Large Aperture Library 250GB

Afternoon App,
I have a large 250GB Library for Aperture - which is currently backed up on my External hard drive via Time Machine.
Im looking to update my laptop Mac Pro 2012 to Mac Pro 2013 Retina - but as these come with SSD im never going to fit it all in with my current setup (Used 550GB) this runs off a Hybrid SSD and Normal Disc drive.
Question - I dont think you can upgrade the retina drive to a normal drive ? - if you can then this wouldnt be a problem as I would swop the two drives over.
Question 2 - If you cant and have to use SSD - then what is the best way for me to keep my libary in tact - ie one folder structure - but off load the orginal images onto a drive ? Im guessing this would be the way todo it' ?
If someone could help I would be really greatful ?
Mick

Hi Mick,
Swapping out an unused CD-ROM for a useful HDD is a good exchange. OWC can likely help you determine what you can do and what parts you need.
I run a mixed Library on my personal machine (rMBP w. 500 GB SSD, no second drive bay). People generally think that it's the Library that is either referenced or managed, but it is more properly each Image's Original that is referenced or managed. I keep my Library on my laptop's SSD, import all new files into it with managed Originals, and once every month or so relocate the Originals of any Images that are older then 45 days. So my Library functions as a kind of processing tube: files come in, they are indexed, they are adjusted to my needs, and then the files are moved to an external HD. The index, and the Previews, stay with the Library, which stays on my laptop. With some tweaking for portfolio Images and incomplete projects, this system works well for me.
Note, though, that bus speeds for external drives are no longer the bottleneck they used to be. IME, you lose nothing perceptible if you put your entire Library on an external drive connected via USB-3 (or, I assume, Thunderbolt).
Having your system files on a large SSD, and your Library on a second internal drive, is almost ideal for a laptop.
In all cases I recommend leaving 100 GB unused on your SSD. OS X and Aperture are good at using this "scratch" space.
HTH,
--Kirby.

Similar Messages

How do I import a large Aperture library from an external disk?

I have a large Aperture library, about 110GB of photos, it currently resides on an external USB3 drive for space reasons. I'd like to migrate this into Photos, but every time I try I get an error: "There is not enough disk space to migrate your library. It is estimated that you need at least 21GB of additional free space."
From finder, if I get info on my Mac's main drive, it says I have 297.51 GB available, and on disk, my Aperture library is 105.8 GB. There is almost 3x as much space available as I should need!? And after the first time I tried this I freed up an additional 30 GB of space and still received the same message, still claiming to need 21 GB of space.
My drive has FileVault enabled, would that matter?

I experienced the exact same problem. I have a iPhoto Library in another volume (or partition) with very small free space, while main/system partition (Macintosh HD) has big enough free space.
Turned out, the one that should have big free space is the volume/partition that contains original iPhoto Library (to import from), not the system partition. So, I freed up some space, reopen Photos app (while holding Alt key), and select the iPhoto Library to import. It works!

Disconnect Large Aperture Library from FCP X

Hi,
I have a large Aperture library of over 200 gigs that takes over 10 minutes to load when I start FCP X. I'd like to disconnect Aperture altogether from FCP X and then just save the few jpgs I need, when I need them to a folder that I can then pull the photos from. How can I do that?
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Don

I experienced the exact same problem. I have a iPhoto Library in another volume (or partition) with very small free space, while main/system partition (Macintosh HD) has big enough free space.
Turned out, the one that should have big free space is the volume/partition that contains original iPhoto Library (to import from), not the system partition. So, I freed up some space, reopen Photos app (while holding Alt key), and select the iPhoto Library to import. It works!

I only import referenced pictures, why y do I have large Aperture library?

Firstly, thank you all for your answers to my previous posts
You are helping me wonderfully in migrating to Aperture
Given my increasingly limited disk space and other management reasons, i only import referenced pictures leaving them in their original locations.
1. I seem to have a what i think is a large and growing Aperture library even though i save no images to the library (eg 1.2G for 2000 pics averaging 300K in size). Is this just the overhead required for using the application and all its edits, previews and references or could i be doing something wrong?
2. If i drag and drop a picture into a project and folder, will it always be a referenced picture or wil it depend on some setting somewhere to determine what happens with a drag and drop import?
Thanks in Advance

I'm a relatively new Aperture user, but I think your library size is comparable to what I'm seeing, and it is previews, editing info etc that takes up the space.
As I understand it, if you drag and drop within Aperture, a referenced file will simply be re-indexed in the new location but remain a references file. If you drag and drop from a folder outside Aperture into Aperture, you will import the file rather than reference it. So far, from my experimenting, you need to use the import dialogue to keep it to referenced files.

Backing up and Restoring a large Aperture library

One of our departments is looking to backup their Aperture library (170 Gb and growing). They would like to do an initial backup of everything, and then incrementally from that point. We tried using Retrospect it backed up fine although it took about 30 hours to do it, but when we tested the restore after the full back up a good portion of the photos were inaccessible.
We then backed up a small portion of the library and then tried a restore and all the photos are there.
Any suggestions?
Does Vault allow for incremental backups?
Thank for any help
Denny

I simply copy Aperture Library file (approximately 76 Gb) on an external Hard disk (FW800).
Time of copying approximately 1 hour.
Thus backup copy works perfectly. I have one more Mac and Aperture (MacBook). I once a week copy Aperture Library file on MacBook, it as reserve working station for me, and also on some photos session I take MacBook with myself. Aperture (witch backup library from iMac) works on it fine.

Which iMac for large Aperture library

I want to continue using Aperture to manage my 100G plus library. I'm looking at iMac 21.5 versus 27 inch. I'm used to the portability of the MacBook Air but USB 2 is much too painful.
I plan to upgrade to the 1 TB fusion drive but do I need 8 versus 16 G RAM?
Is it worth upgrading to I7 versus i5?
I use my computer for photos and short videos (display only) - no gaming - basic web surfing and basic word apps.
How realistic is it to drag the 27 inch PC around the house?
Screen size isn't that important to me.

If you intend to use a 21.5" always get 16GB becasue Aperture can use RAM and you cannot upgrade the RAM on the 2012/13 21" iMacs. As far as the CPU, either the i5 or i7 are fine, Aperture is not CPU intensive. New MBA's use USB 3 which is considerable quicker than USB 2. However they are limited on storage space, what you can (and probably should do) is save your Aperture library on an EHD.

Large aperture library on external drive; too large to move to internal before switching to photos

I have a 395gb aperture library on an external drive. It used to reside on my old macbook pro, but i got a new one (retina) with a smaller hard drive and i haven't found a way to bring it over yet. My plan was (and i started) to slim it down by getting rid of photos and projects that I don't need, but it'll take a while.
I was hoping i could bring it over piecemeal, like by exporting some folders/projects as aperture libraries, and then importing them into photos, but i'm not sure that's possible.
I tried opening the aperture library (on the external) in photos so it would migrate, but it said i need much more space (the external is pretty full). Any ideas?
Thanks,
Adam

jpvp wrote:
Hi,
NoisyScott: do I understand it correctly that your masterfiles on the server are just sitting in a folder individually, or are they within an aperture library that is on the server that just has your masterfiles???
And FINALLY: can you back up your referenced files (or versions) as well, and how do you go about that?
My master files are just sitting in folders on the server. I leave the Aperture Library on my laptop hard drive as it just contains thumbnails, previews and the actual Aperture database.
You can back up your master images any way you want; a separate hard drive, a Network Attached Storage device, Mozy.com, Amazon S3, etc. The issue is that backing up these images is now up to you as you can't use the Aperture Vaults with referenced masters.
For what it is worth, moving master images around in Aperture is ridiculously easy once you get used to it. You can Reference your masters to a new location at any time you want, as many times as you like then change your mind and consolidate them to your Aperture Library (and thus make them managed masters again) all without Aperture missing a beat.
The critical thing to remember is you must do any and all Master Image file operations through Aperture.
If you decide to re-organize your Master Image folder structure through the finder, Aperture will no longer be able to connect to those Master Images and you then have to attempt to re-connect the images to the references in the Aperture database. This sounds like it should be easy, but for some reason Aperture has a very difficult time doing this. If you only ever use Aperture to move the files around, everything works swimmingly.
Try all of the Relocate and Consolidate Masters functions with a small test project or two at first until you are comfortable with how you want to organize all of your files and then go for it.
Good luck.

Migrate large Aperture library to Photos

I have a 450 GB Aperture Library that I am trying to migrate to Photos. The Aperture Library is located on my external hard drive. There I right-clicked on it and chose "open with Photos".
I tried this 3 times now and it always get stuck at 34% for hours.
Is anybody else experiencing this problem? Is there a solution?
Thanks!

The article does not explain what is imported into PHOTOS if your original IPHOTO library only had the addresses of the pictures not the source vs if you imported the full picture. That may be where the confusion lies on this issue.
The article only mentions "links" to the original library. Actually, the "Links" are hard links.
Instead, Photos saves disk space by creating links to the original and preview versions of your images.
When Finder reports the file size of your Photos library, it includes all your originals and previews. It may look like your remaining iPhoto or Aperture library is taking up twice the space on your hard drive, but it isn't—your images exist only in one location, even though you may have more than one photo library.
A hard link is different from the Aliases and symbolic links used for referenced originals.
A hard links is a duplicate entry in the file table and looks for all purposes like the original file. It will be reported with the same size as the original, but the entry in the file table will reference the same disk blocks as the original.
There is a big advantage to hard links: You can delete the original file and the hard link will still work, because the disk space will only be released, when all (hard)links to the files have been deleted. So you can safely delete either the original library or the Photos library and your images will not be deleted. The storage will only be freed, when both libraries have been deleted.
If you migrate a library with referenced images, they will remain referenced like before.

Can iCloud be used to synchronize a very large Aperture library across machines effectively?

Just purchased a new 27" iMac (3.5 GHz i7 with 8 GB and 3 TB fusion drive) for my home office to provide support. Use a 15" MBPro (Retina) 90% of the time. Have a number of Aperture libraries/files varying from 10 to 70 GB that are rapidly growing. Have copied them to the iMac using a Thunderbolt cable starting the MBP in target mode.
While this works I can see problems keeping the files in sync. Thought briefly of putting the files in DropBox but when I tried that with a small test file the load time was unacceptable so I can imagine it really wouldn't be practical when the files get north of 100 GB. What about iCloud? Doesn't appear a way to do this but wonder if that's an option.
What are the rest of you doing when you need access to very large files across multiple machines?
David Voran

Hi David,
dvoran wrote:
Don't you have similar issues when the libraries exceed several thousand images? If not what's your secret to image management.
No, I don't .
It's an open secret: database maintenance requires steady application of naming conventions, tagging, and backing-up. With the digitization of records, losing records by mis-filing is no longer possible. But proper, consistent labeling is all the more important, because every database functions as its own index -- and is only as useful as the index is uniform and holds content that is meaningful.
I use one, single, personal Library. It is my master index of every digital photo I've recorded.
I import every shoot into its own Project.
I name my Projects with a verbal identifier, a date, and a location.
I apply a metadata pre-set to all the files I import. This metadata includes my contact inf. and my copyright.
I re-name all the files I import. The file name includes the date, the Project's verbal identifier and location, and the original file name given by the camera that recorded the data.
I assign a location to all the Images in each Project (easy, since "Project" = shoot; I just use the "Assign Location" button on the Project Inf. dialog).
I _always_ apply a keyword specifying the genre of the picture. The genres I use are "Still-life; Portrait; Family; Friends; People; Rural; Urban; Birds; Insects; Flowers; Flora (not Flowers); Fauna; Test Shots; and Misc." I give myself ready access to these by assigning them to a Keyword Button Set, which shows in the Control Bar.
That's the core part. Should be "do-able". (Search the forum for my naming conventions, if interested.) Or course, there is much more, but the above should allow you to find most of your Images (you have assigned when, where, why, and what genre to every Image). The additional steps include using Color Labels, Project Descriptions, keywords, and a meaningful Folder structure. NB: set up your Library to help YOU. For example, I don't sell stock images, and so I have no need for anyone else's keyword list. I created my own, and use the keywords that I think I will think of when I am searching for an Image.
One thing I found very helpful was separating my "input and storage" structure from my "output" structure. All digicam files get put in Projects by shoot, and stay there. I use Folders and Albums to group my outputs. This works for me because my outputs come from many inputs (my inputs and outputs have a many-to-many relationship). What works for you will depend on what you do with the picture data you record with your cameras. (Note that "Project" is a misleading term for the core storage group in Aperture. In my system they are shoots, and all my Images are stored by shoot. For each output project I have (small "p"), I create a Folder in Aperture, and put Albums, populated with the Images I need, in the Folder. When these projects are done, I move the whole Folder into another Folder, called "Completed".)
Sorry to be windy. I don't have time right now for concision.
HTH,
--Kirby.

Media Browser Displays Partial Aperture Library

I have a large Aperture Library (80K photos), but when I use the Media browser in other apps (Pages, Outlook, etc.), only about 1100 of the photos are visible. There are no photos left to process in Aperture. Since the issue impacts both Pages and Outlook, I figure it must be an Aperture issue. I'm running the most current release (3.1.1).
Any advice would be appreciated . . .

More detail would certainly help such as is the library referenced or managed. Also is there anything common to the 1100 that do appear?
Allan

Aperture Library Size slowing iMac even when Aperture is closed

I recently purchased an iMac 22 quad core running Lion, with all updates. It currently has 12GB of Ram, and 190GB free on the hard drive.
The iMac would load programs like Outlook within a few seconds and was very fast.
I purchased Aperture and migrated about 38,000 images, using the exisitng file structure from my PC. This took about 12 hours yo process, update images, etc...
Even if Aperture is closed, all programs now load much more slowly. Outlook can take 20-30 seconds to open, and lists of email and contacts now take as much as a minute to load.
This is only true for the user account with the Aperture library, as programs for other users seems to work fine.
I tried running disk utilities, restarting machine, but no difference.
Activity monitor shows no unusual memory, CPU or disk activity.
I started a new user account, and all worked fine again...until I again created an aperture library, and again, even if Aperture is not started, everyting else runs slowly.
Is there a file indexing feature that is overwhelmed by the addition of a large aperture library? (Deleting the Aperture library doe snot solve the problem-only startign a new user accountdoes).

dphughes wrote:
...in both cases maintaining referenced files stored outside the catalog/library. The Aperture library is 500% the size of the Lightroom catalog - even with restricted preview sizes and no vault.
If this is true, there must be a logical explanation that is giving Aperture users some benefit for the increased Library size. Sorry been a long time since I looked at Lightroom. Does it store the same size previews and thumbnails as Aperture? Since you are using referenced files and Aperture is using non-destructive edits and even new versions do not create duplicate files (only a new set of pointers to the referenced masters), one would think previews and thumbnails must be handled differently. Since you use both, what could it be?
The Aperture Vault is a separate library than the Aperture Library so having a Vault of course should not impact the size of the Aperture Library.

Apple TV won't load complete Aperture library

I have a large Aperture library back to 2002. Apple TV 2 won't load the library further than 2008, despite it being checked all the way back to 2002 in Home Sharing. How do I get it to load the whole thing? Is there a limit? I am working with a MacBook, Snow Leopard, and Aperture 3. Thanks.

I couldn't say for sure if there is a limit to the size of a photo library, but there have been problems reported when using large libraries. How many photos do you have, mention has been made to problems with libraries of over 20,000.

Aperture Conversion - My wife is converting from iPhoto to Aperture due to large library ( 33,000 photos, 109GB). Performance-wise, is it better to convert to Aperture library and leave on the 250GB internal drive or convert and store externally?

My wife is converting from iPhoto to Aperture due to large library ( 33,000 photos, 109GB). Performance-wise, is it better to convert to Aperture library and leave on the 250GB internal drive or convert and store externally?

You are welcome.
convert and store externally?
What versions of iPhoto and Aperture is your wife using? With both iPhoto 9.3 or later and Aperture 3.3 or later she simply could open her iPhoto library in Aperture and be done, since these versions are using a unified library format.
Aperture 3.3: Using a unified photo library with iPhoto and Aperture

I am changing to a larger hard drive on my Mac. Can I copy the Aperture library from my backup disk running Time Machine without loosing anything?

I am installing a larger harddrive on my Mac. Can I copy the Aperture library from my backup disk running Time Machine without loosing anything? I am getting help migrating everything else on to the new harddrive, but since copying the 350Gb Aperture library takes a lot of time, I am planning to do that part myself.

I found the following information on Time Machine help about restoring Aperture library from TM
Restoring Your Aperture System
If you buy a new computer or use another system at a different location and want access to the Aperture library, you can install Aperture and then transfer the library from your vault (on your backup disk) to the other computer. If you experience equipment failure or other unexpected events, such as fire or weather-related damage to your equipment, you can easily restore the entire library to your new computer from a backup disk.
HideTo restore the entire library from an external backup disk
Restoring Your Aperture System
If you buy a new computer or use another system at a different location and want access to the Aperture library, you can install Aperture and then transfer the library from your vault (on your backup disk) to the other computer. If you experience equipment failure or other unexpected events, such as fire or weather-related damage to your equipment, you can easily restore the entire library to your new computer from a backup disk.
HideTo restore the entire library from an external backup disk
If you buy a new computer or use another system at a different location and want access to the Aperture library, you can install Aperture and then transfer the library from your vault (on your backup disk) to the other computer. If you experience equipment failure or other unexpected events, such as fire or weather-related damage to your equipment, you can easily restore the entire library to your new computer from a backup disk.
HideTo restore the entire library from an external backup disk
Connect the hard disk drive that contains the most up-to-date vault to your computer and open Aperture.
Choose File > Vault > Restore Library.The Restore Library dialog appears.
Choose the vault you want to use to restore your library from the Source Vault pop-up menu.If the vault doesn’t appear in the Source Vault pop-up menu, choose Select Source Vault from the Source Vault pop-up menu, navigate to the vaults location in the Select Source Vault dialog, then click Select.
Click Restore, then click Restore again.

Referenced Aperture library larger than iPhoto library?

My iPhoto library is 232 GB , so to save space, I deciced to imort them to Aperture 3 as a referenced library.
A few hours later, 'processing' has stopped and my Aperture Library is now a whopping 283 GB. If Aperture is simply pointing to the pictures in iPhoto why is the library now so large?

I'm not sure how I search for Managed Masters, but there will be some there as I have been downloading pictures from my camera directly to Aperture before I Referenced those in my iPhoto Library.
However I can see that the iPhoto images are all badged indicating that they are Referenced and when I use 'Locate Referenced Files' to display a list of Referenced Images it shows that there are 34,440 in my iPhoto Library.

Large Aperture Library 250GB

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