Photo transfers

[Bapdco]

Any help with transferring my wife's photo file from her iMac to her Macbook Pro?

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

We'll need a bit more information first:
-Which version(s) of OS X on the iMac and the MacBook Pro?
-Is the iMac using iPhoto or Photos?
-Which version(s) of iPhoto/Photos on both?
-Do you have an external hard drive by chance?
-Did you perform a migration of her account from the iMac to the MacBook Pro?
-How large is the library?

C

 

[Bapdco]

Both units are running Sierra10.12.5 and Photos 2.0
iMac has 1.679 photos to be transferred (copied) to the Macbook
I have a 16G thumbdrive

 

[Cory Cooper]

OK, you can copy the Photos Library file to the USB drive and then copy it to the Pictures folder on the MacBook Pro, as long as the file is less than 16 GB. I would probably partition (reformat) the USB drive using Disk Utility first if you don't have any files on it you need. Use Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and GUID Partition Map, so that the Photos Library won't be corrupted during the transfer.

Once it is copied, you should be able to simply open up Photos and use it, as long as they are at the same version, and there isn't already a Photos Library on the new MBP.

C

 

[Bapdco]

OK, you can copy the Photos Library file to the USB drive and then copy it to the Pictures folder on the MacBook Pro, as long as the file is less than 16 GB. I would probably partition (reformat) the USB drive using Disk Utility first if you don't have any files on it you need. Use Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and GUID Partition Map, so that the Photos Library won't be corrupted during the transfer.

Once it is copied, you should be able to simply open up Photos and use it, as long as they are at the same version, and there isn't already a Photos Library on the new MBP.

C

The USB drive is blank so partioning won't be necessay. There is a Photo Library on both computers.

 

[Cory Cooper]

I only suggested that, because Windows formatted flash drives sometimes don't support files that are larger than 4 GB. And, sometimes they see Apple Photos Library files as a single file package.

Since there is already a Photos Library on the new Mac, you have to rename it before you copy the old one, or it will ask if you want to replace it. Once the transfer is done, we can work on getting the photos combined.

C

 

[Bapdco]

I only suggested that, because Windows formatted flash drives sometimes don't support files that are larger than 4 GB. And, sometimes they see Apple Photos Library files as a single file package.

Since there is already a Photos Library on the new Mac, you have to rename it before you copy the old one, or it will ask if you want to replace it. Once the transfer is done, we can work on getting the photos combined.

C

Ok. Thank you. I'm curious why I wasn't able to transfer anything through File Sharing.