Storing Photo Library on External Device

I'm looking for a straightforward method to store photo library on an external device. Apple instructions warn to not "store your library on a removable storage device like an SD card or USB flash drive" nor internet, cloud-based option. Then what other options are there? Thanks.

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Oct 15, 2023 08:27 PM

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Posted on Oct 16, 2023 01:39 AM

Use a "proper" SSD instead SD card or USB flash drive which are not so robust.


And use APFS (SSD) or Mac OS Extended (HDD) because non-Mac formats like exFat or NTFS are not supported. Check that "Finder > Get Info: "Ignore ownership on this volume" is set although it should be the default.


...and remember to backup also the external drive.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 16, 2023 01:39 AM in response to klein.k

Use a "proper" SSD instead SD card or USB flash drive which are not so robust.


And use APFS (SSD) or Mac OS Extended (HDD) because non-Mac formats like exFat or NTFS are not supported. Check that "Finder > Get Info: "Ignore ownership on this volume" is set although it should be the default.


...and remember to backup also the external drive.

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Storing Photo Library on External Device

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