Photos: Moved to new computer, but uploading to iCloud?

[billchase2]

I just purchased a new iMac and manually moved my Photos Library from the old computer to the new. I option+clicked on Photos, selected the library file, then it opened. I received a message saying that the library contains items that need to download from iCloud photos, which is fine since it's likely that I added some photos since moving the library. Once I got into the Photos app, all of my photos appeared and all is well. However, at the bottom, it says that it is uploading all 89,000+ photos to iCloud. This shouldn't be the case, as the photos are already there.

Is it actually uploading the photos? I feel like I remember reading in the past that it's not actually uploading: it's basically checking the files to make sure they are both in iCloud as well as my computer.

Edit: An hour later, it's down 4,000 files. My internet is pretty fast (up to 150Mbps), but that seems likely too fast to actually be uploading (Although, some of my older photos are quite low resolution.)

 

[splifingate]

I just purchased a new iMac and manually moved my Photos Library from the old computer to the new. I option+clicked on Photos, selected the library file, then it opened. I received a message saying that the library contains items that need to download from iCloud photos, which is fine since it's likely that I added some photos since moving the library. Once I got into the Photos app, all of my photos appeared and all is well. However, at the bottom, it says that it is uploading all 89,000+ photos to iCloud. This shouldn't be the case, as the photos are already there.

Is it actually uploading the photos? I feel like I remember reading in the past that it's not actually uploading: it's basically checking the files to make sure they are both in iCloud as well as my computer.

Edit: An hour later, it's down 4,000 files. My internet is pretty fast (up to 150Mbps), but that seems likely too fast to actually be uploading (Although, some of my older photos are quite low resolution.)

Photos says it 'Uploading...', but it's really synching the database, then any photos/vids not contained in the remote db...

...I have fibre (1G/1G) and Vz LTE (80/30), but it still often takes a while to get to "Updated Just Now"

Since Photos first started allowing synch to iCloud, I have maintained a local copy of my Photos Library.photoslibrary (+ an exported collection of the originals) in case things went South. Hasn't happened, but, well, redundancy is really only problematic in personal relationships

Regards, splifingate

 

[billchase2]

Awesome, thank you for confirming that it's not actually uploading! It's now down to 48,951 photos, meaning it's almost halfway done. So, it's definitely not uploading.

I'm currently on a 150Mbps cable plan, but am having 1000Mbps fiber installed on Friday. Can't wait for the faster speeds!

And good call on the backups. I'd been using Time Machine on my old iMac, but have heard there are better alternatives available. I may switch to a different local backup software on the new computer once things are up and running. (I also use Backblaze for online backups.)

Edit: (About 19 hours after I made this original comment.) Anndddd it's done! That didn't take long at all. The latest photos I've taken have also appeared, so it should be all set.