Why can't I restore my iphoto library from Time Machine backup?

Hi, My Library mysteriously disappeared from my HD but I located it in Time Machine. However, every time I try to restore, after spending a while 'preparing to copy' I get a the following message: "The operation can't be completed because you don't have permission to access [file name]. I have full access rights to the file... I have tried doing a straight copy and paste from my back up folder - with the same result. I did close iphoto while trying this exercise, again, this didn't help... I would be grateful for some advice as to how to persuade the system to all me to restore this precious file of 171GB, which has 10 years of pics in it! Many thanks.

It's a normal issue. See > http://pondini.org/TM/E9.html

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HT4927 Restoring iPhoto library from Time Machine backup

Will restoring an iPhoto library from Time Machine overwrite the current library? After I did a backup, I deleted some photos but since then I have added new photos.

It is an option. You can overwrite or keep both when you restore
LN

HT4927 I have tried to restore my iPhoto library from Time Machine. It starts then I get an No permissions error. What do I do?

I have tried to restore my iPhoto library from Time Machine. It starts then I get an 'No permissions' error. What do I do?

See #E9 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.

Restoring iPhoto Library from Time Machine Backup

Hi,
My iTunes collection and iPhoto library live on an external HD. A week or so ago that external HD failed. Thankfully I have been using TimeMachine to back up to another external HD. Yesterday, I went into TimeMachine, clicked TimeMachine Backups in the TimeMachine Finder and restored my iTunes library to a location on a new external HD. Once the copy was complete, I opened iTunes and all was well. I tried this same process with iPhoto and it didn't not work. iPhoto keeps giving me the message that my iPhoto library is in use by another application or I need to upgrade. I tried holding down the Option key to select the library on my new external HD and that didn't work. I also tried option + command and the option to restore from an automatic backup in iPhoto automatically crashes iPhoto. Then, I launched iPhoto Library Manager and it said my DB file was missing. What's the right process to restore my iPhoto library from a TimeMachine backup (external HD to external HD)?
Thanks!

It is an option. You can overwrite or keep both when you restore
LN

Restoring your iPhoto library from Time Machine for reinstall of iLife '09

I found a problem in going back to iPhoto '09 (after discovering the various issues with iLife/iPhoto '11). I tossed iPhoto '11 and my converted iPhoto library (unreadable by iPhoto '09). I restored iPhoto/iLife '09 but now had to restore the '09 library. Time Machine has root ownership of your iPhoto library and will not let you restore a saved library to your Mac. Any number of people have encountered this infuriating problem, but these folks provide a work-around: http://discussions.info.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2179262. I used the compression technique, with great success, because I was concerned that entering Time Machine through a blank library in iPhoto would transfer the most recent iPhoto '11-converted photos. To me, the most aggravating aspect of iLife/iPhoto '11 is its incompatibility with AppleTV. I find it incomprehensible that Apple would purposefully sabotage the operation of one of their own devices - and which I enjoy a great deal.

the most aggravating aspect of iLife/iPhoto '11 is its incompatibility with AppleTV.
iPhoto 11 is compatible with the Apple TV:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=12465276&#12465276
Regards
TD

How can I restore an iPhoto library from Time Machine (ML) - when I TM doesn't see the backup??

Hi,
I recently did a Time Machine backup of my MacBook Pro (Mountain Lion) onto an external HDD. Around the time of the last backup, my system was behaving funny so I decided to rebuild the OS X.
Because the last TM backup was of a system that as mentioned, was somewhat 'unstable', and I only had a few backups available (didn't have TM running too long beforehand) - I decided not to use TM to 'restore' my system. I just did a clean install of ML and planned on pulling files over manually. I'd done this before and it worked a treat.
This time ran into a snag. The backup disk TM used was an external HDD which I wanted to upgrade (suffice to say it works fine). So, I needed to move the backup.backupdb directory to my other HDD. The copy seemed to work fine ... so far so good.
I installed the new ML OS on my MacBook Pro and that was fine too. I was able to pull most of my files over by going into the TM backup and copying what I needed.
BUT, for some reason, this didn't work for the iPhoto library?
Alas, I found that you need to do a 'restore' iPhoto library file from whithin TM. So I fired up TM and noticed that it didn't recognise the old backup file located on the HDD. I.e. when I turned on TM, pointed it to the external HDD (where I copied the previous backup to), it started a fresh backup.
So ... my question is - "How do I restore the iPhoto library if I can't get to it from TM?"
Thanks in advance to anyone that can help! The last 15 years of photos are stored in this library!

Hi ...
I've found a solution to my problem.
Time Machine locates extenal HDD backups differently depending if they were done via a network or via a USB/FireWire/Thunderbolt connection.
My initial backup was done via a direct Thunderbolt connection. I ran into the above issue b/c the second time when I tried looking for the backup file the HDD was conencted to my iMac and I was accessing it via a network conenction.
I simply connected the drive directly to my MacBook pro and ... voila. I was able to see the backup, select the iPhoto library and begin the restore.
Hope this helps.
BTW - I found this out by reading the 'blue box' selection on this page: http://pondini.org/TM/E2.html
(Thanks goes to Pondini!)

Trying to rebuild my iphoto library from time machine backup and it still says 0 restored with a grey screen and the circle. How can i restore my library?

I just bought a new Macbook pro and i tried to rebuild my iphoto library from a time machine backup on an external hard drive. Even after pressing command+option when starting iphoto and selecting rebuild library from automatic backup, it still doesn't work with the grey screen with the white circle and a little window that says 'rebuilding library: 0 versions restored'. I also tried to make a copy of my iphoto library but that did not work either. how can i restore my iphoto library or at least gain access to my photos?

Your question is not clear
Rerairing or rebuilding the iPhoto library never involves using Time Machine in any way
TM is a totally seperate program and you can "restore" a file (including the iPhoto library) from the past using TM - you launch TM and go back to the time you want and select the file (or folder or package) you want and click restore - it probably is best to keep the current one until you are sure everything is good
LN

How to restore an Iphoto library from Time Machine

I backed up last sunday onto time machine -all went well. Due to sillyness lost my Iphoto library from my 13 inch afterwards;I was trying to transfer my data to another mac (my 15 inch that had a new hard drive )using migration assistant . no Iphoto libray in either but I assume it is in Time machine( sudays one)
How easy and how does one restore from Time Machine something like the Iphoto Library ? this is my only record of 3211 photos so dont want to stuff it up ??!!
thanks to anyone ,as my wife will kill me if I get it wrong??!!
Amr

If you are using iPhoto 7, just launch iPhoto and then enter Time Machine. You can browse back through Time Machine with iPhoto's own interface.
This doesn't work in iPhoto 5. With iPhoto 5, you have to use a Finder window in Time Machine to navigate back to your iPhoto Library folder (in homefolder -> Pictures by default) and restore it.
I'm not sure which way it works in iPhoto 6.

Restore only iPhoto library from Time Machine?

Due to software issues, my disk was wiped clean and I was advised to restore everything manually, and not to restore from my Time Machine backup, to avoid reintroducing issues. This worked fine for everything except iPhoto. I can see my backup on my Time Capsule, but can't figure out where to find the iPhoto data. And if I find it, is there a way to restore it while preserving edits, titles, and so on?
I can't restore from Time Machine because, as far as Time Machine is concerned, I've never backed up from this machine before. Any ideas?

Your ponly choice is to use Time Machine to restore - you can not manually restore form a TM backup - lots of TM info here - http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
for more help post in the forum for your OS - this is not an iPhoto issue
LN

Cannot recover my iPhoto library from Time Machine backup

Been trying to restore my iPhoto Library but the restore fails with the following error:
"The Finder cannot completer the operation because some data in "iPhoto Library" could not be read or written. (Error code -36).
I am trying to restore it after iPhoto "lost" all the images, even though I can see that everything is still there. Before I decided to try this, I tried all the usual stuff like rebuilding the thumbnail library, ets, etc. Nothing seems to work
This is very frustrating to say the least.

Did you try rebuilding the library using iPhoto Library Manager. Heres' how:
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
1 -Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
2 -Click on the Add Library button, navigate to your User/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
3 - Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the File->Rebuild Library menu option
4 - In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
5 - Click on the Create button.
Note: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments but not books, calendars or slideshows. The original library will be untouched for further attempts at fixing or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory .
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier versions) database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger or later), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. There are versions that are compatible with iPhoto 5, 6, 7 and 8 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. Just put the application in the Dock and click on it whenever you want to backup the dB file. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.
NOTE: The new rebuild option in iPhoto 09 (v. 8.0.2), Rebuild the iPhoto Library Database from automatic backup" makes this tip obsolete.

I cannot restore my iphoto library from Time Machine

I have lost my iphoto library. I am trying to restore it from a backup and it was located in the My Pictures folder. When I try and restore it, there is a big red circle with a dash in it saying I don't have permission to open the folder it is in. These have all of my prescious photos and I am devistated that they may be lost! Why can't I access this folder and get my photos back - what do I need to do?

Hello kristine515
It all depends on how you are restoring your data. If you are using the Enter Time Machine it should not give you the permissions issue.
Mac Basics: Time Machine
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Regards,
-Norm G.

Manual Extraction of iPhoto Library from Time Machine Backup.

I've got most of my most valuable data already backed up. The final remaining thing to get is my iPhoto Library. Unfortunately I've already tried twice to restore the iMac from the TimeMachine without success. The backup itself is corrupt and copies the corruption to the iMac making it useless. While I can access the Data disk on the Time Machine and can see the backup.sparsebundle, when I Show Package Contents the bands folder never opens…
Using the Migration Assistant is feeling a bit risky as I don't actually know what the miscellaneous items are when restoring. I'd hate for the corruption to copy back when all I need is the iPhoto Library and have to take the iMac back to the Apple store to have the OS installed for a 3rd time. Any help and guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Perhaps you need to re-read the article I linked to. It uses the Time Machine interface not Migration Assistant. BTW your iPhoto Library is part of the 8.8 gb User.
If you only have 2.1 gigs of space left on that disk then you have a major problem.
OS X needs about 10 gigs of hard drive space for normal OS operations - things like virtual memory, temporary files and so on.
Without this space your Mac will slow down as the OS hunts for space on the disk, files will be fragmented, also slowing things down, apps will crash and the risk of data corruption - that is damage to your files, photos, music - increases exponentially.
Your first priority is to make more space on that HD. Nothing else can be done until you do.

Permissions Error message trying to restore iPhoto Library from Time Machine

I've tried several times to restore my iPhoto library from Time Machine. After 45 min. when it's almost finished, I get an error "The operation can't be completed because you don't have permission to access "iPhoto Library". Anyone know how to fix this?

Hi, and welcome to the forums.
Connect to the TC via Ethernet cable if at all possible.
Try repairing your backups, per #A5 in [Time Machine - Troubleshooting|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Troubleshooting.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).

How do I access my iphoto library on time machine backup external drive using Lion, originally saved from old computer and system

how do I access my iphoto library on time machine backup external drive using Lion, originally saved off old computer and system. It's not letting me open the folder???

Once again here's how to restore an iPhoto Library from Time Machine:

Can't reload iPhoto library from Time Machine

I ran into a problem with my iPhoto library this morning. I deleted it in its entirely, emptied iPhoto trash and then the general trash. When I tried to reinstall the iPhoto library from Time Machine, I was informed there was not sufficient free space on my hard drive to do so. I have a 500 GB hard drive and dumped over 4,000 pictures, yet had only 6 GB of space reported on my hard drive when I went to reload the library from Time Machine. I can't see how this is possible. I had sufficient space for the original library before I trashed it. According to the Information under File, I have pretty much the same amount of free space on my computer as I had before I dumped the library. I have run utilities (OnyX and Apple utilities). They identify no disk problems or problems of any kind. I've scanned for viruses. There are none. Does anyone have any ideas about what I can do to restore my library other than buy a new computer?
Thanks in advance for any help you can give.
Computer: early 2008
Software: OSX 10.9.5

Reboot and check the free space again. If still at 6 GB Boot into the Recovery volume (boot with the Command + R keys held down), select Disk Utility and repair both the disk permissions and disk. Reboot normally and check again.
Lastly you may have to reindex your hard drive: Spotlight: How to re-index folders or volumes - Apple

Why can't I restore my iphoto library from Time Machine backup?

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