apple photos download originals to hard drive

#APPLE PHOTOS DOWNLOAD ORIGINALS TO HARD DRIVE TV#

In my case the Mac mini that had the RAID problem is the local master at home, and all the laptops and the TV mini are optimized clients. Then I'd change its iCloud settings to 'Optimize Local Storage' instead of 'Download Originals to this Mac.' Then make that the new 'System Photo Library' and turn iCloud Photos back on, again.Īfter that, you should periodically switch to the external library, let it download all the new Originals since the last sync, and switch back. Once that's done I'd create a new, empty library on the internal HD. With that being said, you can’t bulk-Edit however, you can bulk-Share. Only when you Edit or Share a photo is it fully downloaded from iCloud (possibly when you zoom in all the way, also). Even when you view an image, a device-optimized version is retrieved. Note that when you change your 'System Photo Library' iCloud Photos will be turned off, so you'll have to go to the iCloud pane in System Preferences to turn it back on in order to kick off The Great Uploading. There are actually multiple levels of download. Also NB: you probably want this external library to be set to 'Download Originals to this Mac' so in uploading it doesn't blow away the actual original files (I strive for three copies of every original, because external hard drives are cheap your backup plan may vary, but please don't rely on The Cloud for your only backup).

NB: I left mine running and did other things, and I know it took hours, but I don't know how many hours. If you use iCloud Photos, designate this new library as the System Photo Library by choosing Photos > Preferences > General and clicking the Use as System Photo Library button. :-/ That said, it seems you may be able to relocate your 'System Photo Library' onto the external drive, add the photos to it there, and wait while they're uploaded. When it’s done copying, double-click the new Photos Library icon on the external hard drive to launch Photos and set it to open that new copy on future launches. This is the most straightforward solution, and will retain all albums/metadata in your library. Click the Other button to select the library on the new drive. once everything is downloaded locally, backup the photos.library file to your desired location. A dialog appears showing the current library selection. An internal HD does seem to be the only scenario Apple really tests. Hold down the Option key and launch Photos. Best answer: When I did this with over 100GB of photos, I did it on a Mac that had a newly empty internal hard drive (thanks to a corrupted RAID).

Apple photos download originals to hard drive