2004 (?) iMac holding photos hostage

[mikora7]

I'm sure this was discussed a decade ago but we are behind the times. LOL! All kidding aside, we have an old iMac, circa 2004. I have updated it to OS X but it can no longer update the OS and still has iPhoto. Everything I've read says to update the OS so iPhoto will convert photos into the new Photos app, which I cannot do.
My iPhotos library says there are about 10,000 photos (many duplicates) stored in there so what is the best way to get them out? I want to burn them onto CDs or store on thumb drives. Do I need to export one by one or batch export? If so, will that keep the initial quality intact?

 

[Chancha]

Use some 3rd party app to export the iPhoto library into bare files with folder structure taken from Events name.

I remember using this app when I was still on PPC Macs, not sure if it works for you but worth a try:
http://www.kraehe21.de/iptja/

 

[curmudgeonette]

Everything I've read says to update the OS so iPhoto will convert photos into the new Photos app, which I cannot do.

You can copy the "library" to a newer machine - where it'll get converted into a Photos library.

My iPhotos library says there are about 10,000 photos (many duplicates) stored in there so what is the best way to get them out? I want to burn them onto CDs or store on thumb drives. Do I need to export one by one or batch export? If so, will that keep the initial quality intact?

Control-click on the "library"
Choose "Show Package Contents"
Dig around the folder hierarchy to find your originals - you can now copy to other media without involving iPhoto

 

[EugW]

I'm sure this was discussed a decade ago but we are behind the times. LOL! All kidding aside, we have an old iMac, circa 2004. I have updated it to OS X but it can no longer update the OS and still has iPhoto. Everything I've read says to update the OS so iPhoto will convert photos into the new Photos app, which I cannot do.
My iPhotos library says there are about 10,000 photos (many duplicates) stored in there so what is the best way to get them out? I want to burn them onto CDs or store on thumb drives. Do I need to export one by one or batch export? If so, will that keep the initial quality intact?

Navigate to /Users/mikora7/Pictures/iPhoto Library and the right click to Show Package Contents.

The photos are in directories inside. Just be very careful with them when you copy them over to something as you don't want to disturb the directory structure.

With 10000 photos, burning them CDs would take forever. You can store on a thumb drive or HD or SSD, but whatever you do, store multiple copies of them.

Actually, I would recommend backing up the entire iPhoto Library AND the individual photos (and multiple copies of both). Keeping the iPhoto Library means that you can transfer the entire library to another more recent Mac and convert it to Photos on the new Mac. I really like the new Photos application. It makes managing the photos much more manageable than just keeping them on the hard drive.

 

[mikora7]

Navigate to /Users/mikora7/Pictures/iPhoto Library and the right click to Show Package Contents.

The photos are in directories inside. Just be very careful with them when you copy them over to something as you don't want to disturb the directory structure.

With 10000 photos, burning them CDs would take forever. You can store on a thumb drive or HD or SSD, but whatever you do, store multiple copies of them.

Actually, I would recommend backing up the entire iPhoto Library AND the individual photos (and multiple copies of both). Keeping the iPhoto Library means that you can transfer the entire library to another more recent Mac and convert it to Photos on the new Mac. I really like the new Photos application. It makes managing the photos much more manageable than just keeping them on the hard drive.

Thanks! I'll be working on all these suggestions this weekend to see what works best. I appreciate all your help!!