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help merging photos, iphoto library, photos library, etc

D

drdeez

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 15, 2016
20
3
hello fello mac'ers

last year my rMBP died, I only had it for about 3 years, I believe the video card burned out bc you could still hear the MacBook turning on, fans, etc and the apple sound and what not

now I have a new iMac and im needing help moving my old photos onto my new computer

on my rMBP it used to use iPhoto and Photos , I remember during an OS upgrade Mac osx told me to use one over the other (forgot which)

I removed my old laptop hard drive and connected it to a SATA converter thing and now I can access it with my iMac

I have 2 files on the old HDD
one is called iPhoto library that is 86 GB
the other one is called photos library that is 94.45 GB

what is the easiest way to merge and maintain these into a single standalone photo library onto the new iMac?

thanks !
 
Things I'd try...

Important questions before going further:
On the iMac, what is in your Photos library now?
Is it (for all practical purposes) "empty"?
If that's the case, you could copy both of the "old libraries" over, and go on from there.
But there are tricks involved, so that's why we must know "where you stand" right now.

All that follows is based on the assumption that your new iMac has "an empty library", and that you want to bring over all the old stuff.

First, you should know that you can still use iPhoto with the new OS.
HOWEVER... there is ONLY ONE VERSION of iPhoto that works.
It's version 9.6.1, the last version of iPhoto that Apple released.

HOWEVER -- getting version 9.6.1 can be difficult.
Chances are, you can't get it from Apple, because you'd need to boot from the OLD MPB to get it that way.
HOWEVER -- it can be "gotten from other, unauthorized" sources, if you really wanted to do that. Whether you choose to do or not is up to you.

OK, let's go on.
What I'd do is this:
1. Hook up the external drive to your iMac, let it mount on the desktop.
2. Next -- VERY IMPORTANT -- click on the drive icon ONE TIME to select it.
3. Type command-i to bring up the get info box
4. At the bottom of get info there is a lock icon -- click it and enter your password
5. In sharing and permissions there is a checkbox "ignore ownership on this volume". Put a checkmark into it and close the get info box.
DOING THIS AVOIDS PERMISSIONS PROBLEMS WHEN ACCESSING FILES IN YOUR OLD ACCOUNT.

Now, you can open two windows.

First window:
On the new iMac, open your home folder. You should be able to see the "pictures" folder, but don't open it.

Second window:
On the external drive, open your users/home/pictures. You should be able to see the "iPhoto libary" file (it's actually more than a file), and the "Photos library" file.

Now, "drag and drop" the iPhoto library file onto the "pictures" folder (iMac), and "let 'er go". You should then see a dialog asking if you wish to replace the existing library with the new one. Yes, you want to do this.

Repeat this for the "Photos library" file.

WARNING! This will over-write anything that was in the old files. That's why I mentioned above, only do this if there is nothing you want to save in them.

After doing this, you can disconnect the external drive.
When you open Photos, or iPhoto, the apps should find the (old) libraries and open them.

FINAL THOUGHT:
There may be some utility apps out there that can do things much easier, but I've never used them. Perhaps others will offer a solution much easier than mine!
Be aware that there's a "digital photography" sub-forum here at macrumors, with folks who can surely help...
 
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