Upgraded to Yosemite, now need to upgrade iPhoto. Should I leave external hard drive plugged in during update so that software is "compatible"?

I upgraded to Yosemite after having not updated my software since purchasing my iMac about 5 years ago. (I know, bad...) I have an external hard drive that has 20,000 pics on it and I need to know if I should leave it plugged in during the update. I'm afraid if I do, something will happen to my pics. But at the same time, I'm wondering if I unplug it, will the new iPhoto recognize the "old" software and be able to open up the pics on my external hard drive? I know this can be a problem because I tried opening my EHD on my neighbors computer and our iPhoto versions were different and it wouldn't open on hers. Thank you in advance for you help!

When I go to the EHD and try to open it that way, it says the iPhoto library must be updated. Should I just let it update that as well? People have told me to copy my pics to the EHD and store in a safe place, but will I have to get it out and update it everytime I do an update so that the software will be compatible?
Before you let iPhoto update the iPhoto library make a backup copy of your iPhoto Library. Updating a large library can take a long time, and if something should interrupt this update, the library may be left in a inconsistent state. It is much safer to have a backup you can revert to, just in case.
But at the same time, I'm wondering if I unplug it, will the new iPhoto recognize the "old" software and be able to open up the pics on my external hard drive?
Are the "Pics" on your external drive your iPhoto Library? Or simply folders with image files?
If your iPhoto library is on that drive, what is the filesystem of this external drive?

Similar Messages

Need help with iphoto and dragging to external hard drive

Hello,
I have my iphoto very organized into Events and I recently just moved them to be in folders. I would like to have only certain Events (or folders/albums) on the external hard drive. The apple store rep said to go to Finder, Pictures, Iphoto, then right click to "Show Package Contents." Then go to either "original" or "modified." From there I can drag into the hard drive. However, I'm very confused because the "modified" or "original" are not organized at all by folders or events. There are dates only. What can I do to find, drag the events (each are named)? Please help!
Katie

1. Ignore the Apple store rep.
2. You need to clarify:
I have my iphoto very organized into Events and I recently just moved them to be in folders
Moved them to be where in folder? In iPhoto? In the FInder?
I would like to have only certain Events (or folders/albums) on the external hard drive.
In an iPhoto Library? Or in the Finder?
Do not access the Library via the Finder or any other app. You risk damaging your Library and you will lose data.
If you want to have some Events/Albums on an External Disk within iPhoto:
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
If you want to have them in Folders in the Finder
Use the FIle > Export command to get photos out of iPhoto.
This User Tip
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4921
has details of the options in the Export dialogue.

I upgraded MacbookPro 2009 from 10.6.8 to Yosemite. Beforehand I made a backup copy of my Iphoto library onto an external hard drive. Lets call it BU. I also deleted half of my photos from the default library on my laptop, lets call it DE. I then in

I upgraded MacbookPro 2009 from 10.6.8 to Yosemite 2 weeks ago. My iphoto is now a nightmare. i went to our local apple retailer but they could not help either. Perhaps someone can help. Beforehand the OS upgrade I made a backup copy of my Iphoto library onto an external hard drive. Lets call it BU with 50GB. I also deleted half of my photos from the default library on my laptop, lets call it DE, now with about 20GB, to gain space. I then upgraded to Yosemite.
I have also installed since a long time Iphoto Library Manager 3.8.6. (this may be the cause of the problem as it was not upgraded and perhaps thus not compatible with iphoto 9.6 which I have now after the upgrade to Yosemite) It all worked fine before the upgrade, switching in iphoto between the two libraries DE and BU.
It also worked fine after the upgrade for a few days. At one stage Iphoto asked me to upgrade the iphoto version as it otherwise could not read the photos when I tried to load the BU library into iphoto. I did click yes to upgrade iphoto. As a result I became a brand new but totally empty library, no photos.
BU was still on the external disc, however the "Master" file was empty. We fortunately discovered all photos were in another file called Old Master, also under BU. We made another copy of the Old Master file onto the external disc. Lucky we did, because shortly afterwards we could not open anymore the BU file thus had no access to anything in there. Now I have 17000 photos in a file called Old Master on my external disc and another smaller library DE on my laptop. When I tried to import the photos from Old Master into a new iphoto library it was very messy. All events dates were mixed up, many photos were imported twice. I have no idea whether all my 17000 photos have been imported.
Can anyone suggest what is the most time efficient way? How do I best import my 17000 into a new library ensuring I don't loose any in the process. I do not wish sorting through 17000 photos for a week or so. Shall i also get a new iphoto library version now? Thank you for anything that may work.

Yes, the Old Master file has a folder for each year where I find all photos from that specific year. I am attaching a screen shot of the file.
In the meantime i have managed to download all photos (it did not download any video files though in mpg, avi, 3gp, m4v,mp4 and mov format) to a new iphoto library. Unfortunately the photos are quite mixed and often doubled up. I ma considering to purchase iphoto library which checks all duplicates in iphoto. this will save me a lot of time. What do you think?

After iPhoto upgrade i can no longer access the photos stored on my external hard drive, after iPhoto upgrade i can no longer access the photos stored on my external hard drive

I was just about to order a photo book, using photos stored on an external hard drive. I organised the book and pressed 'buy'. IPhotos instructed me that I needed to upgrade and so I went on the ASpp store, bought the upgrade and installed as directed. I then used the iPhoto Library upgrader as directed.
After the iPhoto upgrade I can no longer access the photos stored on my external hard drive. I am able to access the photos stored on my internal hard drive - the remainder (including the photo album) seem to have vanished into thin air.
Any suggestions please?

What format is the external drive?

I upgraded to Maverick and now Time Machine will not connect to the external hard drive to back up files. The external hard drive is a Western Digital "My Book Live" 2 TB. How do I solve problem?

I upgraded to Maverick and now Time Machine will not connect to the external hard drive to back up files. The external hard drive is a Western Digital "My Book Live" 2 TB. How do I solve problem?

I also had problem accessing my WD MyBookLive after upgrading to Maverick.
To resolve the problem, I used Connect To Server (Cmd K) to specify the IP address.
Then I enter a user id and password I created in the MyBookLive.
You can also verify that you have admin access to the MyBookLive using Safari or Chrome.
Just enter the MyBookLive IP address as the URL.

Since I upgraded to 10.9.5, my macbook no longer recognizes my external hard drive. How do I fix this? External hard drive is a 1TB Toshiba formatted for mac. Worked fine until latest upgrade.

Since I upgraded to 10.9.5, my macbook no longer recognizes my external hard drive. How do I fix this? External hard drive is a 1TB Toshiba formatted for mac. Worked fine until latest upgrade.

Solved the problem by dumping my external HD onto another computer. Re-formatting and re-installing the data. Not what I wanted to do but it solved the problem.

I'm trying to transfer my pictures from my iPhoto library to my external hard drive. I dragged the iPhoto Library folder into the drive and after waiting a while it says Error Code -36. I need to free up space asap, what should i do?

I'm trying to transfer my pictures from my iPhoto library to my external hard drive. I dragged the iPhoto Library folder into the drive and after waiting a while it says "Error Code -36 The finder cannot complete the operation because some data in 'iPhoto Library' could not be read or written". I need to free up space asap, what should i do??

Yes, the Old Master file has a folder for each year where I find all photos from that specific year. I am attaching a screen shot of the file.
In the meantime i have managed to download all photos (it did not download any video files though in mpg, avi, 3gp, m4v,mp4 and mov format) to a new iphoto library. Unfortunately the photos are quite mixed and often doubled up. I ma considering to purchase iphoto library which checks all duplicates in iphoto. this will save me a lot of time. What do you think?

I was trying to move my photos from the iPhoto library to an external hard drive. I now have a desktop display of thousands of cascading photos. How do I remove them from my desktop screen?

I was trying to move my photos from the iPhoto library to an external hard drive. I now have a desktop display of thousands of cascading photos. How do I remove them from my desktop screen?

Strangely enough we can not see you so it really helps if you share with use exactly what you have, exactly what you did and details about the problem
what version of iPhoto and of the OS? What exact steps did you do? where are you seeing these "thousands of cascading photos" now and using what software and what exactly did you want to accomplish
The correct way to move your iphoto library to an external drive is to verify the drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journal) and then drag the iphotl library intact as a single entity to is
The correct way to move some or all of your photos is to select them in iphoto and export 9file menu ==> export -- https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4921 ) to the external drive
LN

How do I backup my iPhoto Library to an external hard drive and keep my photos grouped by their events?

How can I backup my iPhoto Library to an external hard drive and keep my photos grouped by their events?

I have attempted to make sure my iPhoto library has been backed up on the external hard drive and that it is safe to delete some events from my internal hard drive
You need to think this through.
Time Machine is a back up application. It keeps a rolling back up of the data. It's called rolling because it means you can revert to the data you had on a specific date and time. But that's not eternal, and as time goes by, and your drive fills up, older backups are deleted. So if you delete Events on your Mac they will - eventually - also be deleted from the Time Machine back up.
If you wan tot archive data hendon't use Time Machine for that job. Here's how you might archive 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.
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

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

How can i move my Iphoto library to an external hard drive?

How do I move my Iphoto library to an external hard drive?

Here's a worflow for that:
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

Moving iPhoto library -- how do i point iPhoto to library on external hard drive

I am trying to move my iPhoto library to an external hard drive. I've already copied it from my MacBook to the external HD. I tried launching iPhoto while holding down the option key so that I can point iPhoto to the new location, but no new window comes up for me to do so. I think I have iPhoto '08 and so I actually think I don't have to do that.
My problem is that I can't seem to get iPhoto to open from my hard drive. I added a test album to my library on the MacBook and it also was on the HD library.
I need to take the current library off my HD because it taking up way too much space, but I'm afraid if I delete it that it will also delete off my HD since what I did on the MacBook also happened on the HD.
Help!!

Post your question in the iTunes area:
https://discussions.apple.com/community/itunes/itunes_for_mac

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.

I am not able to delete a backup copy of iphoto library from my external hard drive.

I want to delete a copy of my iphoto library from an external hard drive. This drive is connected via my Apple extreme router. I drag the file to the trash but it just runs and does not seem to delete anything. 39 GB file. It is an older file and I want to clear up space on my external drive.

I figured it out just now.
I unplugged the drive from Airport Extreme and connected directly to the Imac via usb. Dragged the file to the trash and now it is gone.

How do I transfer iPhoto library to an external hard drive?

How do I transfer my iphoto library to an external hard drive. Dragging it does not seem to work.

Erasing the drive won't affect the content of the iPhoto library. If you don't want to reformat that drive, buy another.
Even if you do install software which enables the Mac to write to NTFS drives, the volume containing an iPhoto library needs to be formatted as Mac OS Extended.
(107500)

Upgraded to Yosemite, now need to upgrade iPhoto. Should I leave external hard drive plugged in during update so that software is "compatible"?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for