Move imovie library to external drive

Hello, how do I move my imovie library and projects to an external drive without getting a gray screen?
After a hard drive failed one year ago, I brought back the projects from an external drive (using finder) and the screen was grey because it said it could not find the underlying video content. Please note that I did not have a time machine and used the finder to copy from a backup drive.
So there was audio but no video.

I was planning on manually backing up my external to the time capsule - but is there a way to set it up to back up automatically instead?
Time Machine will backup up automatically - you can not have your iPhoto library on the same volume as the TM backup (it will not work and it would not be a backup)
Dragging the iPhoto library to any external drive will backup it us also
I was also thinking about having the library copied to another external (I mean we're talking about irreplaceable photos here) - would i just drag a copy of the library to that drive as well?
Yes - that is a good idea - I run TM giving me hourly backups and a daily clone of my entire system giving me a bootable backup - plus do an occasional TM backup at our second home so I have one off site
is it possible to deal with my imovie library in the same way? so all my movies and photos are on my external?
Probably - but I use iMovie very little - better question for the iMovie forum
LN

Similar Messages

Want to Move iTunes library to external drive & access from home & work

I want to move my Windows iTunes library to my new external drive and be able to access my music library from my work computer and my home computer. I have read some discussions here about move libraries and I have some concerns:
1. What is the best solution to the problems people reported about iTunes Helper changing the drive letter back to C: if they booted the computer without the external drive connected?
2. Can I buy music and make playlists from both computers and not run into problems?
3. Any other advice to avoid gotchas?
Thanks,
Mark

If the drive is formatted NTFS, the Mc will not write to it. You need a driver installed to write to NTFS.
Or refomrat the drive to FAT32/MSDOS and it'll work fine.
If you have the entire iTunes folder on the external, connect it to your Mac, hold Option, launch iTunes and select Choose library... and select the iTunes folder on the external.
Note that the iTunes versions need to be the same between computers.

Want to move photo library to external drive

I want to move the '08 iphoto library to an external drive, as I am running out of space on the iMac. However I have numerous picture folders (2007, 2006, etc) within my 'pictures' folder in addition to the iphoto library. The photos from these folders all appear in iphoto.
My question: Do I have to copy/move these folders as well as the iphoto library?
Thanks for the help.

Dimitri
Welcome to the Apple user to user assistance forums
No - iPhoto is only concerned with the iPhoto library - quit iPhoto and drag the iPhoto library as a single entity to the external drive - launch iPhoto while depressing the option (alt) key an use the select library option to point to the new library location.
LN

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?

How To Move Existing Library to External Drive

I have my Aperture library on my main internal drive. I have just purchased an eSATA drive (CalDigit's SVR Duo) and want to move my library off my internal drive onto the new external drive.
How can this be done? The only way I can figure out how to do it is to create a vault, backup the entire library, then restore with a new library referenced onto the external drive.
Any suggestions? Thanks.

A little easier is merely to move the Aperture library in Finder (Aperture Library.aplibrary) to its new location. Then double-click it to launch Aperture. Aperture will use this library and reset the Prefs. (came in in 1.5.0).
What I don't know is whether the Vault will still see the new location as the original library and continue providing incremental updates. Hopefully so.
The other big option is to leave the library "as is" on the internal drive, and using File/Relocate Masters for Project to relocate masters to the external drive leaving a small library. Note that Vault does not back up referenced masters.
G.

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

How to move iPhoto Library from external drive to new mac?

I have exported a copy of my iPhoto Library from my old mac to an external hard drive. How can I import entire library into iPhoto of new mac? When I click Import to Library, I'm unable to highlight iPhoto Library file listed on my external hard drive in Finder. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Is the iPhoto library on the new computer empty? If it is, quit iPhoto and just drag the iPhoto library on the New Computer to the trash and drag the iPhoto library from the EHD to the pictures folder on the new computer - there is no importing involved - you NEVER want to import an iPhoto library into another iPhoto Library
If you want to run the new computer with the iPhoto library on the external drive simply launch i{Photo while depressing the option (alt) key and use the select library to point to the EHD
LN

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.

Can't move iTunes library onto external drive?

I am trying to clear some space of my MacBook Pro's internal hard drive by moving my iTunes library onto an Mac-formatted external drive. I have followed to the letter the instructions of the Apple document (setting external HD as location of new iTunes library, then selecting Advanced/Consolidate Library).
The process continued for a bit before it crashed and said, "Copying Music failed. The disk could not be read from or written to."
I had noticed that the error occurred when trying to copy a file that had the "#" symbol in its name. Typically, that character is only a problem with Windows, and I both disks are Mac OS. Nevertheless, I found that the song file in question was a duplicate, so I deleted it and tried again. This time, I got the error message right away!
I have installed all updates, repaired permissions, and can see no reason for this to happen. I have Googled the error message and found a lot of references to this happening when copying to an iPod, but I am moving my library to an external HD.
Please help! My internal HD is running out of space!

That was it! Thanks! During the straight-up copy of the iTunes Music folder, the operation crashed because "some data could not be read or written." Had the iTunes error message been similar, I would have known that was the case.
Currently, I am running an additional copy of the library using the ditto terminal commmand, so I can see a list of all the corrupt song files. So far about 15.
Thanks again!!!!

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.

Move photo library to external drive

I would like to move my Photo library from my internal HD to an external HD. Does anyone know the correct way to do this without losing any data?Is this done by an export of all photos (which I tried but it hung up for two days with no progress after making it mostly through). Will dragging and dropping the Photo Library work (I am scared to try this.) Thanks!

Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
1. Quit Photos
2. Copy the Photos Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching Photos. 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

HT1660 move iTunes library from external drive to internal drive

I had to move my iTunes library from my internal hard disk to an external one so that they could replace the recalled hard drive on my iMac. Is moving the library back to the internal drive as easy as dragging it into the Music/iTunes folder?

iTunes: How to move [or copy] your music [library] to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527 - a somewhat bewildering and not always easily understandable set of options.
Quick answer if you use iTunes' default preferences settings: Copy the entire iTunes folder (and in doing so all its subfolders and files) intact to the other drive. Open iTunes and immediately hold down the Option (alt) key (shift on Windows), then guide it to the new location of the library.itl file in the moved iTunes folder.

Move iTunes Library to External Drive

Hi,
I've read quite a few posts on this and tried a couple of ways, but it's not working. I come up with either an empty folder on my LaCie Hard Drive or duplicate folders that I have to import songs one by one on to the drive. I want to free up space on my iMac hard drive. There's one method that says on "step 11- choose *Consolidate Library*",under the Advanced menu in iTunes Preferences. That option is not even listed on my system (*OSX 10.3.9*).
Another method I tried was the Option button down at iTunes start up. After hitting "Choose Library" I wind up with an empty iTunes Library on the LaCie hard drive that I then have to import songs 1 by 1. (No way that's happenin')
Can someone make this a little easier for me? Any suggestions appreciated.
Thank you,
Randy

Thanks again for the information. My iTunes library is now on mt LaCie EHD,and I've freed up a about 12GB of disc space.
Now I'm curious about the whole gamut of iLife applications, iPhoto in particular.
For now this bridge is crossed, so I'll leave it at that.
These discussion boards are amazing.
Randy Allen
Applehead

How can i move a vlc movie held on my external drive onto my itunes library (so i can then load it onto my ipad to watch?

how can i move a vlc movie held on my external drive onto my itunes library (so i can then load it onto my ipad to watch?

That is the only logical conclusion. There is an easy solution. On the Mac app store download a free app called smartconverter. It is free. You just drag and drop file into app and it will convert to any file u want. I hope that foxes your issue

Can't move my iMovie file to external drive

I just finished creating an iMovie file. When I try to move it to an external drive, I get an "unexpected error file (Error code 0).
When I try to "save as" to my external, I get the message: "A Project File is Missing. The file "Clip 05.dv could not be opened and is being skipped." I rebooted, tried again and got the same result. This has never happened to me before - and I need to move it to another machine that has double layer DVD capabilities. Any suggestions?

Possible work-arounds:
1. Share (export) the iMovie back to your camcorder and either use that DV tape to import it into another computer, or re-import it into a new iMovie. You can open the new iMovie on your external drive by selecting that when the opening box appears.
2. Share the iMovie as QuickTime Full quality and then put that quicktime movie into a new iMovie on the external drive. This one requires that you have sufficient drive space to create the quicktime movie.
Either method, you need to be finished with your editing because the edits will be incorporated into the movie. The quicktime movie will be one long clip.
And, as recommended, be sure the external is formatted correctly.

Move imovie library to external drive

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for