Photo Library Wont Open External Hard Drive Mac

Mar 08, 2020 It is right because generally sometimes an external hard drive doesn’t show up on Mac. It is very bad when you need to transfer something right then. It can be risk that on the external drives which means you cannot transfer what you need between devices at all. When I first moved my photo library, all was well and it did open from the. Next I used a new external hard drive to make a back up of the MacBook and a copy of the iPhoto Library. Then the iPhoto Library msg said that it was either being used by another user or unreadable. I saw that there were 4 other options if you opened iPhoto while pressing command-option. Next I used a new external hard drive to make a back up of the MacBook and a copy of the iPhoto Library. Then the iPhoto Library msg said that it was either being used by another user or unreadable. I saw that there were 4 other options if you opened iPhoto while pressing command-option.

Photo Library Won't Open External Hard Drive Mac 2010
Photo Library Wont Open External Hard Drive Machine
Thunderbolt External Hard Drive Mac

Apple's photo management software for the Mac, Photos, has grown to be a fairly competent all-purpose storage locker. But as your photo and video library grows — and especially if you've taken advantage of iCloud Photo Library — you may find that your Photos library strains to fit on your Mac's hard drive.

How to safely move your Mac's iPhoto library onto an external drive. By Stephen Robles Saturday, January 24, 2015, 11:00 pm PT (02:00 am ET) Today's digital cameras and advanced smartphones like.
Mar 18, 2020 To return to your main Photos library, quit Photos. Then open it again while holding the Option key, select your main library, and click Choose Library. Alternatively, you can open Photos in another user account on your Mac and note whether Photos opens successfully.
Save valuable space by moving your Mac Photos library to an external hard drive. Plus find out how to back up your entire iCloud Photos Library! Open Photos on your Mac. Do this step first.
Jul 15, 2013 I have a MacBook Pro running OS 10.5.8 with iPhoto 8.1.2. I had my entire iPhoto library on an external hard drive. Seagate replaced it under warranty. Before it COMPLETELY went out, I took it to a computer store and they were able to copy it over to two separate hard drives.

While there are options to keep your Mac from running out of space, like optimizing your photo storage if you use iCloud Photo Library, it comes at a cost: Without a fully-stored Photos library, you won't be able to create secondary backups of your images and video. (And as good as iCloud has become, your photos and video are precious enough that they're worth keeping backed up in multiple places.)

There is an alternative: Moving your Photos library to an external drive (or creating an entirely separate library and syncing it with iCloud). Here's how to do it, and some reasons why you should — and shouldn't! — consider it for your needs.

Why you should (and shouldn't) use an external drive with Photos for Mac

There are a number of reasons why an external drive might make sense when you're working with Photos for Mac:

You have a giant Photos library (and, if you use iCloud Photo Library, you want to ensure you have a secondary backup of everything in that library)
You frequently swap computers and want to work on your images from any Mac
Your library isn't huge, but you'd prefer to save space on your Mac for other files
You share a computer with other users and you have limited drive space
If you're working with space constraints on your primary computer, it's one of the easiest ways to back up your full iCloud Photo Library

That said, there are some downsides, too. Here are some reasons you might not want to use an external drive:

You don't have a big enough library to warrant moving it off your Mac
You don't want to have to worry about always having your external drive connected to view and edit your images
You use a laptop frequently and can't afford an SSD, and you don't want to risk breaking your disc-based hard drive by constantly moving it
You don't want to accidentally create duplicate libraries that can't be connected to iCloud Photo Library (because your offsite library is connected)
Unless you purchase a speedy drive, working externally is almost always slower than working on your default hard drive
You don't want to spend the money on an external drive
If you use an automated backup service for your computer, you'll have to set up a second set of rules for backing up your hard drive

Best external drives for storing photos

Okay, so you've decided to move your Photos library over to an external drive. What next? If you already have an external drive, you can always use it for storing your Photos library (and save on cash). But if you're considering getting a new drive for this endeavor, here's what I suggest:

Get a drive that's at least 1-2TB in space, preferably 4TB. With the iPhone able to save 4K video, our space needs aren't shrinking anytime soon: The bigger hard drive you can afford, the better.
If you're buying a stationary hard drive, buying a disc-based hard drive is great, but buy good brands — don't try and save $50 on an off-brand hard drive. It's rarely worth the HDD failure.
If you're buying a portable hard drive, consider SSD: It's very pricey in comparison to a disc-based drive, but if you know you'll be frequently moving around — especially if you plan to move around with the drive connected — you want a drive that can take a little rumble and tumble without skipping or failing.
Hard drive speeds are important, too: The faster a drive's write speed, the quicker your images will copy; the faster a drive's read speed, the easier it will be for you to view images or video and edit them, too.

Want some recommendations for specific external hard drives? We've got those, too.

How to move your current Photos library to an external drive and use it as your primary library

As with creating a new library, moving your library to your external drive is a multi-step process. Here's how to go about it.

Step 1: Copy over your Photos library

Connect an external drive to your Mac via USB, USB-C, or Thunderbolt.
Open a new Finder window.
Open your external drive in that window.
Open a new Finder window. Don't close your previous window (open to your external drive), as you'll need it shortly.
Click the Go menu and navigate to your Home folder.
Select the Pictures folder.
Select your old library.
Drag it to your external drive in the other Finder window.

Your library will begin to copy over to your external drive. Depending on the size of your library and speed of your drive, this can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, so be patient. Don't unplug your drive or turn off your computer during this process.

Step 2 (if you use iCloud): Turn off iCloud sync on your old library

Before you open your copied Photos library on the external drive, you have to disassociate the library on your Mac from iCloud. (If you don't use iCloud Photo Library, you can skip these steps.)

Open Photos on your Mac.
Go to the Photos menu.
Select Preferences.
Click on the iCloud tab.
Uncheck iCloud Photo Library.
Press Remove from Mac to remove any undownloaded low-resolution items from this library.
Quit Photos.

Step 3: Make your new library your system default

Now, it's time to make your newly-copied Photos library your system default.

Open Photos on your Mac.
Go to the Photos menu.
Select Preferences.
Click Use as System Photo Library.

Step 4 (if you use iCloud): Connect your new library to iCloud

Your external library is now set up to be your system default, but it's not currently connected to iCloud. If you use iCloud Photo Library and want to keep that connection active so that you can continually download items you've stored, read on. (Otherwise, you can skip this step.)

Open Photos on your Mac.
Go to the Photos menu.
Select Preferences.
Click on the iCloud tab.
Check iCloud Photo Library.
Click Download Originals to this Mac.
Wait for your Mac to download your images from iCloud. (Depending on the size of your iCloud library and your internet connection, this may take up to 24 hours; don't disconnect your external drive or turn off your Mac during this time.)

Once your library has fully synced and downloaded images, you can disconnect your drive; whenever you want to use your Photos library, you now need to connect your drive to your Mac.

Step 5: Get rid of your old library

A personal plea: Please, please, please make sure your library is fully copied and working on your external drive before you follow the steps below — once you've thrown away your original library, it's gone!

Open a new Finder window.
Click the Go menu and navigate to your Home folder.
Select the Pictures folder.
Select your old library.
Drag it to the Trash (or press Command-Delete on your keyboard).
Empty the Trash.
Open a new Finder window. Don't close your previous window (open to the Pictures folder), as you'll need it later.
Select your external drive.
Right-click (or control-click) on your copied Photos library on your external drive.
Select Make Alias.
Drag the alias to the Pictures folder.
Rename the alias to remove the 'alias' part of its name.

Now you have a direct link to your copied Photos library from the Pictures folder: This prevents your computer from accidentally creating multiple Photos libraries in case you forget to launch Photos with your external drive connected.

Note: If you're worried about accidentally creating libraries, you can always launch Photos by option-clicking on its icon in the Dock or Applications folder; this will give you the option of picking which library you'd like to launch.

How to create a new Photos library on your external drive and use it as your primary library

Creating a new library on your external drive is a multi-step process. Here's how to go about it.

Step 1 (if you use iCloud): Turn off iCloud sync on your old library

Before you create a new Photos library, you have to disassociate your current library as your system default. (If you don't use iCloud Photo Library, you can skip these steps.)

Open Photos on your Mac.
Go to the Photos menu.
Select Preferences.
Click on the iCloud tab.
Uncheck iCloud Photo Library.
Press Remove from Mac to remove all low-resolution items from this library.
Press Remove from Mac once more to confirm.
Quit Photos.

Step 2: Create your new Photos library

Once you've done this, it's time to create a new library.

Connect an external drive to your Mac via USB, USB-C, or Thunderbolt.
Option-click (and continue holding down option) when launching the Photos app on your Mac.
When it asks you to choose a library, click on Create New….
Name your library.
Press the Down arrow to expand the File picker and choose your external drive as the new location.
Press OK to save it to your external drive.

Step 3: Make your new library your system default

You'll now have an empty library on your external drive. Next up: Making it your system library.

Open Photos on your Mac.
Go to the Photos menu.
Select Preferences.
Click Use as System Photo Library.

Step 4 (if you use iCloud): Connect your new library to iCloud

Your external library has now been set up from scratch. If you use iCloud Photo Library and want to download all the items you've stored there to have an external backup, read on. (Otherwise, you can skip this step.)

Open Photos on your Mac.
Go to the Photos menu.
Select Preferences.
Click on the iCloud tab.
Check iCloud Photo Library.
Click Download Originals to this Mac.
Wait for your Mac to download your images from iCloud. (Depending on the size of your library and your internet connection, this may take up to 24 hours; don't disconnect your external drive or turn off your Mac during this time.)

Once your library has fully synced and downloaded images, you can disconnect your drive; whenever you want to use your Photos library, you now need to connect your drive to your Mac.

Step 5: Get rid of your old library

A personal plea: Please, please, please make sure your new library is live and working on your external drive before you follow the steps below — once you've thrown away your original library, it's gone!

Open a new Finder window.
Click the Go menu and navigate to your Home folder.
Select the Pictures folder.
Select your old library.
Drag it to the Trash (or press Command-Delete on your keyboard).
Empty the Trash.
Open a new Finder window. Don't close your previous window (open to the Pictures folder), as you'll need it later.
Select your external drive.
Right-click (or control-click) on your new Photos library.
Select Make Alias.
Drag the alias to the Pictures folder.
Rename the alias to remove the 'alias' part of its name.

Now you have a direct link to your Photos library from the Pictures folder: This prevents your computer from accidentally creating multiple Photos libraries in case you forget to launch Photos with your external drive connected.

Questions?

Let us know in the comments.

Updated March 2019: Updated for macOS Mojave.

Serenity Caldwell contributed to an earlier version of this post.

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Apple reminds us all that 'creativity goes on' in new YouTube video

Apple's latest YouTube video knows just how to tug at the heartstrings.

1. Mac Files Tips
2. Mac Software
3. Mac Storage Tips
4. Mac Troubleshooting
5. Mac OS

'I downloaded Catalina and now find my iPhoto does not work any more! How can I get it to work? DESPERATE!'

If you are facing the iPhoto not working on Mac Catalina issue, it is because that is the way things are designed. iPhoto has actually been retired and Apple no longer supports it. As a replacement to the app, you now have the Photos app that does pretty much all the tasks as the iPhoto app.

But if you have been an iPhoto user and you are now confused as to what to do to access your photos as the app no longer functions, you might want to look for solutions. The following guide should provide you with some tips on how you can overcome the issue and get access to your iPhoto photos. There are actually multiple ways to resolve the issue so you should not have any issues.

Problem 1. iPhoto Not Working/Opening, How to Access Photos in iPhoto?

'Can I retrieve all the photos I still had in iPhotos? Once I downloaded Catalina, iPhotos could no longer be opened. I didn't realize Catalina had that feature. My thousands of iPhotos seem lost. Is there anything I can do?'

If you are like the above user and the iPhoto not opening on Mac Catalina at all, it is because the update is preventing that from happening. Any Macs that runs macOS Catalina or later will not let you launch iPhoto because the app has been retired long ago and Apple does not support it any longer.

The following are some of the things you can do to access your photos that were stored in the iPhoto app on your Mac.

Solution 1: Migrate to the Photos app that comes with Catalina

iPhoto does not work starting with Catalina and there is no chance it will work in any future macOS updates. Therefore, your best solution is to get your photos migrated to the new replacement app you have on your Mac.

The new Photos app lets you easily import your photos from iPhoto. The following shows how to do the task.

Step 1. Hold down the Option key on your keyboard.

Step 2. Launch the Photos app from the Launchpad on your Mac.

Step 3. A prompt will appear asking you to select the library you want to access. From this list, choose your iPhoto library and click on Choose Library.

Your iPhoto library along with all of your photos will launch in the Photos app. You can now manage your photos in this app from now on. That is how you get the images from iPhotos library to Photos library.

Without working on your Preferences settings, you cannot successfully transfer iTunes from one computer to the next.Step 2.Go to iTunes PreferencesFrom here, you need to hit the Advanced settings in order to set the Mac to be able to transfer iTunes successfully over to your PC.Step 3.Under Advanced in Preferences, click “Keep iTunes Media Folder Organized”This will ensure that all your files are pointing in the right direction for your library, which ultimately makes the transference of your files easier. With an organized iTunes Media folder, your job in transferring iTunes from one system to the other becomes far less complicated.Step 4.Click File Library Organize LibraryThis will help you to keep your songs organized in order to ensure they are in the same spot when you transfer them over to your new computer. How to transfer itunes library from mac to another mac.

Solution 2. Recover Missing Photos in iPhoto If You Failed to Migrate

In an unfortunate case if the migration procedure did not go well and you ended-up losing your photos, you will need to use a recovery software to recover your photos.

Tenorshare UltData - Mac Data Recovery, a software that lets you easily and quickly recover lost files on your Mac. You can use it to recover your lost photos in a few clicks as shown below.

Step 1 Download and install the software on your Mac. Launch the software when it is installed. On the main interface, click on the drive you want to scan and then click on the Scan button.

Step 2 Select Photos in the left sidebar and you will see your photos in the right-hand side pane. Select the ones you want to recover and click on Recover.

Step 3 Choose the folder where you want to save your recovered photos.

Problem 2. How to Upgrade iPhoto on Catalina?

'I upgraded to Catalina and I need to use iPhoto. How do I upgrade it?'

Soon as you notice that iPhoto no longer works in Catalina, you will likely start finding ways to get the app to somehow work on your Mac. Not only with iPhoto but you will do it with any other app when it refuses to run on your machine.

Solution: There is no solution

Unfortunately, there is no solution to your issue. iPhoto is retired and no matter how hard you try to run it on your Mac running macOS Catalina, the app will just not run. It is because the app uses an old framework that Apple no longer supports.

Problem 3. Is There an Application like iPhoto?

'I prefer using iPhoto over Photo. Is there an application like iPhoto that will run using the new OS Catalina?'

It is natural to look for alternatives when an app does not work on your machine. Since iPhoto has stopped working on your Mac, you might want to see if something similar is available in the market for you.

Solution: Use iPhoto Alternative Software like Google Photos

Mac os mojave iphoto library could not be opened now. Fortunately, you have a great alternative to iPhoto available for your Mac. It is Google Photos and it allows you to upload, manage, and keep your photos on the cloud. It provides 15GB of free storage for original quality photos and unlimited storage for photos that are set to high-quality.

Problem 4. How to Backup iPhoto library Before Catalina Upgrade

'How do I find my iPhoto library on my hard drive? I want to put all my iPhoto library on an external disk before I even think about upgrading as I have read iPhoto will no longer work when Catalina is installed. I genuinely hate the photos app and much prefer the ease and control I have with iPhoto. When I click on the iPhoto in my applications folder, there isn't any library there.'

If you already know that iPhoto is not going to work in Catalina, you might want to backup your iPhoto photos to an external hard drive before you proceed with the Mac update. This is actually the best way to keep your photos safe as well as easy to import into the Photos app when the update is installed.

Solution: Backup iPhoto libraries to External Hard Drive

Your Mac lets you easily backup your iPhoto photos to an external hard drive and you do not even need an app to do the task. Everything that you need is already available on your machine

Step 1. Open a Finder window and head into /User//Pictures. Right-click on the file that says iPhoto Library and select Show Package Contents.

Step 2. Open the Masters folder on the following screen and you will see all your photos organized by their years.

Step 3. Copy these folders and paste them onto your external hard drive using Finder.