Moving the Photos Library to an external drive

[AMSOS]

I want to move the iCloud photos library to my external HDD backup drive.

I noticed, however, that Apple says--

https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT201517

that you can't move the library to a drive that is used for Time Machine backups.

While is this so?

While I have automatic Time Machine backups setup on both my externals, there are also other folders that I've manually saved. The automatic Time Machine backups is just one of the many folders I see on the drive. Doesn't this let me move the Photos Library to my external?

Thanks for your suggestions!

 

[BrianBaughn]

Don't know why it can't be on the same disk but I imagine the processes of one or the other can cause corruption.

A separate partition for each on the same physical drive will not be a problem.

 

[Dave Braine]

Don't know why it can't be on the same disk

Possibly because TM will see the Library file as a strange file that it doesn't recognise.

 

[AMSOS]

on my external the TM backups are stored in separate folders labelled "backup."

why should it be an issue if I save the Photo Library outside these folders but on the same external? I would understand it if I saved them within the backup folders, but outside I already have other folders to which I manually save. Why can't I just put the library alongside these folders? Beats me...

 

[Brian33]

I agree that logically you should be able to have the photo library on the backup volume, but I'm guessing this is the reason it might be prohibited:

a) perhaps it is true that TM cannot back up any any files that exist on the backup volume itself, and
b) perhaps Apple decided that photos are files that users SHOULD be backing up.

Thus, disallow users from (in most cases) "shooting themselves in the foot."

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"...that you can't move the library to a drive that is used for Time Machine backups."

Well, the answer is not difficult.

If you use time machine (I've never used it), you should have a drive that is dedicated to time machine ONLY.
That means... nothing else goes onto it, only the tm backup.

If you have other files (such as the photos library) that you need to "move off" the internal drive, then you need to buy ANOTHER external drive to contain those files.

That's just "the way it is".

One other thing...
You will now need to buy A THIRD DRIVE, which will become your backup of the "external storage" drive.
You never NEVER NEVER want to have precious data stored on ONLY ONE drive.

For backing up your primary external storage drive to your external storage backup drive, I recommend that DO NOT USE time machine.

Instead, use a cloning app such as CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper.
If you do this, the backup will be AN EXACT COPY of the source drive.
You could throw away the source drive and switch right to the cloned backup and it would like nothing changed.