iCloud icloud photos -> ssd/hhd

[rushium]

hey friends,
i have iCloud photos enables, and all my photos are in the cloud
i have optimize iPhone storage turned ON, so my photos aren't downloaded to any devices completely.
what's the best way to take all 177gb of photos and put them on HHD or SSD? are there any HHD or SSD recommendations?
i can't afford 2tb of iCloud storage as a broke college student anymore lol.

i tried to download them all to my MacBook pro and then transfer them over to my old hhd, but it took so long and then crashed half way through.
any ideas? if this isn't specific enough, feel free to let me know and i can add more details.

 

[0128672]

You could get a faster external drive, like a Samsung T7 SSD. Is it the Photos library (Pictures > Photos Library.photoslibrary) you're trying to copy to an external drive? At what point did it crash (when downloading or when copying to an external drive)?

 

[Slartibart]

Did you try to download the photos via your Browser from icloud.com?

 

[RhetTbull]

There are a few of ways to do this. If you don't have enough space on your MacBook to store the entire library, I'd go with option #3.

1. Create a new Photos library on the external disk (launch Photos while holding down Option, select Create New, and select your external disk). Set this library to be the system library (Photos > Preferences > iCloud). Also ensure you have "Download Originals to this Mac" enabled in Photos > Preferences > iCloud. Wait for the library to fully sync which may take days and you can't unplug the external hard drive or turn off the MacBook during this process or it'll get interrupted. Once complete, you'll have a complete copy of your photos on the external disk.

2. Do this same process but create the Photos library on your MacBook (assuming you have enough disk space) then when that's done (which can be interrupted since it's not dependent on the external drive) copy the Photos library (~/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary) to the external disk.

3. Use iCloud Photos Downloader to download the photos to the external disk. This is a free open-source command line tool that will connect to iCloud and download all your photos. They won't be an a Photos library but they'll be backed up so that your only copy is not in iCloud.

 

[Pandyone]

3. Use iCloud Photos Downloader to download the photos to the external disk. This is a free open-source command line tool that will connect to iCloud and download all your photos. They won't be an a Photos library but they'll be backed up so that your only copy is not in iCloud.

I’m in a similar situation as OP and currently looking in to external backup for my photos from Apple devices.
It seems like I either have to manually choose pictures and export them as originals or uses your third option to actually be able to see the photos outside a library folder.

Do you know of if there is a guide for the third option, for someone that really doesn’t even know about the way to install the package?

 

[0128672]

I’m in a similar situation as OP and currently looking in to external backup for my photos from Apple devices.
It seems like I either have to manually choose pictures and export them as originals or uses your third option to actually be able to see the photos outside a library folder.

Do you know of if there is a guide for the third option, for someone that really doesn’t even know about the way to install the package?

The instructions are included on that github page, but if it feels too technical, you could try the method @Slartibart suggested using Apple's iCloud download instructions. Here's another link to the same article:

Download iCloud photos and videos - Apple Support

With iCloud Photos, you can download a copy of your photos and videos on any device. Use iCloud.com or the Photos app.

support.apple.com

 

[aajeevlin]

I’m in a similar situation as OP and currently looking in to external backup for my photos from Apple devices.
It seems like I either have to manually choose pictures and export them as originals or uses your third option to actually be able to see the photos outside a library folder.

Do you know of if there is a guide for the third option, for someone that really doesn’t even know about the way to install the package?

Honestly as the other user suggested if you said you don’t know how to even install the package I would go with option 1 or 2. Just use photo (which si always installed on max) to grab all of your photos. Once it’s done just back up the folder. That’s what I do when I do my semi-annual back up. I just grab the entire folder and drop it into my external drive.