have 5GB photos on an external drive; they are in different folders named after events (2005.4.13bday, 2006.3.3hiking..etc).
How do I import them to Photos as albums that have the same names as folders?
I tried dragging them directly into the app, but they are not imported as albums; I won't have any clue what these photos are, only dates.
I tried File/import, but it doesn't allow me to as it can never finishing loading the photos (stops at 5000 photos).
Please help. much appreciated.

Re-start the Import. When it comes to the first duplicate it will ask you if you want to import or ignore the duplicate. In the same dialogue you'll have the opportunity to apply that decision to all duplicates.
Regards
TD

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Duplicated photos when importing pictures from an external hard drive

I've just bought a Macbook Air and am trying to import all of my photos from an external hard drive (I was previously using Windows 7).
I started off by importing them to iPhoto but lost all of my folders and found it hard to organise the pictures so then stopped doing that, deleted all the pictures and started again. My next attempt was to open 'Pictures' in the Finder window and I then dragged and dropped the folders of photos from my external drive into this window. The pictures all copied inside the folders but as well as the original photo it's also created another folder for each picture with the same name as the photo but ending in .files. Inside the file is two additional copies of each folder starting with the name 'vcm_s_'. One photo seems to be a high res version and the lower a low res version. See an example of this below:
Anyone have any idea why it's created these folders and how I stop it happening?
Thank you!

Thomas
Drag them to the iPhoto Window or use the File -> Import command.
Regards
TD

I imported my photos from an external hard drive into Lightroom, edited my photos but what next...?!

Adobe,
I imported my photos from an external hard drive into Lightroom, edited my photos and when i decided to export them the originals had not been updated and the deleted photos had not been deleted. How do i set it up so that once i import the photos, edit them and export they are then placed back in their original folder edited and updated?
I have managed to export the photos to another file but these were exported with an Adobe.xmp file. What is this and is this necessary?
Thanks for your help!

It's important to realise that LR is a DAM (Digital Asset Management) application - no images are actually imported into LR only links to where they are. Secondly, the details of any edits that you make to your images are kept only in the database and/or xmp files depending how you set this up in Preferences. In the general workflow e.g. edit in Lightroom, further edit in Photoshop and returning to LR then creating xmp files aren't really necessary. So just to emphasise - edits are stored in the LR's database, the original RAW images themselves don't change (non destructive editing). You can prove this yourself by desaturating an image (turning it into a B+W) and then look at the original images in Explorer - you'll see it's still being shown in colour.
Exporting an image is something different. By implication, you've finished with the image and perhaps want to save an image for posting on the web somewhere. Now assuming your not using any additonal and freely available LR export plug-ins, one way would be to Export a jpeg image to a folder on the desktop and this is allowed for in the Export dialogue. At this time LR reads any edits from it's database and applies those to the exported jpeg (or tiff) file it's going to send to the folder on the desktop.
As mentioned earlier, any edits and keywords etc are stored in LR's database - original RAW files remain untouched. XMP files also store the edits if LR is set up to create xmp files (in Preferences) but these are not really necessary unless you are going to be editing an already edited RAW file in another application. As an example - you import into LR's library a scanned negative. Now because strictly speaking LR isn't designed to work with negative images, you now open this file via Bridge into ACR and from here reverse the negative into a positive image. All fine and good except when you go back into LR what's shown is still a negative so what is needed is to update the metadata (LR > Metadata > Read Metadata from file) which will force LR to read the newly created metadata from the xmp file that Bridge generated. As already suggested, if you're happy editing your RAW files in LR and only LR then xmp files aren't really necessary - all the data being saved in LR's database.
Hope this has been of some help but if I might also suggest, purchasing a good book on LR from the outset thus getting to really know LR will pay dividends further on down the line.

HT204259 iPhoto library imported into Photos from an external hard drive

Although I've imported my iPhoto library into Photos from an external hard drive, I cannot access them unless the external hard drive is connected to my laptop. I thought Photos was supposed to save what I import into the Photos Library on my laptop hard drive. What am I doing wrong?

Although I've imported my iPhoto library into Photos from an external hard drive, I cannot access them unless the external hard drive is connected to my laptop. I thought Photos was supposed to save what I import into the Photos Library on my laptop hard drive. What am I doing wrong?

How do i import bootcamp from a external hard drive

Hello, I have a 2007 24 inch 2.8ghz 7.1 intel imac, I have just upgraded my internal hard drive from a 500gb seagate barracuda to a 1.5tb western digital caviar green. I have a external usb 3.0 sata hard drive enclosure that has the original 500gb hard drive in it. I have succesfully imported my mac osx from the external 500gb drive to the new internal 1.5tb drive. I have partitioned the new internal hard drive for bootcamp but I can not figure out how or if I can import bootcamp from the external to the internal drive. When I boot up it shows my new mac osx hdd and the external usb mac osx hdd but no bootcamp. I know I cant boot windows from an external hard drive but can I import it from a external hard drive? Thank you in advance, Dave.

Try this link, http://www.libbyh.com/2008/01/17/cloning-my-boot-camp-partition-to-a-new-hard-dr ive/

How I can transfer photos from an external hard drive to my mac?

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I need help on how to transfer photos from an external hard drive (sumsung make) to my mac? If possible can you please tell me step by step, and also how I can post a video that was taken from my iPhone to facebook. It keeps telling me my video is being encoded, and then could not process. I must be dunce really. Your help is greatly appreciated.

What files are they? Is it a clone, a TM backup, or simply drag 'n drop?
If it's the latter, simply drag them back. If something else, please post back with detailed info.

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I imported files from an external hard drive to Itunes on a new computer. they imported & play fine, but the ratings & playlists are gone & i am unable to update any info. I found a file name playlist on old drive & imported now most files are missing!

I imported files from an external hard drive to Itunes on a new computer. they imported & play fine, but the ratings & playlists are gone & i am unable to update any info. I found a file name playlist on old drive & imported now most files are missing! Help!

Can you locate the iTunes Library.itl file on the old drive? Ideally you would have simply copied over the entire iTunes folder structure from <User's Music> on the old computer into <User's Music> on the new one to transfer the library will all playlists, ratings, play counts etc. intact.
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How to import music from an external hard drive to my itunes on my computer?

how can import music from an external hard drive that i saved my itunes music to. i dragged the music from my hard drive to the itunes on my computer but the music does not play from my itunes. it does however play on my ipod. it gives me an error that the original can not be found and do i wish to locate it. i am thinking that i did not drag the right file or all of the files necessary .thanks. kevin

To import music into your iTunes library on the computer go to iTunes>Help>iTunes Help>Add items to iTunes and follow the instructions

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Importing music FROM an external hard drive

My dance studio has an external hard drive with over 15,000 songs in MP3 format, and I would like to be able to put some of those songs on an iPod. My problem: I do not want double copies of my 15,000 songs (one copy in the external hard drive and one copy in iTunes) as that would take up A LOT of computer space. Space I don't have. I have recently installed iTunes on the studio computer (preferring the program for my personal music), is there a way to import the songs from my external hard drive into my iTunes library with out making two copies of each song (in different formats as explained earlier)? Can you "tell" iTunes to find its music in an external hard drive?

Check your iTunes Preferences. Go to Edit>Preferences>Advanced and see if you have "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library" checked. If you haven't then all you did was add a reference to the original location (the external drive) to iTunes without copying the song files them selves. With the external drive disconnected iTunes can no longer locate the file to play from. If that's the case you'd need to delete the songs from iTunes, change preference and add the songs over again.

Importing Itunes from my external hard drive

I had a Macbook with my itunes music on it. Unfortunately, it was owned by my employers, so I had to return it when I changed jobs. I put all of my music files onto an external hard drive. I got my new Dell computer and am trying to import my music from my external hard drive to my new dell. The message reads that "The song cannot be used because the original file can't be found. Would you like to find it?" Interestingly, the music plays when my external hard drive is plugged in. Can anyone help me? My music is all legit....no illegal downloads....its all from my own cd library or itunes. I am so frustrated

It appears that you did not have "Copy to iTunes Music folder when adding to library" checked in Edit>>Preferences>>Advanced>>General when you added the tracks to your library.
(It might as well to look and see how you have this set).
So the library just contains a pointer to the external drive - so the tracks can only be found if the drive is pugged in.
If I have guessed right, consolidating your library will copy the files across into your iTunes Music folder. But be aware that it will do the same thing to any other music in your library but not in the iTunes Music folder.

How do I manage and catalogue photos from an external hard drive

My new laptop is fast, but does not have a huge amount of storage. Therefore, the store advised I keep the photos on an external hard drive However, when I am in elements and want to have my list of folders - under folders - so I can then catalogue them - it keeps asking me to import the photos.

Drag the folder containing them there in the Finder. If you're dragging an iPhoto library and not a collection of loose photos, it needs to be put on a drive, partition, or disk image formatted as Mac OS Extended.
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Can't get LR3 to import photos from one external hard drive to another?

I'm wanting to move thousands of raw photos from a folder in one external hard drive to another folder in a different external hard drive so all my photos are in one photo folder instead of two. I've gone through the importing routine inside of lightroom to move the folder over to the new hard drive. However, the photos don't move because they still show up on the old hard drive and not the new one. What's weird is when I try to import it again, the grid view shows all the photos I'm wanting to import and when I move my cursor over any of the photos they are faded out and it says the photos are already imported. However, if this is true why aren't they showing up in the new folder on my new external hard drive? I know the new external hard drive works fine because I've successfully been putting all my newer photos there since I started using LR about one year ago. The one's I'm trying to move over are older photos I shot try to using LR.
I'm stumped and need some help. Thanks in advance.

You wrote
"Are you saying while I'm in LR just grab the folder I want to move and drop it into the new hard drive"
Yes, that's the way to move photos & folders from within LR.
LR will then update its catalog with the new location and everything should be fine.
Importing is not a good way for moving photos / folders. Since the photos are already in the catalog you had to uncheck <Don't import suspected duplicates> or all the photos will be greyed-out in the import dialog. If you did that LR would import the photos from drive A and put it on drive B. But they would still be on drive A, so you'd have the photos on both drives and would have to delete them on drive A.
But more important: By default LR saves all edits in the catalog, they are not saved with the images themselves. That means by doing an import instead of a drag-and-drop move you'd lose your edits.
You can save your edits to xmp, a side-car file that is stored together with the image file, and the xmps would be imported. But LR does not store everything as xmp. For instance Virtual Copies, Collections, Stacking are saved only in the catalog, so by doing an import you'd lose these things.
Unless you know LR very well, it's best to use the Import Feature only for images that are NOT yet in LR.
And another thing: Before doing major operations like moving big amounts of photos, it's best to backup your catalog first.
WW

Can I undo an errant import of photos from an external hard drive?, Can I undo an errant import of photos from an external hard drive?

I'm desperate. I recently purchased a new iMac to store our 50,000 plus photos, many large files from our DSLR camera. I previously stored them on a Maxtor hard drive linked to a very early MacBook Pro, purchased in Jan. 2006. Photo organization and storage was a persistent headache on that machine, so I hoped that housing the photos locally would help. It didn't. I imported the entire external hard drive library after creating a new local library to house them on the iMac and they are completly disorganized. Prior unedited photos have reemerged. Chronology is lost. I basically have 50K photos and no organization at all. Short of returning the iMac is there a way out of this mess?

Hard to say since you really give no details
It sounds like you may have had an iPhoto library on your external drive and imported that into your new iPhoto -- NEVER import an iPhoto library into another iPhoto library - it does not work
If this is what you did drag the bad iPhoto library to the desktop until you finish fixing things, connect the external drive and drag the iphoto library to the pictures folder of the new Mac and launch iPhoto - it will convert the library as needed and you will be in business - once you are sure everything is ok drag the bac library on the desktop to the trash and empty the trash
LN

Importing photos from an external hard drive to Photos app as albums

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