Iphoto backups - not with time machine

So, I've backed up my entire photo library, but not with time machine - I've just copied it over to my external disk. Now, I've removed about two-thirds of the pictures off the Macbook hard drive to make space. My problem is this: I can't actually look at the backups I've made with iphoto.
You ask iphoto to 'browse backups' + it goes into time machine, no good. You can look at the 'package contents' through finder, but that's hardly ideal either.
How on earth do I browse the backups I've just made? I know they're sitting right there on my external drive, but I can't look at them with iphoto...
Thanks,
pog

Pogman
Welcome to the Apple user to user assistance forums
As you noted the iPhoto "browse backup" command is specifically to browse Time Machine backups
You want to use iPhoto to look at your backup - launch iPhoto while depressing the option (alt) key and use the select library function
iPhoto will remain pointed to that library until you do an option launch again to change it
LN

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From here > http://pondini.org/OSX/DU.html
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telwell wrote:
Can I connect my Click Free portable hard drive backup to my Intel IMac running Lion, and use time machine and not the Click Free backup software? I'm guessing I might have to erase the software from the ClickFree drive. This ClickFree hard drive is for Mac as well as Windows.
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The account name is shown in the left column of the info window. Click the + to add an account.
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Whitecity wrote:
So my secure note in keychain access got deleted somehow
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Hi.
I have a time capsule, and a small USB HD connected to it.
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It's so convenient.
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I could mount it and back it up to my laptop, which in turn would be backed-up by Time Machine for example (I don't know how to do it).
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Welcome to Apple Discussions, alexfromfrance in Shanghai .
As long as the USB HDD is formatted in HFS+, Time Machine will recognize it and ask if you want to use it as a back up for TM if you plug the drive into a USB port on your Mac. If asked, you should click NO. Under TM Preferences, you should click Options and see if this drive is EXCLUDED. If so, uncheck it.
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I use iPhoto constantly and I use a 2TB Time Capsule with Time Machine on and nothing omitted from it's back ups.
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Summary:
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I bought the best MacBook Pro money could by with 8GB of RAM so I could have multiple applications open for my design work which can sometimes have me grinding away for hours, if not days on multiple projects, all using iPhoto and Photoshop.
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Dear Joel, I'm not an expert but I believe that it is simply impossible backing up something on progress; in other words since TM works through an incremental back up of the file, I think it's mandatory to stop working on a file before the copy of it is performed, that's to say you must close iPhoto.

I just had to reformat the external hard drive that houses my iPhoto library, then restore it from a backup. Now Time Machine is telling me my backup hard drive suddenly does not have the space to complete a backup. I also noticed when I go in to Time Mac

I just had to reformat the external hard drive that houses my iPhoto library, then restore it from a backup. Now Time Machine is telling me my backup hard drive suddenly does not have the space to complete a backup. I also noticed when I go in to Time Machine, there are only about 5 backups recorded on the ext. hard drive. There were many more before. Any idea what happened and if I have to buy a new back up hard drive?

Hallo Kieth ,
I am not quite ready to restore the full iphoto library , as I have days of work re - imputting titles,descriptions and enhancement . I hope that your suggestion works , as I use my Macbook basically to work with digital photography. Through time , I will need to delete my library to recover more disc space and I would hate to have to spend more time re - imputting titles and descriptions all over again .
Thanks for your interest and advice.
regards - Alan

Iphoto backups - *not* with time machine

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Iphoto backups - not with time machine