Sharing a LARGE library - best way?

Hello all
I have a library of over 16,000 pics - the iPhoto library folder is almost 20GB. I would like to share this library across my wireless home network. Read-only access is fine for everyone (but me). I currently have the library on an external FW 400 drive, plugged into a G4 mini (1.5 GHz with 1GB RAM). I have an Airport Express (802.11g) wireless network in the house. I have set the libary to be shared, and can see it on my MacBook and my iMac, in other rooms of the house. I would like to use the Mini as a file/media server for the house, so I would like to leave the network this way if possible.
The problems are:
1. Speed. I realize that it will take a LONG time to transfer 20GB of data over a wireless network, but....wow! Interestingly enough, the network seems to load photos "on demand" - meaning, that as I scroll through the unloaded pics, I get "placeholder icons". If I stop scrolling for a few seconds - the images start loading exactly where I have stopped! That's kind of cool.
2. EVERY time I am browsing the library on a "client" machine (either the MB or the iMac), iPhoto crashes on me - usually after about 20% or so of the library has loaded. Every single time.
The two thoughts I had were - to reduce the library size, or to increase the network speed (or both). As to reducing the libary size - is there a way to back up iPhoto pictures by date - say I want to back up everything from 2005 to DVD, then delete it from the library. How would I do this, and would it prevent iPhoto from crashing?
As to increasing network speed - wired isn't really an option for me, so would buying a new Airport Extreme (802.11n) really improve things that much? I realize I'd have to figure out how to get the G4 Mini on an N network, but I could do that if it would help.
I've also thought about splitting the library (using iPhoto Library Manager) into more manageable chunks, but I'm not sure how this would work, or even if it would help.
Is any one else out there wirelessly sharing a large library? If so, how?
thanks a lot!

Richard:
The best way to share a library with multiple Macs or multilple users on the same Mac would be as discussed in iPhoto: Sharing libraries among multiple users.
With this method the Mac hosting the external FW drive would have to be on for the other Macs to see and use the library, but only one at a time.
With the new Airport Extreme I believe you could use an external HD plugged into the USB port on the Airport Extreme and let the wireless Macs access the library without the other Mac being online. I not 100%$ sure of that but think that would do it. You'd have to make sure you turn of the ownership on that drive in either method.
Do you Twango?
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 written 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. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

Similar Messages

  • Large iPhoto library - best way to move it off my Mac?

    Hi,
    I've got a big iPhoto library now - about 5GB in total. I'm looking to move it off my Mac and store the photos so that if I wanted to I could move them back into Iphoto in the future. However, ideally I'd like to:
    * keep keyword information and
    * keep album information as well
    I was thinking that I should burn my library to DVD and copy it to a seperate hard drive, then delete the photos from IPhoto, but will this keep the album information?
    Or should I copy the iPhoto folders onto the hard drive and DVD and do them that way?
    Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks,
    Simon

    Simon:
    Do you want to run your library from the other drive? If so just follow the instructions in Moving iPhoto Library Folder to New Location.
    You can burn a number of rolls using the Share->Burn menu option. This will create a disk, CD or DVD, that can be mounted and opened by iPhoto so you can view the photos. The keywords, comments, etc. will be preserved. It will look like this when mounted. If you need a photo from the disk (assuming you deleted them from the library after burning) you just select the photos you want and drag to the Library icon in the Source pane.
    There's also a way to convert over to an alias based system with your source (original) files on an external drive and just have a library of alias and edited files on your boot drive. Of course when the external HD is not connected you can only view thumbnails of the photos, add keywords and comments. No editing, slideshows, books, or anything that requires the full size image file. Here are some Tutorials with tips on how to convert and maintain the keywords and comments. Good luck.

  • Sharing an iTunes library - best practices/howto?  (iDrive?)

    I would like to know how others have solved this issue:
    Scenario:
    * I have an iMac and a macbookpro (MBP). My wife uses the iMac and syncs her iPhone there. I use the MBP and sync my iPhone against the MBP. I usually sync my phone at the office (not on my home network).
    * I listen to the iTunes library on the MBP at work.
    * It is that listening to the iTunes library and syncing at work that prevents a simple network share of an iTunes library on the home network.
    _Finally to the question_: How do we share an iTunes library that we both can listen to at any time and sync our phones against.
    _My answer (not working too well)_:
    * I put all our music (25GB) on mobileMe in an iDisk and pointed iTunes at the iDisk on each mac. I setup the iDisk to sync a local copy of the iDisk on each mac.
    * I am starting to see sync errors and worry that changes to the iTunes library may get lost if changes are made on both the iMac and MBP and then sync, as the sync utility must pick a version of the file, one version will get lost
    - mattb

    Trevnew wrote:
    when looked in preferences the old location was still there, eventually changed in preferences
    Trev,
    changing iTunes media folder location via preferences > advanced tells iTunes where to put new additions to your library, not where the current content is.
    also, with your library now on the NAS, you must make sure the NAS is mounted on your desktop before launching iTunes.
    ... still showed an issue with the file locations and the exclamation marks.
    you may have done something wrong initially (during re-locating your library to the NAS) because the exclamation marks usually appear when media files were moved using the finder and iTunes lost track of their location.
    you might be able to use this script:
    iTunes Track CPR v1.3 
    This script attempts to locate the files of so-called "dead tracks"--iTunes tracks designated with (!)--that you assume are not actually missing but are still located in the iTunes Music folder in their "iTunes File Order" (Music -> Artist -> Album -> file.xxx)."

  • Best way to organize a large photo library on a 10.6.8 Macbook?

    I have an older Macbook pro- version 10.6.8. 
    I am looking for the best way to organize my large library of photos (approx. 15,000).  I have both personal as well as professional photos that I would like to organize and keep separately. I currently use iPhoto'09 version 8.1.2 but it has become very slow and I would like to find a solution that uses better organization.  I am considering keeping my personal photos in iPhoto and my professional photos in another organization app.  I was thinking about purchasing Aperture, however it is only available for Mac OS X version 10.7.5 or later and the same goes for the latest version of iPhoto. 
    I am a little confused about what my options are.  Can anyone recommend anything?  I am looking simply for a good organization tool, I am not interested in photo editing or anything beyond that.

    Well now we know that the speed problem is in your old library. Repair it.
    Option 1
    Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Choose to Repair Database. If that doesn't help, then try again, this time using Rebuild Database.
    If that fails:
    Option 2
    Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. (In Library Manager it's the FIle -> Rebuild command)
    This will create an entirely new library. It will then copy (or try to) your photos and all the associated metadata and versions to this new Library, and arrange it as close as it can to what you had in the damaged Library. It does this based on information it finds in the iPhoto sharing mechanism - but that means that things not shared won't be there, so no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your events, albums and keywords, faces and places back.
    Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one. 
    Backing Up:
    Time machine will back up, yes. Just be sure it's set up correctly.
    Most Simple Back Up
    Drag the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to another Disk. This will make a copy on that disk.
    Slightly more complex:
    Use an app that will do incremental back ups. This is a very good way to work. The first time you run the back up the app will make a complete copy of the Library. Thereafter it will update the back up with the changes you have made. That makes subsequent back ups much faster. Many of these apps also have scheduling capabilities: So set it up and it will do the back up automatically. Examples of such apps: Chronosync or DejaVu . But are many others. Search on MacUpdate
    Regards
    TD 

  • Best way to move large iTunes library?

    I have a large (nearly 1Tb) iTunes library of music, videos and TV shows and have almost reached the capacity of the HDD they currently eside upon.  At the moment they ae on a Wester Digital My Book, attached by USB to my TimeCapsule.  I have just ordered a larger La Cie drive to put them on and plan to attach this to my iMac directly, by Firewire (I don't have a Thunderbolt iMac).  The TimeCapsule is attached to the iMac by Ethernet cable.
    I know the best way to move an iTunes library is to point the library at the new location and then 'Organise Library' from the File menu.  I suspect this will take a while, with so much data to transfer.  I am wondering if I would be better to attach both drives to my computer directly and transfer the files across, then point the iTunes library at the new location - would this work?  It is vital that whatever I do keeps all the metadat intact, as I spent ages tagging all my DVDs.  I don't care about play counts and my Playlists can easily be remade, so I don't mind losing them.
    Any advice is gatefully received,
    Steve

    I have a 270 gig iTunes folder and a 260gig Iphoto Library and used this technique to massively speed up the transfer to an external USB3 drive.  It uses terminal commands i found here:
    http://www.cnet.com/au/news/using-the-os-x-terminal-instead-of-the-finder-to-cop y-files/
    I used this command successfully to achieve 3 GB per minute transfer.
    First open Terminal app (easy to find in spotlight)
    Type the following noting that all content in () is an instruction for you to complete or a spacebar between text. "c (space) -av (space) (drag source folder directory onto open terminal app window) /* (space) (drag destination folder onto open terminal app window) /"
    Your transfer should begin
    NOTE: If you are using this for your iPhoto or Aperture libraries there are many index files containing meta data of your photos.  This may appear to not transfer large amounts of data while transferring these files before getting to the .jpg or .RAW files.  Don't worry, be patient, once these are done the speed will pick up considerably.
    I hope this helps,
    Matthew

  • Best way to manage large library with AAC and MP3 versions of files

    I have a large library of music. I listen to music through iTunes and iPod/iPhones, but also other devices which only support MP3, and not AAC. I typically convert iTunes purchases to MP3, but I'm left with two copies of each song in the same folder. I'm looking for recommendations on the best way to manage what would essentially be a duplicated music library - a high quality version I use with my iTunes/ipods, and a lower quality MP3 version for the devices that only support that format.

    I have had a similar problem. I have all my music residing on a NAS where I access it from iTunes (for managing my iPods/iPhones) and a Tivo PVR (which is connected to my house stereo system.) The problem is that Tivo does not recognize AAC. So I've used iTunes to create mp3 versions of all my purchased AAC music. Because the NAS is set as my iTunes media folder location, iTunes puts the mp3 copies back into the existing folder structure (which it keeps organised) on the NAS. Tivo accesses the NAS directly, over the network. But iTunes also puts the additional copy into the iTunes library which leaves me with multiple copies of the same songs on iTunes AND my iPods. Having multiple copies on the NAS (mp3 for Tivo and AAC for iPod) is OK: I've got plenty of space on the NAS and the Tivo doesn't 'see' the AAC files.
    The solution I'm planning to implement is to delete the mp3 entries from the library as soon as I create them (leaving the files in the media folder.) But what I'm looking is for a way to automatically select the mp3 copies (for deletion) from the existing duplicates list. Any ideas?

  • HT1198 I shared disk space and my iPhoto library as described in this article. When creating the disk image, I thought I had set aside enough space to allow for growth (50G). I'm running out of space. What's the best way to increase the disk image size?

    I shared disk space and my iPhoto library as described in this article. When creating the disk image, I thought I had set aside enough space to allow for growth (50G). I'm running out of space. What's the best way to increase the disk image size?

    Done. Thank you, Allan.
    The sparse image article you sent a link to needs a little updating (or there's some variability in prompts (no password was required) with my OS and/or Disk Utility version), but it worked.
    Phew! It would have been much more time consuming to use Time Machine to recover all my photos after repartitioning the drive. 

  • Best way to control/play shared library with iPhone

    Hi there,
    My iTunes library syncs with my ATV and I have set up my wife's iPhone (I don't have one yet but will get a Touch once they up the storage) to act as a remote with the Remote app.
    What's the best way to set up/share my wife's music library on the ATV? I know I can set up her library on the ATV and access through 'Shared Music', but it looks as though the Remote app on the iPhone can't search, scroll, display her playlists etc in the same way that it does for the 'main' library that the ATV has stored locally.
    Is the best way to have the iPhone Remote set to control the iTunes library (rather than the ATV) and have iTunes on the Mac set to Apple TV for the speakers?
    I'd prefer to be able to keep all the adjustments to within just the iPhone Remote rather than give my wife a list of instructions across a number of devices (I know I'll get a call in the middle of the night when I'm overseas from my wife asking me why the iMac isn't play her music :))
    Thanks,
    Tom

    TWH3 wrote:
    As far as I'm aware, and certainly the case when I investigated the system a few months ago, the advantage Sonos has is being able to play different music in different rooms from the same iTunes library and Mac, and also offer streaming Internet radio.
    So with Sonos you can play kiddie's music in the front room, Dad's house in the kitchen and set the radio to wake you up in the bedroom he following morning.
    With iTunes/AirTunes one is rather more restricted to one source playing one song to whichever speakers you have selected. I think.
    True, if you look at it as the only source of content, I was looking at it from a typical set up scenario, you seem to have two itunes libraries and an tv, so you could have different music in three rooms using your iphone as a central control, I have more sources than rooms so a sonos wouldn't do anymore than my present set up can do. If one is starting from scratch the sonos seems quite attractive, however for me it would require an investment of round about $ 5,000 to achieve something I more or less already have

  • Best way to manage large photo library

    I currently use iPhoto to manage my 14,000+ images, but I am experiencing a few problems with it and wonder if ALR is a better alternative. My computer is running more and more slowly every time I add more to the library. I am worried it will crash the computer or make other applications inoperable, but am not sure what is the best way for me to manage the library.
    My concerns are:
    1. I have the files backed up on an external drive, but I don't want to also remove them from iPhoto because (I think) I will lose the captions I have entered for each image and the folders in which they are organized.
    2. I want to increase my library of images (plus captions) and allow it to be utilized in the near future by others at my workplace by putting the library, I suppose, on an external hard drive. Can that work with ALR?
    Thank you, in advance, for suggestions.

    Elisaa,
    LR2 is a much better storage and retrieval system than iPhoto. Plus, the LR2 editing features are simple and powerful. iPhoto has a file size threshold that is much lower than LR2.
    My LR2 database is 122,000 images (has been 150k) and does just fine.
    Other users are problematic with LR2; it is a single computer application with no network capabiity. Yes, you can have the database on an external drive and pass it around, but that kind of thing would not be convenient.
    Chris Crumley http://chriscrumley.com

  • I have a large kodak easyshare library, what is the best way to transfer them into iPhoto ?

    I have about 5k pictures in the kodak easyshare software system on a dell laptop - what is the best way to transfer or import them into iPhoto on my iMac ? any help will be greatly appreciated...

    Simply, export the data from this esy share system to standard formats like jpeg, making sure to preserve all metadata on the way. How to do that? YOu'll need to post on a Kodak forum I'm afraid.
    Then copy the files to the Mac and import them.
    Regards
    TD

  • What is the best way to set up iTunes on our home network so all family members have access to all of our itunes library, even music we don't have on the cloud?

    I have five different people using 10 different apple devices on one itunes account in our family.  We have had trouble sharing.  What is the best way to set up itunes on our home network?  We have purchased music that sits on icloud, but we also have music we have imported from our previous cd library.  Our itunes program keeps crashing and dumping everyone's playlists.  So far we have all been using just the one desktop computer to sync to because we can't figure out how to share the same librarly and playlists on multiple computers in our home so devices can be synced at any location as well as playlists and purchases be made. 

    What is the best way to set up itunes on our home network? 
    One iTunes library per person.  One iTunes account per person.
    If people wish to share songs, they can make copies.
    When the inevitable day comes when the kids get older, you will not have to come back here and post asking how all that stuff can get separated!

  • What is the best way to share a iTunes library between 5 users on the same computer?

    What is the best way to share a iTunes library between 5 users on the same computer?
    Currently I have a common itunes library in a shared folder that each user is linked to.  The problem is that when one user adds music to the shared file, it does not automaticaly appear to other users when they open their iTunes.  They have to go to the shared library and select the new music in order to make it visable in their iTunes.
    Would iTunes file shareing fix this problem?
    Thanks

    aapl.up wrote:
    Rick, are you saying that if you try to share a folder outside of home and use sharepoints, then the other mac wont prompt you to log in? Have you tried that? It is hard to believe that is the case
    I am sort of saying that. Have you tried it? I know it's hard to believe, but you really need to help us out by trying some steps that you don't believe.
    We can't see what your exact situation is. We sort of know what's worked for us out here. Just trying to help you get this going in less than 24 hours!
    Sharepoints manages the samba configuration file. It's free software that puts a pretty face on an otherwise cumbersome config file.
    Give it a shot.
    windows will not prompt for passwords, I have tried this with multiple computer at home for both vista and xp
    As I stated. You will not get prompted on windows, if you have set up sharing in an insecure fashion. You are not using a secured sharing situation.
    No argument with your statement.

  • Best way to move iTunes library & media from MacBook to mini server?

    First, I searched the forums (parameter: "itunes") and didn't see this addressed.
    Second, I searched the web (using multiple parameters), and didn't find an answer on point. I saw discussions about moving the iTunes library (well, media files) to another location (but same computer) and discussion about manually copying everything (with warnings about ensuring that the volume name and path are exactly the same, or else it's totally messed up).
    That said, I currently use SL on a MacBook and I'm getting a mini with SLS. Among other things, I'd like the core of my iTunes media to be on the mini (for direct playback to my TV and for serving/sharing to my Apple TV). I'll still use iTunes on the MacBook for selected media (like books).
    My media includes both iTunes purchases and non-DRM'd media.
    Question: does SLS come with Migration Assistant and will this move my iTunes library from my MacBook (with SL) to the mini (with SLS)? I'm not interested in a migration assistant to move servers (web, email servers) or apps, or documents for that matter, as this is not a server move (some discussions online focused on this).
    If it doesn't, what's the best way to move my iTunes library and media from my "clien" machine to the server so that playlists, ratings, purchases, etc. are all intact?

    MrHoffman wrote:
    iTunes has its own private little world, and this question isn't really specific to Mac OS X Server, and the generic media-transfer discussion will likely receive better coverage over in the [iTunes forum|http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=149].
    Mac OS X Server doesn't do anything special with iTunes, and likely doesn't do anything specific with it at all; you're going to a "different" Mac, and server makes this more akin to a transfer to a new Mac, rather than the "replacement Mac" sequence seen with Mac OS X client.
    I'd be surprised if this music transfer wasn't something that could be sorted out (within the limits of the copyrights) from some FAQ over in the iTunes forum, or from some of the following support articles:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1329
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1848
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1203
    http://support.apple.com/kb/TA38534
    See if the folks over in the iTunes forum have something for this. (And again, server likely isn't relevant here; you're "just" going to transfer your music to a different Mac box here, and one that happens to run Mac OS X Server.
    Thanks for the links - unfortunately, none of those are on point. The reason this is unique to server, I think, is that in the case of a regular mac to mac transfer, you would use Migration Assistant, and the move is easily done. But in seems like server doesn't come with Migration Assistant.
    I suppose when I get it, I'll first try copying Migration Assistant to it, and try to run it. That will probably fail (but you never know), so my next attempt will be to have my MacBook move the media to the server (as if the server is simply network storage), and then copy over the library files. (I'm hoping that will enable the file paths to remain intact.)
    The mini server is special in that it is the most appropriate home server, and home servers should be expected to do double duty - and outright server, and desktop. So, it would be handy for Apple to include Migration Assistant with the mini server.

  • Best way to share iTunes library with two user accounts?

    I have a single iTunes library on my Macbook Pro.  I would like to share between to user accounts, each with Apple ID's.  What's the best way to do so?  Right now, I've given the second user rights to read/write to the first users "Music" folder.  But when one user adds song files, the other must "Add Folder" in order to see the new purchases.  It's kind of putsy.  Is there a better way?  Thanks!

    Hello again,
    Have the iTunes Library located in the Shared Folder for instance and then launch iTunes in both users while holding option (or alt) on your keyboard. Choose the iTunes library file wherever it may be located. You can keep it in the same spot if you want (i.e. your Music folder). Many people have their's on a local network hard drive and do this.
    The benefit is that when one user updates the iTunes library file, the next user will open an updated version that has all songs that the other user added.
    Since you have one computer shared, this should be fine. I am unsure what happens when multiple computers/users access the library file at the same time.

  • I would like to use one library but with multiple ipods, but because they are my kids Ipods, and they each have their own gift cards, I'd like to be able to add money to their "profiles" without them having their own account - what is the best way

    So here is my delima - I want one Ipod account - because I only want one library - since we all like the same music - but my kids, who have their own IPODS, have gift cards, who want to be able to keep track of their balance without the other child affecting the balance - meaning - each gift card should be seperate and not totalled to the single account - Beacuse the library is fairly large, having three libraries of large amounts would be a waste.  I would also like to restrict their purchased to the gift cards only and not my credit card on file.  Does this make sense?  Once this is resolved, I'm assuming they would use their own playlists to copy their favorites to each Ipod.  Or would I set up an account for each child - which I dont want to do, because I dont want them having access to my Credit Card, and only gift card balances.  With multiple accounts, I'm assuming that would also build seperate libraries?  We also have multiple computers, but I share the library to those computers -
    What is the best way?  I'd like to be able to add credit to a specific child (birthdays, etc) without the other child being able to access that credit.  For simplicity sake.
    We are new to IPODS and lack any MAC skills.
    Thoughts?

    Not going to happen the way you want it to.
    When you add a gift card balance to the Apple ID, it's available for the Apple ID.
    Probably best to create unique Apple ID's for each... this will also make things easier in the future as purchases are eternally tied to the Apple ID they were purchased with.

Maybe you are looking for