Moving iPhoto library to external hard disk

I am attempting to move my iPhoto library to my new external hard disk. Moving the pictures is not the problem, it is telling iPhoto where the new library is located. I dont have leopard yet so I dont have iPhoto '08. I looked up how to move my library in "iPhoto help" but it didnt help me too much. It says to click "choose library", but I can't that option anywhere. Any help would be hot. Thanks.

acmethunder
If you want to move the iPhoto Library, move the iPhoto Library Folder. I'm not sure what the story with PhotoBooth is, I never use it - but trial and error might be in order. However, that preferences in iTunes is NOT to move the library, but rather to change the location that files are ripped to... not the same thing. To move the iTunes library have a read of this:
Moving iTunes Music
Regards
TD

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Transfer iphoto library to external hard disk

My iPhoto library of 320 GB has is filling the internal disk on my MacBook Pro. I copied the library intact to an external hard disk, checked to make sure the external library works with iPhoto and everything was ok, then emptied the trash. This did not clear space on the internal drive because the space that previously was listed as photos is listed as backup. How can I now delete the backup photos?

Make sure you connect the Mac frequently to your Time Machine drive, this will decrease the amount of local snapshots quickly.
If you freed 320 GB and expect to take 200 GB of new photos that should be fine.
I understand that at least 10% of the internal hard disk should be left free for good functioning of the system.
Don't let the free space drop below 20GB minimum.

Moving iPhoto library onto external hard drive

I would like to transfer all of my photos over to my external hard drive as my MacBook is filling up fast.
I followed the directions on moving the iPhoto library onto my external hard drive. I can see the iPhoto icon on the external drive. I no longer see it under Me/Pictures.
If I select the iPhoto icon on my external hard drive to open iPhoto, it opens without any photos. If I press "option" while opening iPhoto from the icon at the bottom of the screen the only option I have is from the following: Users/Me/Movies/iMovie Projects.localized/iPhoto Library. This option does open iPhoto so that I can see my photos. There is an option there to "Create New" so I added my hard drive. But if I use that as my default, I get no pictures.
A couple of questions. How do I complete this process? Where are my pictures now? I'm assuming they are on my external hard drive. I didn't delete them from my MacBook so I'm also assuming they are there but not visible.
Thanks

As we're not sure what you have done exactly it's hard to be certain how to progress.
This is how you move an iPhoto 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.
There is no way you've done that if you can no longer see the Library at Me/Pictures.

Iphone won't sync after moving iPhoto library to external hard drive

I moved my iPhoto library to an external hard drive, now my iTunes will not sync with my iphone. It has an error when syncing photos and quits
iPhoto works just fine, iTunes works just fine. This only occurs when syncing. Please help!

Put your iPhoto library on the external hard drive and hold your Option key down when opening iPhoto. Then just select the library on the external drive. You can have multiple libraries too.
Dave M.
MacOSG Founder/Ambassador  An Apple User Group  iTunes: MacOSG Podcast
Macsimum News Associate Editor  Creator of 'Mac611 - Mobile Mac Support'

Moving iphoto library to external hard drive.

My mac mini is fast running out of disk space and I am trying to move the iphoto library to an external hard drive.
I have copied the library across to the external disk, renamed the exisiting library and have now tried to restore/rebuild the iphoto library using the new library on the external disk. All of the albums/events/faces appear in the finder window but iphoto hangs for up to 8 hours before I force quit and try again. I only have 20gb of photos and would not think the library should take this long to rebuild??
I am running Lion along with the most current update of iphoto.
Any assistance greatly appreciated.

That article is missing a key piece of info:
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.
Regards
TD

Trying to copy iPhoto Library to external hard drive for backup. Error message: The Finder can't complete the operation because some data in "iPhoto Library" can't be read or written (Error code -36).

Trying to copy iPhoto Library to external hard drive for backup. Error message: The Finder can't complete the operation because some data in "iPhoto Library" can't be read or written (Error code -36).

That code is
-36
ioErr
I/O error (bummers)
Make sure the EHD is formatted OS X Extended (journaled) and run Disk Utilty on the EHD and repair the disk. If that fails to help I'd try the following:
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
Click on the Add Library button,
navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the Library ➙ Rebuild Library menu option
In the next window name the new library and select the external HD as the location of the newly rebild library.
Click on the Create button.
Note 1: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments. However, books, calendars, cards and slideshows will be lost.
Note 2: Your current library will be left untouched for further attempts at a fix if so desired.
OT

How can I download my photos from iphoto to the external hard disk? thanks!

How can I download my photos from iphoto to the external hard disk? thanks!

This is our resident iPhoto guru, Terence Devlin's, advice:
You can move your iPhoto Library to an external disk or new Mac:
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library Folder as an entity 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.

Iphoto library on external hard drive now does not show all the photos when i access it from macbook

i backed up iphoto library to an external hard drive. Deleted photo library on the macbook. After transferring some new photos to macbook from a camera, when i access the iphoto library on external hard drive only the new photos show up. Originals are still in files, but don't appear when opening iphoto library on external hard drive.

Make a temporary, backup copy of your library if you don't already have one (Control-click on the library and select Duplicate from the contextual menu) and apply the two fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
Select the options identified in the screenshot.
Fix #2
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
Click on the Add Library button, navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the File ➙ Rebuild Library menu option
In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
Click on the Create button.
Note: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments but not books, calendars or slideshows. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
OT

HT4889 If I transfer iphoto library from a hard disk to a new iMac will all my events and albums stay unchanged?

If I transfer iphoto library from a hard disk to a new iMac will all my events and albums stay unchanged?

They should, yes. You should have a full and complete backup as well, of course.

Problems with iPhoto after exporting library to external hard disk

Hello all,
I am using iPhoto 8 on an iBook G4. I recently attempted to back up my iPhoto library to an external hard disk. I did this by dragging the iPhoto library to the external hard disk. I did not delete the library on my own computer. Since I've done this, iPhoto has not been problematic. For instance, when I attempt to open an event on my computer, I can not see the thumbnails of all the photo's in the event - iPhoto will display each individual photo in sequence. If I want to print a picture, I have to export the entire event - I can't just drag the thumbnail to my desktop. Also, when I attempt to upload new pictures from my camera it produces an error.
Does anyone know what might be going on? I need to be able to access my photo's, so can anyone give me some advice on how to fix whatever I've done?
Any help you can give me would be much appreciated.

Gina2008
iPhoto will display each individual photo in sequence.
There's a slider lower right of the iPhoto Window - drag it left.
Why are you exporting to Print?
when I attempt to upload new pictures from my camera it produces an error.
What does the error say?
As for accessing your pics:
There are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto:
For 10.5 users: You can use any Open / Attach / Browse dialogue. On the left there's a Media heading, your pics can be accessed there. Apple-Click for selecting multiple pics.
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
To upload to a site that does not have an iPhoto Export Plug-in the recommended way is to Select the Pic in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export and export the pic to the desktop, then upload from there. After the upload you can trash the pic on the desktop. It's only a copy and your original is safe in iPhoto.
This is also true for emailing with Web-based services. If you're using Gmail you can use THIS
If you use Apple's Mail, Entourage, AOL or Eudora you can email from within iPhoto. With 10.5 you can access the Library from the New Message Window in Mail:
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
If you use a Cocoa-based Browser such as Safari, you can drag the pics from the iPhoto Window to the Attach window in the browser.
Or, if you want to access the files with iPhoto not running, then create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use THIS
Other options include:
1. *Drag and Drop*: Drag a photo from the iPhoto Window to the desktop, there iPhoto will make a full-sized copy of the pic.
2. *File -> Export*: Select the files in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export. The dialogue will give you various options, including altering the format, naming the files and changing the size. Again, producing a copy.
3. *Show File*: Right- (or Control-) Click on a pic and in the resulting dialogue choose 'Show File'. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected.
Regards
TD

If I move iphoto library to separate hard disk will my old slideshows work ?

I need to move my photo library and Movies (Events and Projects) to an external hard disk as my 700gb drive on my iMac is now full (*see note below)
I have brought 2 Samsung External drives (3TB each) which I plan to partition each for Photos and Movies i.e 2 partitions on each drive, and will use one for use with iPhoto and iMovie, and the other drive for a dedicated backup. I will backup the remainder of my iMac hardisk to a seperate disk.
What has just occured to me is that after I have moved the libraries I cannot see how existing iMovie projects and iPhoto Slideshows will work, as each Application will be looking for the source files on the original iMac hardisc (I assume).
I am running Snow Leopard v10.6.8 ( I did not want to upgrade to Mountain Lion as I was told the iPhoto and iMovie changes were a 'backward' step. However I now want to upgrade to Mountain Lion, for security updates reasons mainly, and so need to free up my hard drive.
Can anyone advise on the best way to proceed ?
* - the iMac hard disk become full very suddenly possibly due to duplicates, as I have noticed duplicate events and clips in my iMovies event library. I have noticed that some events are also now not showing, with message 'No video clips match the current selection' (I have not search criteria set).
Thanks

I won't talk about iMoive - best to ask on that forum - but yes, everything will be exactly the same after you move the Library because you'll tell iPhoto to look for that library. That's what step 3, below, is all about.
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.
Regards
TD

How do i move photos from iPhotos to an extern hard disk

how do i move photos from iPhotos to an extern hard disk

Specifically from?
You export them: File -> Export
This User Tip
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4921
has details of the options in the Export dialogue.
Or if you want to, you can keep the images in iPhoto and move the Library to an external:
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.
Regards
TD

Can't transfer iPhoto Library FROM external hard drive to iMac

I just bought a new iMac. Before I said goodbye to my old computer (a MacBook), I dutifully backed up my iPhoto library onto an external hard drive. Upon setting up my iMac, I easily accessed the iPhoto library on my HD, but I didn't import it. I was able to see all photos, albums, etc.
But when I went to import the entire iPhoto library into my iMac's hard drive (into the Pictures folder), it wouldn't import. A mesage comes up that says "Preparing to copy" and the blue-and-white bar just spins and spins, without actually copying anything. So, it's weird -- there's clearly communication between iMac and external HD, but I can't take the iPhoto library off the hard drive to make it my new computer's iPhoto library.
Any hints? Thanks.

Have you tried restarting your machine?

Need to transfer iphoto library to external hard drive

need to transfer iphoto library to external passport drive. It will not let me drag and drop

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
The external drive is formatted in NTFS, a format that OS X can't write in. You have to erase the external disk.
First, open Finder, choose the external drive in the sidebar, under "Devices", and copy all the content of your external drive to another folder like Desktop.
Then, follow these steps to format the external drive in "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" as Format > http://pondini.org/OSX/DU1.html Finally, drag the iPhoto library to the external drive

Itunes library on external hard disk

I have my itunes library on an external hard disk and use two laptops to access the library. It works fine but when I add new music it only shows on the laptop I used to add the music. The only way I can view it on both laptops is by using the add folder command within itunes.
Is there anyway of getting the library to update itself on both laptops to ensure both laptops view the same music all the time?

Why not move your itunes library ITL file onto the exHD?
Then when you add music to it, the actual music file plus the database itunes uses will be available to each laptop.
For example, say laptop #2 has the most recent additions. Close itunes. Find the ITL file, on XP the default path is
\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl
Drag that over to your exHD.
Now start itunes again, but press *and hold* the shift key. Choose the exHD copy of the ITL when prompted. Now close itunes, connect the exHD t laptop #2 and open itunes again using that shift method.
More info here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iTunesWin/7.6/en/15502.html

Moving iPhoto library to external hard disk

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