manage photos on ext HD using iPhoto

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Hi - I put this on the iPhoto question thread but had no response so trying new thread in hope of a response.

I have most of my photos on an external hard drive and want to view and manage them using iPhoto. I tried Chas M's solution 07-25-2011, 06:56 in other thread and copied iphoto library onto the ext HD but still couldn't view the photos using iPhoto. Then I realised I must import them into the library so tried that but there are over 40,000 photos and although it started importing them, it stopped and froze after 2000 and locked me out - I force closed and restarted but then it said I didn't have permission even to open iPhoto (!), so I have now deleted the iPhoto library from my ext hard drive and am about to start again tomorrow.

Very frustrating - all I want to do is view and manage all my photos on my ext HD using iPhoto. And yes, I am a frustrated switcher, who is trying very hard to learn this new OS, but it isn't easy. Just wish I'd found the forum first - I might not have made the change, but I have and I really want to stick with it.

Thanks in advance for any help and advice, gillian
 
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There's little chas_m doesn't know about iPhoto so I'm pretty confident his info is good so there likely something different in your current setup.

So what's you're current situation? Do you have all your photos in iPhoto on your Mac hard disk and that works ok?
 
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Hi - no, I have some on my Mac hard disk and they work ok. However, but I can't view any of the photos (about 40,000) that are on my ext HD except with preview, i.e. one at a time.

I managed to copy the iPhoto library to the ext HD OK as chas m suggested, but still could not view them. I realised that I still needed to import them into the newly created library, and that's when problems started. Now I am back to square one.
 
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Apologies if I'm a bit slow on the uptake, I promise I'll make some useful suggestions soon.....

Some background, apologies if this is known stuff. iPhoto is a photo management tool. You add images into the iPhoto library where they are packaged away. All interaction with those images is then done via iPhoto. So once you import your images into the library you view, edit, print, upload etc via iPhoto. There are pros and cons to this approach but one of the benefits is that you can then lift the library from one place to another easily.

It sounds as though, currently your images are in folders just sat on your hard disk, otherwise you wouldn't be able to use preview.
Is this the case?

I think the import issue is due to the performance of your external disk.

I would try importing them in smaller quantities or put the library back on the internal disk, import the photos then move it back to the external.

Also, to though another spanner in, I'd seriaously consider a backup solution for your images if you don't already have one.
 
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Thanks - what you say is correct, they are sitting on the HD and not in the library in spite of trying. The HD is a new Seagate backup plus portable drive 1 TB so should be fast enough. It is true most photos are in large format, maybe that is the reason. I will try importing each album at a time - just thought there ought to be an easier and quicker way.

BTW, as a back up, I do have them on another hard disk but that is only formatted for PC, hence why I wanted to get them backed up again and viewable through the Mac iPhoto. I managed to copy them from the original ext HD to the Seagate on the old PC - and thought I would be able to do the same into the library. Will do it bit by bit, thanks.
 
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It's not just about speed but about the way the drive controller handles transfers. USB can be notoriously picky about lots of smaller files and simultaneous back and forth traffic. If a glitch occurs, iPhoto will err on the side of caution and stop, rather than corrupting data.

At least once it's done you'll just be adding to it.

Just for additional info. Mac OSX can read NTFS (likely the PC disk format you have on your other disk). A mere $20 will get you Paragon NTFS - lets you read and write to NTFS. It's a proven and popular choice for many forum users. Just an abstract thought for another time perhaps.
 
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chas_m

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I think the problem here (at least from the description provided) is your misuse of the term "library" as "a collection of pictures" when the rest of us are referring to the iPhoto library, which is a package file.

I can't find the post you're referencing at the moment, but my usual instructions for moving an *iPhoto Library* to an external hard drive are extremely simple:

1. Copy the entire iPhoto Library package to the external drive.
2. Open iPhoto with the option key held down. A dialog will request you to open or create a new iPhoto library.
3. Choose "open" and navigate to the external drive's *iPhoto Library* package.
4. You are done, and once you feel confident that everything is working as it should, you can delete the original *iPhoto Library* file from your boot HD.

Since you appear to be using the phrase "library" to mean a loose collection of pictures, these instructions are obviously not going to work.
 
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"Since you appear to be using the phrase "library" to mean a loose collection of pictures, these instructions are obviously not going to work."

I think if you had understood my first post, you wouldn't need to be so unfriendly, but I will assume that I was not clear enough. I do understand that my 'loose collection of pictures' is not the same as the iPhoto library - and that is why I finally realised that I would have to import them into it to view and manage them using iPhoto (which incidentally, you do not tell us to do in your instructions above). Here is my problem:

- my 'loose collection of pictures' is in sub folders on my ext drive
- I copied my iPhoto library onto the same drive according to your instructions above
- I still could not view my photos except using preview
- I realised (correctly I hope) that I needed to import said collection into the iPhoto library using the import function
- this worked until it froze on one photo (not always the same one) and locked me out, I then force quit, could not shut down or restart, had to close Mac by pressing on power switch til it shut down
- on reopening and trying to open iPhoto (the new default version on ext drive) - I am given the following message "The iPhoto Library is locked, on a locked disk, or you do not have permission to make changes to it."
- after many attempts and another restart after a night's sleep, I manage to reopen it, BUT most (although strangely not all) of the albums that I thought I had successfully imported had disappeared! The events were still there, but they contained NO photos.
- Having deleted the whole (new) library twice now and started again trying with smaller and smaller imports I thought I better empty the trash. This caused another lock out and another force shut down etc etc.

I will try to get an appointment at the Apple shop and see if someone there can help me.
 
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I definitely think its the external drive that's the cause of the issues. Do you have room to create the library and import the photos on your internal drive?
 
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Thanks for your help MoTM - I have now imported the photos onto the internal drive and after many attempts, more crashes and subsequent repairs, I seem to have most of them. I would still like to understand why a brand new ext drive that I bought particularly because it can be used on both pc and Mac should cause so much trouble, but without more knowledge I guess that will always be a mystery - I now don't want to plug it into the Mac in case it causes more - irreparable - losses, but can at least use it on the old PC.
 
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chas_m

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I've re-read my post several times and cannot find any part of it that is unfriendly. It was intended to be clarifying and helpful -- if I wanted to be unfriendly I would simply not have replied at all.

I'm glad you have managed to import your photos into iPhoto and hope you find more success now that you have identified and removed the source of the problem.
 

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