Well, you¡¯re right. I didn¡¯t have any malwear anywhere on my computer however I was told by someone to check it out anyway since someone tried to scam me in my bank account online. However, when I got my computer back, some of my apps were not put in place and one of them I can no longer get and it was one of my favorites. It was working great before I left my computer at Best Buy to have them check it out. That particular app no longer available and that¡¯s what really bothers me. My husband has the same program and he uses it so I tried to copy the app from his machine and move it over to mine and it still did not work because the app is no longer available. I was told why does this happen? It¡¯s very disturbing to me.They said at Best Buy that they were not going to take anything off unless they found SPAM but they didn¡¯t and they still took things off that I needed.
Ellen
Sent from my iphone max pro 15
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On May 13, 2025, at 10:44?PM, Ellen Lerner <iomug@...> wrote:
?So today I got my new computer. It¡¯s sitting in the box. I haven¡¯t opened it yet. It¡¯s always a lot of work to start on a new device. I could¡¯ve had Best Buy transfer current computer apps to the new one, however, I just don¡¯t trust Best Buy or the geek squad. The older one I¡¯m using I originally transferred what I needed from an even older computer when I first bought it and that was many years ago. Best Buy offered to transfer everything to the new computer but as I said, I don¡¯t think so. This way, I will take a look at what I really need and maybe dispense with things that I don¡¯t need. It¡¯s so easy to fill up a computer with all kinds of apps and documents and movies, etc. This new computer I just got is the 16 inch max with one TB of storage. I would have gotten more, but I was told at the store that was the only amount that I could only get at Best Bu. So I got the biggest one I could and I¡¯m hoping that we¡¯ll work out for me. I¡¯ve heard rumors that in the next couple months prices are going to go way up; I figured it¡¯s better just to buy one now my computer that I use now is getting pretty full
Ellen
Sent from my iphone max pro 15
On May 1, 2025, at 10:36?PM, Randy B. Singer via groups.io <randy@...> wrote:
?
On May 1, 2025, at 7:04 PM, Ben Rosenthal via groups.io <ben@...> wrote: It¡¯s unlikely your Mac has any malware. macOS is quite good at protecting you against that. Scamming attempts, while malicious, are necessarily
related.
I agree. The chances that there is any malware on her computer are just about nil¡.EXCEPT¡.
When you communicate with a scammer, and they ask for access to your computer, AND YOU GIVE IT TO THEM. Then all bets are off.
__________________________________________________
Randy B. Singer
Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)
Essential But Hard To Find Macintosh Software and Advice
__________________________________________________
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So today I got my new computer. It¡¯s sitting in the box. I haven¡¯t opened it yet. It¡¯s always a lot of work to start on a new device. I could¡¯ve had Best Buy transfer current computer apps to the new one, however, I just don¡¯t trust Best Buy or the geek squad. The older one I¡¯m using I originally transferred what I needed from an even older computer when I first bought it and that was many years ago. Best Buy offered to transfer everything to the new computer but as I said, I don¡¯t think so. This way, I will take a look at what I really need and maybe dispense with things that I don¡¯t need. It¡¯s so easy to fill up a computer with all kinds of apps and documents and movies, etc. This new computer I just got is the 16 inch max with one TB of storage. I would have gotten more, but I was told at the store that was the only amount that I could only get at Best Bu. So I got the biggest one I could and I¡¯m hoping that we¡¯ll work out for me. I¡¯ve heard rumors that in the next couple months prices are going to go way up; I figured it¡¯s better just to buy one now my computer that I use now is getting pretty full
Ellen
Sent from my iphone max pro 15
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On May 1, 2025, at 10:36?PM, Randy B. Singer via groups.io <randy@...> wrote:
?
On May 1, 2025, at 7:04 PM, Ben Rosenthal via groups.io <ben@...> wrote:
It¡¯s unlikely your Mac has any malware. macOS is quite good at protecting you against that. Scamming attempts, while malicious, are necessarily
related. I agree. The chances that there is any malware on her computer are just about nil¡.EXCEPT¡.
When you communicate with a scammer, and they ask for access to your computer, AND YOU GIVE IT TO THEM. Then all bets are off.
__________________________________________________
Randy B. Singer
Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)
Essential But Hard To Find Macintosh Software and Advice
__________________________________________________
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Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
Interesting that they suggest switching the system library between two libraries rather than logging into a different user account.
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On May 9, 2025, at 14:20, Steve Kane <skane-l@...> wrote:
If you ever need to update the "download originals" copy on the external drive, you would perform the steps in that article, to switch the system/iCloud library temporarily to the external drive, and then back again when you're done."
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Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
I sent the same question to support at fatcatsoftware.com <>, makers of PowerPhotos. Their reply is below. Their suggestions are similar to what has been posted here with additional elaboration:
"Yes, the basic setup for this is outlined in the PowerPhotos manual at the page below, the very last section would be the most relevant to your setup. Since in your case your existing library already has "Download Originals" selected, you should initially just be able to copy the library to the external drive, and it will already be a fully downloaded copy of the library.
If you then want to clear up the disk space being used by the library on the internal drive, Photos won't automatically purge local copies unless the drive really starts running low on space. If you want to reclaim space right away, what you'll need to do is:
? Delete the library from the internal drive.
? Create a new, empty library in its place (this can be done by selecting File > New Library in PowerPhotos)
? Use the Photos settings window to first make the new library the system photo library, then enable iCloud Photos with the optimize storage option enabled.
Photos will then download and populate the thumbnails for all the photos from iCloud, but initially without any of the full size photos downloaded. Photos will then be downloaded on demand as you use them, e.g. viewing them full size, editing, etc.
If you ever need to update the "download originals" copy on the external drive, you would perform the steps in that article, to switch the system/iCloud library temporarily to the external drive, and then back again when you're done."
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On May 8, 2025, at 12:16?PM, Steve Kane <skane-l@...> wrote:
I sent an email to fatcatsoftware.com <> asking if their PowerPhotos app could help with this. If/when they reply I will post here.
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Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
On May 9, 2025, at 03:47, Peter Rasmusen <peter@...> wrote:
I think you will have to accept, that it¡¯s either full-size or low-res. It can¡¯t be both. This might be a novel solution, don¡¯t turn on optimize storage for the iCloud account. Then do regular backups to an external drive. The OP is fighting against a situation that is ¡°either/or¡±, not ¡°this/that/or the other thing¡±. It is like the old sign in an old-fashioned print shop, you can have it quick, cheap or accurate, pick two, but you can¡¯t have all three.
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Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
Steve, the way I understood your original post, you were concerned about your ¡°up to this point¡± photos, going forward you will need to repeat what ever steps you take. If you are worried about not remembering the steps, write yourself a Note or TextEdit and place copies in both locations. As with other data and docs, back it up.
You are worried about full sized photos. If you take a lot of photos you want to keep, your iCloud Storage is going to get expensive, so I would put them on external drives in any case, even if you have then in the cloud and on your computer.
Brent
On my iPhone Xr
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On May 8, 2025, at 10:16, Steve Kane <skane-l@...> wrote:
?Otto, that is what I was kicking around but then I realized what Ben said earlier, that it would not capture future photos.
Ben, that looks doable, though I know myself well enough to know that future me might miss a step or even forget just what the heck I had done. ;-)
My M2 MacBook Air is carrying the full 2TB SSD. But, I am a digital pack rat (since 1987). Though I did just trash all 150MB (sigh, not GB) that was sitting in my Downloads folder.
I sent an email to fatcatsoftware.com <> asking if their PowerPhotos app could help with this. If/when they reply I will post here.
On May 8, 2025, at 11:28?AM, Ben Rosenthal via groups.io <ben@...> wrote:
I think your best scenario is to move your library of originals to an external drive, create a second user account on your Mac, sign into your same Apple account, and point iCloud Photos to the external. Make sure this drive is included in backups. Then, make your local library optimized.
Ongoing, to keep your full library up to date, you¡¯ll need to make sure your second account is at least logged-in in the background and the external drive connected. Photos¡¯ background process will handle the syncing.
When you go out, you can eject the drive. Upon reconnecting, background syncing will continue as long as the second account is logged in.
On May 8, 2025, at 08:47, Steve Kane <skane-l@...> wrote: ?But if I enable "Optimize Mac Storage" in the Mac Photos app then my local copy of Photos Library.photoslibrary would only contain thumbnails, or anyway reduced resolution copies of my photos. The full resolution photos would only exist on Apple's iCloud servers.
I would like to have a way of having a backup of my photos (and preferably the whole Photos Library.photoslibrary file) in another place in addition to Apple's servers.
For practical reasons I do not want to simply move my Photos Library.photoslibrary file to an external drive because I sometimes move around with my MacBook Air and leave behind all other devices, in which case, my MacBook Air would not have my photos. Photos Library.photoslibrary would be left behind on an external drive.
On May 8, 2025, at 9:56?AM, Otto Nikolaus via groups.io <otto.nikolaus@...> wrote:
You could use TM, CCC or SD to back up whatever you want.
Otto
On 8 May 2025, at 15:32, Steve Kane via groups.io <skane-l@...> wrote:
macOS 15.4.1, M2 MacBook Air
Photos > Settings > iCloud
In the not too distant future I may have to enable "Optimize Mac Storage" on my Mac to recover storage space on the internal SSD.
Is there a way I could make backups to an external SSD of the full res photo library on an ongoing basis?
I suppose iCloud would have to somehow be persuaded to download the full res photo library to an external drive?
Maybe some third party utility?
Anyone know?
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Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
I think you will have to accept, that it¡¯s either full-size or low-res. It can¡¯t be both.
My solution would be - as someone else has already suggested - to buy a fast external SSD with enough space to hold your pictures for the foreseeable future.
Make a new user on your MacBook, use the same Apple-ID and place this users Photolibrary on the external SSD - in full resolution.
This way you can have the optimized library on your Steve user profice and the full-resolution version on your ¡°Steve-2¡± profile.
As long as as you are logged in on your Steve-2 profile, your photos will syncronize the the external SSD, and this will work in the background.
If you leave home, and forget ypur external SSD, all you need is an internet connection, because once you open an image in say Photoshop, it will download in full resolution so you can work with it.
That said - a friend of mine is an avid bird photographer, and like you he has space issues. Being a very low-practical guy in wellies and trekking gear, he has solved it by attaching a Samsung T7 Shield SSD to the backside of the screen on his laptop with velcro. I assume double-sided tape coyld work too :-)
Perhaps not the most aestetic solution, but like I said, he¡¯s a practical guy and it works for him. And once he opens his laptop, he can¡¯t see the external SSD anyway.
:-)
Peter
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On 8 May 2025, at 16.32, Steve Kane <skane-l@...> wrote:
macOS 15.4.1, M2 MacBook Air
Photos > Settings > iCloud
In the not too distant future I may have to enable "Optimize Mac Storage" on my Mac to recover storage space on the internal SSD.
Is there a way I could make backups to an external SSD of the full res photo library on an ongoing basis?
I suppose iCloud would have to somehow be persuaded to download the full res photo library to an external drive?
Maybe some third party utility?
Anyone know?
|
Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
In which case, I¡¯d save the full-res photos elsewhere and back them up *before* they go into iCloud.
Otto
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On 9 May 2025, at 01:14, Ben Rosenthal via groups.io <ben@...> wrote:
?That¡¯s exactly right. That¡¯s how iCloud Photos works when Optimized Mac Storage is enabled. That is, there¡¯s no dependency between iCloud Photos and Time Machine.
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Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
?That¡¯s exactly right. That¡¯s how iCloud Photos works when Optimized Mac Storage is enabled. That is, there¡¯s no dependency between iCloud Photos and Time Machine.
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On May 8, 2025, at 15:34, Otto Nikolaus via groups.io <otto.nikolaus@...> wrote:
? Are you saying that future photos will be ¡°optimised¡± (reduced) automatically without you having a chance to back them up? That can¡¯t be right.
Otto On 8 May 2025, at 18:16, Steve Kane via < skane-l@...> wrote:
Otto, that is what I was kicking around but then I realized what Ben said earlier, that it would not capture future photos.
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Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
Are you saying that future photos will be ¡°optimised¡± (reduced) automatically without you having a chance to back them up? That can¡¯t be right.
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On 8 May 2025, at 18:16, Steve Kane via < skane-l@...> wrote:
Otto, that is what I was kicking around but then I realized what Ben said earlier, that it would not capture future photos.
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Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
No, of course not: like any backup, it needs to be kept up to date.
Otto
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On 8 May 2025, at 17:28, Ben Rosenthal via groups.io <ben@...> wrote:
Doing so wouldn¡¯t capture future photos added to the library.
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Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
Otto, that is what I was kicking around but then I realized what Ben said earlier, that it would not capture future photos.
Ben, that looks doable, though I know myself well enough to know that future me might miss a step or even forget just what the heck I had done. ;-)
My M2 MacBook Air is carrying the full 2TB SSD. But, I am a digital pack rat (since 1987). Though I did just trash all 150MB (sigh, not GB) that was sitting in my Downloads folder.
I sent an email to fatcatsoftware.com <> asking if their PowerPhotos app could help with this. If/when they reply I will post here.
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On May 8, 2025, at 11:28?AM, Ben Rosenthal via groups.io <ben@...> wrote:
I think your best scenario is to move your library of originals to an external drive, create a second user account on your Mac, sign into your same Apple account, and point iCloud Photos to the external. Make sure this drive is included in backups. Then, make your local library optimized.
Ongoing, to keep your full library up to date, you¡¯ll need to make sure your second account is at least logged-in in the background and the external drive connected. Photos¡¯ background process will handle the syncing.
When you go out, you can eject the drive. Upon reconnecting, background syncing will continue as long as the second account is logged in.
On May 8, 2025, at 08:47, Steve Kane <skane-l@...> wrote:
?But if I enable "Optimize Mac Storage" in the Mac Photos app then my local copy of Photos Library.photoslibrary would only contain thumbnails, or anyway reduced resolution copies of my photos. The full resolution photos would only exist on Apple's iCloud servers.
I would like to have a way of having a backup of my photos (and preferably the whole Photos Library.photoslibrary file) in another place in addition to Apple's servers.
For practical reasons I do not want to simply move my Photos Library.photoslibrary file to an external drive because I sometimes move around with my MacBook Air and leave behind all other devices, in which case, my MacBook Air would not have my photos. Photos Library.photoslibrary would be left behind on an external drive.
On May 8, 2025, at 9:56?AM, Otto Nikolaus via groups.io <otto.nikolaus@...> wrote:
You could use TM, CCC or SD to back up whatever you want.
Otto
On 8 May 2025, at 15:32, Steve Kane via groups.io <skane-l@...> wrote:
macOS 15.4.1, M2 MacBook Air
Photos > Settings > iCloud
In the not too distant future I may have to enable "Optimize Mac Storage" on my Mac to recover storage space on the internal SSD.
Is there a way I could make backups to an external SSD of the full res photo library on an ongoing basis?
I suppose iCloud would have to somehow be persuaded to download the full res photo library to an external drive?
Maybe some third party utility?
Anyone know?
|
Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
Doing so wouldn¡¯t capture future photos added to the library.
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On May 8, 2025, at 09:21, Otto Nikolaus via groups.io <otto.nikolaus@...> wrote:
?Steve,
I must be missing something here, but why can¡¯t you back up the *full res* photos as I said *before* enabling Optimize¡?
Otto
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Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
I think your best scenario is to move your library of originals to an external drive, create a second user account on your Mac, sign into your same Apple account, and point iCloud Photos to the external. Make sure this drive is included in backups. Then, make your local library optimized.
Ongoing, to keep your full library up to date, you¡¯ll need to make sure your second account is at least logged-in in the background and the external drive connected. Photos¡¯ background process will handle the syncing.
When you go out, you can eject the drive. Upon reconnecting, background syncing will continue as long as the second account is logged in.
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Show quoted text
On May 8, 2025, at 08:47, Steve Kane <skane-l@...> wrote:
?But if I enable "Optimize Mac Storage" in the Mac Photos app then my local copy of Photos Library.photoslibrary would only contain thumbnails, or anyway reduced resolution copies of my photos. The full resolution photos would only exist on Apple's iCloud servers.
I would like to have a way of having a backup of my photos (and preferably the whole Photos Library.photoslibrary file) in another place in addition to Apple's servers.
For practical reasons I do not want to simply move my Photos Library.photoslibrary file to an external drive because I sometimes move around with my MacBook Air and leave behind all other devices, in which case, my MacBook Air would not have my photos. Photos Library.photoslibrary would be left behind on an external drive.
On May 8, 2025, at 9:56?AM, Otto Nikolaus via groups.io <otto.nikolaus@...> wrote:
You could use TM, CCC or SD to back up whatever you want.
Otto
On 8 May 2025, at 15:32, Steve Kane via groups.io <skane-l@...> wrote:
macOS 15.4.1, M2 MacBook Air
Photos > Settings > iCloud
In the not too distant future I may have to enable "Optimize Mac Storage" on my Mac to recover storage space on the internal SSD.
Is there a way I could make backups to an external SSD of the full res photo library on an ongoing basis?
I suppose iCloud would have to somehow be persuaded to download the full res photo library to an external drive?
Maybe some third party utility?
Anyone know?
|
Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
Steve,
I must be missing something here, but why can¡¯t you back up the *full res* photos as I said *before* enabling Optimize¡?
Otto
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On 8 May 2025, at 16:47, Steve Kane via groups.io <skane-l@...> wrote:
But if I enable "Optimize Mac Storage" in the Mac Photos app then my local copy of Photos Library.photoslibrary would only contain thumbnails, or anyway reduced resolution copies of my photos. The full resolution photos would only exist on Apple's iCloud servers.
I would like to have a way of having a backup of my photos (and preferably the whole Photos Library.photoslibrary file) in another place in addition to Apple's servers.
For practical reasons I do not want to simply move my Photos Library.photoslibrary file to an external drive because I sometimes move around with my MacBook Air and leave behind all other devices, in which case, my MacBook Air would not have my photos. Photos Library.photoslibrary would be left behind on an external drive.
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Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
Something isn¡¯t clear to me about this.
You want to free up space on your internal drive, right? But you don¡¯t want to put the photos on an external drive because you leave it behind when moving around with your MBA. Because you want your MBA to have your photos.
How would your MBA have your photos if you move them off its SDD? Which is what you seem to want to do, to free up space.
Jerry
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On May 8, 2025, at 5:47 PM, Steve Kane <skane-l@...> wrote:
But if I enable "Optimize Mac Storage" in the Mac Photos app then my local copy of Photos Library.photoslibrary would only contain thumbnails, or anyway reduced resolution copies of my photos. The full resolution photos would only exist on Apple's iCloud servers.
I would like to have a way of having a backup of my photos (and preferably the whole Photos Library.photoslibrary file) in another place in addition to Apple's servers.
For practical reasons I do not want to simply move my Photos Library.photoslibrary file to an external drive because I sometimes move around with my MacBook Air and leave behind all other devices, in which case, my MacBook Air would not have my photos. Photos Library.photoslibrary would be left behind on an external drive.
On May 8, 2025, at 9:56?AM, Otto Nikolaus via groups.io <otto.nikolaus@...> wrote:
You could use TM, CCC or SD to back up whatever you want.
Otto
On 8 May 2025, at 15:32, Steve Kane via groups.io <skane-l@...> wrote:
macOS 15.4.1, M2 MacBook Air
Photos > Settings > iCloud
In the not too distant future I may have to enable "Optimize Mac Storage" on my Mac to recover storage space on the internal SSD.
Is there a way I could make backups to an external SSD of the full res photo library on an ongoing basis?
I suppose iCloud would have to somehow be persuaded to download the full res photo library to an external drive?
Maybe some third party utility?
Anyone know?
|
Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
But if I enable "Optimize Mac Storage" in the Mac Photos app then my local copy of Photos Library.photoslibrary would only contain thumbnails, or anyway reduced resolution copies of my photos. The full resolution photos would only exist on Apple's iCloud servers.
I would like to have a way of having a backup of my photos (and preferably the whole Photos Library.photoslibrary file) in another place in addition to Apple's servers.
For practical reasons I do not want to simply move my Photos Library.photoslibrary file to an external drive because I sometimes move around with my MacBook Air and leave behind all other devices, in which case, my MacBook Air would not have my photos. Photos Library.photoslibrary would be left behind on an external drive.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On May 8, 2025, at 9:56?AM, Otto Nikolaus via groups.io <otto.nikolaus@...> wrote:
You could use TM, CCC or SD to back up whatever you want.
Otto
On 8 May 2025, at 15:32, Steve Kane via groups.io <skane-l@...> wrote:
macOS 15.4.1, M2 MacBook Air
Photos > Settings > iCloud
In the not too distant future I may have to enable "Optimize Mac Storage" on my Mac to recover storage space on the internal SSD.
Is there a way I could make backups to an external SSD of the full res photo library on an ongoing basis?
I suppose iCloud would have to somehow be persuaded to download the full res photo library to an external drive?
Maybe some third party utility?
Anyone know?
|
Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
You could use TM, CCC or SD to back up whatever you want.
Otto
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 8 May 2025, at 15:32, Steve Kane via groups.io <skane-l@...> wrote:
macOS 15.4.1, M2 MacBook Air
Photos > Settings > iCloud
In the not too distant future I may have to enable "Optimize Mac Storage" on my Mac to recover storage space on the internal SSD.
Is there a way I could make backups to an external SSD of the full res photo library on an ongoing basis?
I suppose iCloud would have to somehow be persuaded to download the full res photo library to an external drive?
Maybe some third party utility?
Anyone know?
|
backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
macOS 15.4.1, M2 MacBook Air
Photos > Settings > iCloud
In the not too distant future I may have to enable "Optimize Mac Storage" on my Mac to recover storage space on the internal SSD.
Is there a way I could make backups to an external SSD of the full res photo library on an ongoing basis?
I suppose iCloud would have to somehow be persuaded to download the full res photo library to an external drive?
Maybe some third party utility?
Anyone know?
|
Re: Need iPhone Clock App
Jim -
?
Yes, that app from Emerald and Sequoia worked great until I switched from my beloved iPhone SE (pretty small form factor). Keep your old iPhone as long as you can if you need to keep an old app running.?
--
Charles Phillips
Houston, Texas
Some C and C++ coding, orbital mechanics analysis, amateur astronomer tracking satellites
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Ben Rosenthal
Brent
Charles Phillips