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photos and high sierra

i'm stuck with high sierra on a 10-year-old mac. my photos library is 278 gb (over 30,000 photos).


every time i open photos i either get the spinning beachball or no response from the menu.


is it time to bite the bullet and buy a newer make or ?


thanks.




[Image Edited by Moderator to Remove Serial Number]



iMac 21.5″, macOS 10.13

Posted on Oct 10, 2021 9:05 AM

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Posted on Oct 11, 2021 2:09 PM

Do you have the iCloud Library enabled and if so do you also have "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled? do not use icloud. i can't afford $13 US/month. optimized enabled.

If you're not using iCloud you can't have Optimize Mac Storage enabled.


do i delete everything except "merged library2.photoslibrary"?

Do not delete any library with the extension .photoslibrary. You can delete all others.

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Oct 11, 2021 2:09 PM in response to KatDeB

Do you have the iCloud Library enabled and if so do you also have "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled? do not use icloud. i can't afford $13 US/month. optimized enabled.

If you're not using iCloud you can't have Optimize Mac Storage enabled.


do i delete everything except "merged library2.photoslibrary"?

Do not delete any library with the extension .photoslibrary. You can delete all others.

Oct 10, 2021 9:54 AM in response to KatDeB

How much free space do you have on your boot drive?

Where is the library located? If on an external HD how is that drive formatted and connected to your iMac?

Are you running a "manage" or "referenced" library?



Do you have the iCloud Library enabled and if so do you also have "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled?


In the future do not put any personal info in a post - the iMac's serial no. is considered personal info - so blank it out the next time.


As a test launch Photos with the Option key held down and create a new, test library.  Import some photos and test to see if the same problem persists. Does it? This tells us if the problem is limited to your current library or is more wide spread.


Then open your current library and see if it works any better than before.




Oct 11, 2021 1:42 PM in response to Old Toad

How much free space do you have on your boot drive?

500 gb on a 2 tb internal.

Where is the library located?

Are you running a "manage" or "referenced" library? Managed.

Do you have the iCloud Library enabled and if so do you also have "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled? do not use icloud. i can't afford $13 US/month. optimized enabled.


i migrated iphoto data into photos again and it seems to be working better now.


now i have the problem of removing a bunch of old libraries



do i delete everything except "merged library2.photoslibrary"? thanks.

photos and high sierra

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