|
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?
|
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?
|
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?
|
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
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
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?
|
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
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
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.
|
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.
toggle quoted message
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?
|
Doing so wouldn¡¯t capture future photos added to the library.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
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
|
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.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
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?
|
No, of course not: like any backup, it needs to be kept up to date.
Otto
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
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.
|
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.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
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.
|
?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.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
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.
|
In which case, I¡¯d save the full-res photos elsewhere and back them up *before* they go into iCloud.
Otto
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
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.
|
Ben Rosenthal