Moved to Photos, have 2 libraries. Do I need both?

[skybolt]

I did the upgrade, and will be using Photos from here forward. I noticed that my hard drive was filling up, so I started looking. I find that I now have a library named iPhoto Library.migratedphotolibrary that is 136 GB (I have about 16,000 pics), and one named Photos Library.photoslibrary that is 81 GB. Why are they so big? And do I need both? What are the ramifications if I delete the "migrated" iPhoto library?

I also notice that I have, in the "migrated" file 54 GB in iPod Photo Cache. I don't use an iPod any more, just my iPhone. Do I need this file?

Thanks in advance!

 

[chscag]

As long as you're happy with Photos and the new library has all your photos and it's satisfactory to you, there's no reason to have duplicate libraries. However, I would not remove the iPhoto app, just remove its library. And why is your library so large? Probably because you have 16,000 photos in it.

 

[skybolt]

Thanks for such a quick reply. I guess I am concerned that one library is so much larger than the other. Guessing that could be the iPod Photo Cache? I also put the photos in iCloud, so that should help. I just opened iPhoto to see how many photos it is reporting, and it says 16,306. Then I checked Photos and it is reporting 16,119. Wonder how to determine where the other 200 photos are???

So you don't think 81 GB is more than a 16,00 photo library should be? I have so many because I scanned in all my family's old photos going back to the late 1800's. What a rewarding project that was!

Thanks again for your reply.

 

[chscag]

So you don't think 81 GB is more than a 16,00 photo library should be? I have so many because I scanned in all my family's old photos going back to the late 1800's. What a rewarding project that was!

It sounds like you definitely have done a great job preserving all those precious photos. And no, 81 GB is not too much space considering you have over 16,000 photos. You also have to consider that the photos you scanned in are probably larger (space wise) than those you have recently taken with your camera. Just make sure you backup all those photos to prevent loss. Use Time Machine or cloning software such as Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper.

 

[skybolt]

Thanks! I have just done a Super Duper backup (which is where I found the issue with space - said I didn't have enough space on the partition to backup, but I worked that out). I also have a cloud backup so feel I am safe for now. Thanks again for your input!