Transferring iPhoto Library to MBLD

[towers00]

I want to move my iPhoto Library unto my MBLD. I have read that it is best to have an external HDD formatted as Mac OS X Extended (journaled).

See this link:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3012995?start=0&tstart=0

I am still reading up on it, but I do not know how MBLD is currently formatted. Does anyone know how to find out how MBLD is formatted as?

When I use Disk Utility on my iMac (Version 10.6.8), I only see an "Apple sparse bundle disk image" - which seems to be my Time Machine Backups. This reads "Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled)." This is different than my local HDD.  

Any help would be appreciated as I would really like to move my iPhoto Library to MBLD to free up more space on my iMac (only 12 GB left).  Thanks in advance.

[Wizer]

Dude that link is a year old..

As long as iPhoto can read the files from networks drives you can transfer it

the NAS file system is ext4 to make it compatible with Mac and Windows

[towers00]

You are right Wizer that it is old but there has been some recent comments, especially by Elbows that had some success with a transfer of his iPhoto library to a NAS. Thanks for letting me know about the file system the MBLD uses. It was helpful. This is what I wrote on that Apple discussion forum:   I am in the process of transferring my iPhoto (9) library (255 GB) over to a My Book Live Duo 6 TB (ext4) external HDD. I have already successfully ran Time Machine on my local HDD (a day long process as it was 475 GB on my local HDD). The MBLD is on a RAID 1 so that it mirrors betweeen two HDD.   My iMac (OX 10.6.8) is pretty old but I am grateful to have organized my 25K photos on it. It is wired to my Airport Extreme Base and the MBLD is also wired to that same AE (CAT 6 using Gigabit Ethernet).     Hopefully I have the same experience as you do, but I will let you all know. It has taken 11 hours to do 27 GB out of the 255 GB and it says it has 90 hours to go!     I wonder if it has anything to do with how the ext4 writes the data. 

[towers00]

After 34 hours I am glad to say/write that my 255 GB have been transferred over to MBLD. The sad thing is that I tried opening up iPhoto (selecting the iPhoto Library that is now on the MBLD). 

The problem is that it is taking so, so long. Not sure after all that this will work. I am glad it was able to be moved over but not sure this will work. I'll give a status update later.

[towers00 · Accepted solution]

Well the transfer was successful. My iPhoto library (255 GB) was able to read on my MBLD (formatted as ext4 not Mac OS Extended - Journaled). This is the good news.

The bad news: It takes too long to load the photos. Even scrolling down on the Events in my library, though it may be fuzzy at first to see the cover photo on the event and eventually becomes clear, it takes way too long. 

It may be a combination of the processor speed of my iMac (1st generation Intel based iMac - 2 GHz Intel Core Duo and 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM) and the network (MBLD connected via Gigabit ethernet to Airport Extreme and back to iMac via Gigabit ethernet).

The REAL test would be on the latest iMac, but for that we shall have to wait So, for the most part this problem is solved. Thanks again Wizer for letting me know about the MBLD's format...ext4. 

[towers00]

It took 8 minutes and 16 seconds to open up iPhoto library on MBLD!

I am going to try another way.

[Wyper]

I have the same issue, though based on new Mac, moved 12k photos to my MBLD with raid. It worked initially to move all photos. But I am using Apples Aperture to manage the photos and now it takes for ever to update any view and changes photos. Before I had the photos stored on Apple TimeMachine, worked perfectly accessing them with Aperture. Now the program idle and eventually crash. Nothing changed, else than I had the photos moved to the MBLD, connected to the time machine by a cable. Then accessing them wireless on my computer, just as earlier.  I am not sure but could be that the raid functionality is the problem. Not been able to find any solution. I am today moving all photos back to the time machine. If anyone find a solution, please post it! Thanks

[towers00]

The wireless connection will be slower over an ethernet cable. Though, even with it wired, it still may function slowly. 

You may be on to something with the RAID 1 setup, though we may need to do some more investigating. The change over to RAID 1 took me 20 hours.

Other people have been dealing with speed issues as well:

http://community.wdc.com/t5/My-Book-Live/Extremely-slow-uploading-large-file/m-p/363961/highlight/tr...

Though on this particular case, it may be just a RAID 0 setup with a MBL 2 TB. I am investigating. 

[Wyper]

Yes, could slower down on wireless, but the strange thing is that I did work wireless while all files on the time machine as the driver with all files, both photos and movies and so forth.

Now I have all on the MBLD raid set up, still accessing with wireless and the MBLD connected with ethernet cable as attached when bought it. All files, such as movies even if huge size takes maximum a few seconds to open up and streaming wireless through Apple tv or access directly through the WB apps on computer or on phone/ipad. It is when accessing specifically the photos I get issues, but only then.

Could be that Appples solution is to have all photos in one folder and when having a raid ongoing, it could be confused trying to update/raid all photos in that specific folder at all times. Though no sure asince I don't know all those details in depth. Hence it is not a generic issue of repsonce time, only when having thousands of photos in one folder, I beleive. I have though too little motivation to remove raid to test the theory. Because then I have to activate the raid again, my ran for approx 27 hours when I set it up last time.

[towers00]

One of us has to be the "trailblazer" Wyper.  

After I get done I may try it No promises though.