IPhoto library moved to external HD

I moved my iPhoto library to an external drive to free up space on my mac HD. Now the projects I've made and shared on youtube, that have iPhoto videos in them can't be found, so I get a message that they will show up as blank frames. I am able to see the iPhoto videos in the Event library under "Macintosh HD".
Also, I noticed that with iMovie 09 you can store both events and projects on the hard drive. How do you move the projects to the hard drive? Anyone know if there is there an update for iMovie coming out soon?
Thanks

this may help, I've tried it but haven't checked my screen saver to see if it can find all the photos
Posts: 38,678
From: Ireland
Registered: Sep 1, 2004
Re: Moving iPhoto to external drive
Posted: Jan 8, 2010 8:18 AM in response to: Muppetchile
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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
MacBook Pro 15 2.4 C2D / iMac 20" 2.66 C2D Mac OS X (10.6) 4 gig RAM/ 4 gig RAM

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IPhotos Movies won't load after iPhoto Library moved to external harddrive

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I think I might need to back up ---- So I had a failing hard drive, went to Apple and purchased Disk Warrior. Installed Disk Warrior and tried to recover everything from my hard drive. Then all that was recovered was supposedly moved to my external hard drive. I have now received my computer back with the new hard drive. I plug in my external hard drive and have been trying to move all my images from the external hard drive to iphoto. In both places (external HD and when the photos are imported), the image is at the lower dimensions.
Thanks for your time.

I´ve moved the iphoto library to an external hard drive. Now I want to create space on my macbook by deleting the iphoto-files from the internal iphoto.. How do I do this?

My macbook has been telling me that it is running out of space. Therefore I moves the iphoto library to an extarnal hard drive. How do I free space on my macbook now? If I erase the files/library (I don´t now witch of them?) from the internal hard drive, will they still be there on the external one?

Moving iPhoto Library - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1229. and http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2506.
First, set up finder to show your external drive on the desktop. To do this, click finder in your dock, then click the word finder beside the apple. Select preferences. When the preferences window opens, select the "general" tab, and under "show these items on the desktop" ensure you check off "external disks"
Connect an external drive. You should see an icon appear on the desktop.
In order to move an iPhoto Library to this external drive, the drive must be formatted for a mac. To check the format of the drive, open up disk utility (applications / utilities). In the disk utility window, you will see the external drive on the left. Select it. Then go to the "erase" tab. This tab will show the current format of this drive. It must be "Mac OS Extended Journaled", or the iPhoto Library will not allow you to move it to that drive.
As long as it is formatted correctly, simply click finder in the dock and go into your pictures folder. Here you should see your iPhoto Library. Simply drag the Library to the external drives icon on the desktop. This will start to copy. It may take some time to copy the library to the drive.
Once the copy is finished, you can then drag the iPhoto Library in the pictures folder, to the trash.

I moved my iPhoto library to a external hard drive to free up space on my iMac per instructions, but the library is still on my iMac so I don't have much room left. How do I get rid of the all the contents of my library on my iMac so just on backup drive

As per Apple instructions, I moved my iPhoto library to an external hard drive so that I could free up space on my full iMac. However, I was not told the last step in the process -- How do I get the iPhoto library off my iMac so I free up that memory?

And after deleting the old Library, you should start up iPhoto while holding down the Option key in order to force iPhoto to let you select your iPhoto Library that is on your external hard drive. If you start up iPhoto the usual way, it will just create a new, blank iPhoto Library in your /users/yourusername/Pictures folder on your iMac's internal hard drive.

HT1229 Moving my IPhoto library to my external hard drive Seagate 1.5TB

My computer is an IMac late 2006. She's been running really slow and erratic. My IPhoto has over 5K photos which may be the culprit.
I have a Seagate External hard drive with 1.5 TB capacity with very little data stored. I would like to move my IPhoto library to my external hard drive, to improve the performance of my computer. I am unable to locate my external hard drive even though it is connected to the IMac. Can some one help?
Shaiboy48

Suer as long as it is 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
I am not sure what this mean
I am unable to locate my external hard drive even though it is connected to the IMac
LN

Moving iphoto library to an external drive

i want to move my iphoto library to an external drive to free up space. i've copied my library to the new drive. i hold down the option key when launching iphoto and when i try to select the new librbary, iti isn't highlighted/clickable. any suggestions?

but when i hold option key, the only photo library that comes up is the one on my internal hard drive.
In that case try clicking on the Choose button, navigate to the USB drive and select the library there:
OT

Moved my iphoto library to an external drive and now I can't import photos from my camera or iPhone - will only import previously impoted photos - why?

Anyone else had this problem? Anyone know how to fix it?
I haven't deleted my photos of my computer's hard drive yet so can go back to using that if it will fix my problem
Thanks

No that is not a problem and no one has reported it here
to change the library depress the option key and launch iPhoto and use the select library command - see if the behavior is the same on both frives
How did you move the iPhoto library to the external drive?
What format is the external drive?
LN

I was trying to move iphoto library to my external hardrive, realised it was incompatible with Mac. The iphoto will not open now, message is "Iphoto library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable". I have read other posts.

Hi,
I was trying to save a copy of my iphoto library by copying images to my external harddrive. I wasn't sure how to do it, realised the hard drive is not compatible. Now the iphoto library wont open and reads "iphoto library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable".
I have tried to use options command and click on iphoto then rebuild yet nothing happens and same error message occurs.
I have gone to my personal drive, desktop, iphoto library, and found file Albumdata.xml and when i click on it, there is a lot of text in it, i am assuming these are all my photos.
I have tried clicking and dragging this file to iphoto app and it doesn't work, as the same error comes up in iphoto being in use or unreadable....
What am I meant to do with albumdata.xml file and how do I reopen Iphoto from here on in?
Please help as I am not technically minded and still trying to understand how to use the Macbook at all as I am used to Microsoft.
Thank you very much,
KS

Rule Number One - NEVER go directly uinto the iPhoto library - there are no user servicable parts in it and making any change no matter how small can corrupt your library and cause data or photo loss
Exactly how were you trying to save a copy of your iPhoto library?
Albumdata.xml does not contain your photos - and again NEVER make any changes to the content of the iPhoto library - no dragging - no changes - never go into the library
We need to know exactly what you did
And probalby the easiest solution is to load your backup from before you messed things up
For reference after you get things working
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

I have iPhoto 11 on my macbook. I want to export photos to another iPhoto library on an external hard drive. How can I do this.

I have run out of space on my internal hard drive on my macbook and I want to create another iPhoto library on an external hard drive using most of the photographs already on the hard drive.
I did this easily on an old G4 mac and an old version of iphoto. I simply imported the photographs from the library already on the hard drive to the new library I created on the external hard drive.
It does not seem to be possible to do the same thing using iPhoto 11.
I have no idea where to find the files on the mac to do it the more direct way by just importing the files.
Any ideas?

Here's one way to do what you want:
1. Quit iPhoto.
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the external drive.
Now you have two full copies of the Library. To choose between them: Hold down the option (or alt) key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library'
3. On the Internal Library, remove the pics you don't want with you all the time.
Now you have one full library on the external and another smaller sub-set on the Internal.
A couple of comments:
a. The external disk needs to be formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
b: When you're removing the unwanted pics from the Internal Library you need to delete them in batches of about 100 or so. Trashing more at one time can cause problems with the database.
c: Managing Multiple Libraries - including moving pics/albums/rolls and metadata between them - is greatly facilitated by using iPhoto Library Manager

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 transfer a copy or duplicate of my iPhoto library to an external hard drive.

I would like to save a copy of my iPhoto library on an external hard drive (InfoSafe) that has been reformatted to Mac OS Extended file system (journaled). I want the photos to be moved in the same Events they are in and with all of their metadata.
Then I want to delete some of those pictures or events from iPhoto on my computer. I am using OS X 10.8.5 and my iPhoto '11 9.4.3. Once I do this and make sure it works and everything is where it is supposed to be, can I just stick the hard drive in a safe place for years?
Thank you.
Wendy

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.
Now you have two full versions of the Library.
3. On the Internal library, trash the Events you don't want there
Now you have a full copy of the Library on the External and a smaller subset on the Internal
Some Notes:
As a general rule: when deleting photos do them in batches of about 100 at a time. iPhoto can baulk at trashing large numbers at one go.
You can choose which Library to open: Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library'
You can keep the Library on the external updated with new imports using iPhoto Library Manager
Once I do this and make sure it works and everything is where it is supposed to be, can I just stick the hard drive in a safe place for years?
No. Hard Drives are volatile and can be damaged. Over time the connection protocols change - USB 1 to USB 2 to USB 3. Firewire is almost dead and so on - and HDs fail. Multiple, redundant back ups are required. And when a back up is a copy of two drives at least, you won't have an actual back up for any of the material you then remove from the laptop.
For long term archiving I use Flickr. Then backing up the photos becomes their problem but it works in other ways as well - images available from any computer, as future-proof as just about anything is, and you can set the privacy protocols to keep the material private.

IPhoto library move to external HD | organization

My laptop is running out of space so I'm moving my large iPhoto library to an external hard drive. I know how to move the content and adjust iPhoto to route to the new location, but can I do this WITHOUT affecting my organization/events? I have 200+ GB of data and it would be an absolute mess to have to rebuild everything.
Thanks!

If you move the iPhoto Library as an entity to the new drive, and open it there by double clicking it, you will find all your events, albums, etc just like before.
Just follow the steps to format the drive correctly and to set the "Ignore Ownership flag" as described in this document:
iPhoto: Sharing libraries among multiple users - Apple Support

Can i store iphoto library on an external harddrive

How do I store my iphoto library on an external hard drive?

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

What is the best way to copy my iphoto library to an external drive?

I want to free up space on the internal drive by copying the iphoto library to an external drive and then either deleting the library entirely from the internal and using the external as my working library or continuing to use the internal as my working library, but deleting lots of old pictures. I have TC and use TM for backups and have a Seagate HD that I want to use for extra storage. Thanks,

To move the Library
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.
To have two libraries:
1. Quit iPhoto.
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the external drive.
Now you have two full copies of the Library. To choose between them: Hold down the <b>option (or alt)</b> key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library'
3. On the +Internal+ Library, remove the pics you don't want with you all the time.
Now you have one full library on the external and another smaller sub-set on the Internal.
A couple of comments:
a. The external disk needs to be formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
b: When you're removing the unwanted pics from the Internal Library you need to delete them in batches of about 100 or so. Trashing more at one time can cause problems with the database.
c:
Managing Multiple Libraries - including moving pics/albums/rolls and metadata between them - is greatly facilitated by using
iPhoto Library Manager
Regards
TD

IPhoto library moved to external HD

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