Restore iPhoto library from damaged external SSD to new SSD

My iphoto library is on an external ssd. The SSD is now damaged and I would like to restore my photo library to a new ssd

Mac mini, macOS 15.7

Posted on Dec 15, 2025 7:24 PM

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3 replies

Dec 16, 2025 12:40 AM in response to Rwong888

Have you been using iCloud Photos (assuming you have been using Photos and not iPhoto on a Mac with macOS 15)? In that case you could just create a new, empty Photos Library on a new drive and enable iCloud Photos again for this new Library. iCloud Photos will sync the library from iCloud to the new Library and restore everything but the projects.


Otherwise, if your Mac can mount the failing drive at all, try cloning software to clone it to the new drive.


Restore iPhoto library from damaged external SSD to new SSD

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