Can TM restore iPhoto Library to Non-Startup External Drive?

My iPhoto Library, 39GB+ contents now "disappeared", resides on LaCie external drive to where I moved it from internal MacBook Pro drive few weeks ago to make more room. Now when I try to restore via TM, I get message that the original drive from which TM backed up does not have room for restoring, very logical. Somehow I need to direct the restoring process to the external LaCie if possible. Any way to do this? Otherwise I have to attempt restoration directly on the LaCie using iPhoto Library Manager, likely a tedious process if practicable. Thanks for any guidance.

What is the size of the resulting file on the external HD? Also how is the external HD formatted? If it's one of the FAT formats for PCs that may be the problem. Try copying that file back to your desktop and see if it will reconvert back to a library. If that's the case, reformat the HD to OS X Extended (journaled).
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto 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), 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. It's compatible with iPhoto 08 libraries and Leopard. 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.

Similar Messages

How do i transfer my IPhoto library from one troublesome external drive to a new one?

My iPhoto library is on older external drive that I no longer trust. How do I transfer it to a new drive? If both are hooked up to iMac can I simply copy from one to the other?

Be sure the new drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) and drag the library intact from the old to the new drive - depress the oprion key and launch iPHoto and use the select library window to select the new location as the default - be sure to fully test the new location before trashing the old one if you plan to
LN

My iPhoto library is on an external drive since the automatic upgrade to PHOTOS I can't open the library

My iPhoto Library is on an external hard drive since the automatic upgrade to PHOTOs i cannot open my library.
It says i do not have permission to write in this library, how do i get it open and retrieve my photos to upload to iCloud/

But forgot to ask then how to transfer/copy my older photos which are on an older external hard drive.
Are these photos in an iPhoto library there or just loose (or in folders) on the older EHD?
OT

I tried to copy my iPhoto library to a second external drive and now the pgm, running on an iBook with 10.5.8 does not open the original library on launching?

Hi Guys, I copied my iPhoto library to a second external disk. Now my version of iPhoto (5.0.4) does not display the original library on the orignal external drive. I have reinstalled the iPhoto and it seems to make 2 attempts to find the library but fails. The iPhoto menu bar is available but does not function. The screen is blank. Any help appreciated,
Gethin

Are you indicating that you don't get this window when you hold down the Option key while launching iPhoto?
What do you mean by "nothing happens". What library opens when you launch iPhoto normally?
OT

Can't restore iPhoto Library from Time Machine. Faults halfway through.

POSTED EARLIER ON iPHOTO 9 DISCUSSION-recommended checking here.
My wife is running a Mac Mini with iPhoto 9. She has let her hard drive space drop to about 4gigs. This morning, she opened iPhoto and nothing came up. I looked at some of the posts here and did the following 1) ran disk utility to repair permissions 2) removed enough files to get her available hard drive space above 10gigs. Mostly by moving to her external hard drive. 3) Based on what I was reading, I copied her iPhoto library and related files to a folder on her external drive. I then deleted the iPhoto library file itself. 4) I went into TimeMachine and ran it back to the last backup yesterday and asked it to Restore that file.
The process went forward smoothly until it hit about 5.5gigs of the 46.5gig file. At that point it stopped and a dialogue box said "the operation can't be completed because you don't have permission to access iPhoto library". I ran it again---essentially it fails after restoring the thumbnails. I checked permissions for iPhoto and it shows 'read and write' as the settings.
Any suggestions? Is using Time Machine for this purpose not workable? Thanks in advance for your help.

Disk utility ran through the REPAIR disk function on the Time Machine drive and came back good. I then ran the VERIFY disk function on the Main disk and it also came back good. I was not offered a REPAIR disk option for the Main Disk.
No errors. Any other suggestions?

Can't restore iphoto library from time machine

I'm running iphoto 8 on 10.6.8. The iphoto library disappeared and I've tried numerous ways to restore it. Rebuilding the library didn't work. Neither did library manager's rebuild function. When I attempt to restore directly from time machine I get a permissions error. I tried to work around that by creating a disk image and restoring the time machine back up to that. It copies some of it, but then gives me an error 36.
"The Finder can’t complete the operation because some data in “iPhoto Library” can’t be read or written.
(Error code -36)"
It did transfer enough data before quitting so that I could get my low res photos from the "data" folder, but I can not get to the originals folder.
Is there any other way to get that folder out of the time machine back up directly. The library on time machine shows over 20 gigs of data, but I can't seem to get to it.
I did upgrade to snow leopard a few months ago.
I appreciate any and all help. :-) shaeri

Thanks so much Terence. I tried some of the fixes from that page, but then discovered the suggestion to compress the Time Machine Back up of the original library and transfer it as a zip back to my computer as detailed here:
http://pondini.org/TM/E9.html
That worked like a charm. I really appreciate it.

Can't Restore iPhoto Library with Time Keeper

Actually it did restore but not all events are visible , the event is there but no thumbnail, and some photos within events are missing - it shows the name of the photo (DSC_0036) but there is no photo. I am attempting to restore from an external hard drive.

Make a temporary, backup copy of your library if you don't already have one (Control-click on the library and select Duplicate from the contextual menu) and apply the two fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
Since only one option can be run at a time start with Option #3, followed by #4 and then #1 as needed.
Fix #2
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 Home/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. However, books, calendars, cards and slideshows will be lost. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
OT

HELP! Can't get iphoto library to copy to external hard drive!!!

Have read countless directions online about how to copy my iphoto'09 library to an external hard drive. Despite following the directions, opening 2 finder windows and trying to copy the iphoto library to the hard drive, it continues to show a little symbol (a circle with a slash thru it) when I try to drop the library into the hard drive. I have a signature mini hard drive 250GB with lots of storage space left. Any advice? My first Mac and I am having so much trouble getting used to how everything works. This, I cannot figure out no matter what I try. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Welcome to the Apple Discussions. Do you have ownership on the external HD set to be ignored?
Click to view full size
If not do so and try again. If it still won't, download and run BatChmod on the library with the setting shown below and then try again:
Click to view full size
OT

IPhoto library locked on failing external drive

I have my iPhoto library on an external hard drive which I also used as a time machine/backup. I did this to save space on my much older macbook, and when I purchased a new macbook it would have taken months for the full iPhoto library to be moved to the new computer, so I left it on my external drive. Unfortunately, that external hard drive has started to fail. I ran the disk utility repair to try and fix the external drive, and I was able to retrieve everything off of the external drive except for my pictures, which are locked in that darned iPhoto library. I have not yet found a way to retrieve or move the pictures or the entire iPhoto library from the failing drive. My MacBook Pro is AOK, my iPhoto is fine- and I think the library would have been fine as well if not for the external drive failing. It hasn't completely crashed, and I'm afraid to do much more to it. I can still hack into the in the disk utility to see the files it's holding hostage. I desperately need to get the pictures back though. Is there any way to rescue my precious pictures? Please help!

Bear in mind that Time Machine will apply ACL's (extended permissions) to the backup disk so it may be completely normal to be unable to access files on that disk. If you are trying to use an iPhoto library inside the backups folder it may not work at all - it must be copied off to another disk to use with iPhoto.
With that said, if the disk is failing or damaged it may not mount in Finder - is that what is happening here?
It is also possible that the failure is the 'external case' and not the actual disk, if the controller is not working the disk may not mount - sometimes you can get a disk to work by using a different external case or a USB toaster
You will need to consider data recovery if the disk is on it's last legs or is corrupted. Frankly this is complex & you should send it to data recovery professionals if you are inexperienced - it is the best way to stand any chance of recovering data on a failing drive, but it is costly. You are also correct to se the disk as little as possible - if the damage is a mechanical issue reading the disk can cause the disk to fail quicker.
If you are intent on doing data recovery yourself you must get another disk that is larger than the disk you need to repair. Then you can use tools like Disk Warrior or or Disk Drill to repair the disk or recover the files.
Provide more info about where the library is & the state of the disk, you may not need to do recovery.

Best way to change Iphoto library referenced across multiple external drives

Hello,
I am relatively new to mac and I think I've gotten myself into trouble with my large collection of photos. I have a single iphoto library which references photos on multiple external drives. However, iphoto is now very slow to launch and I believe this is due to the number of photos (~160k+, I think) in the library. How should I reconfigure my iphoto library for better performance? I would still prefer to have a single library if possible, am willing to have multiple if necessary.
Is the best approach to destroy my iphoto library and recreate multiple libraries, one for each drive with the libraries being located on the external drives with the photos? Any negatives to this? I am really worried about losing photos.
From searching the forums I believe I have an approach but I am uncertain if it is the best way. Is the best approach to destroy my iphoto library and recreate multiple libraries, one for each drive with the libraries being located on the external drives with the photos? Any negatives to this? I am really worried about losing photos.
The library itself is on the main hard drive while the photos are spread across 3 external drives, with some on the main drive as well. I have been manually importing the photos through finder, then adding them to iphoto. I am using Iphoto 11.
Any tips, pointers, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

1 - a referenced library is extremely problematic and is strongly not recommended - especially one spread accross several volumes
2 - iPhoto Library Manager - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ - can convert to a managed library - check the option to copy imported items to the iPhoto library and rebuil using IPLM
3 - this is likely to cure the slowness too
4 - multiple libraries are not necessary or desireable
5 - the only protection against losing photos is a great backup scheme - I run Time Machine giving me hourly backups and do a daily bootable clone giving a second backup - plus do an occasional off site backup
LN

(Big) iPhoto Library opening empty from external drive

I need help! I have a new 2014 MacBook running Yosemite, as well as an older MacBookPro. I copied my large iPhoto Library from old laptop (labeled old library "iPhoto Pics 2008-2014", or similar) onto an external drive so that I could access all my photos on this new laptop in iPhoto. I have been holding the "option" key and then opening iPhoto & choosing this 2008-2014 Library to open, and it has been working great. All my 6 yrs worth of pictures immediately populate iPhoto just like it did on my old laptop. HOWEVER, my external drive was accidentally unplugged yesterday without properly "ejecting" it, and it gave me a warning/error message saying something like "your external drive was improperly disconnected". The next time I went to open iPhoto, choosing my 2008-2014 library, it said (something along these lines...) that I had to update the format of the library I was trying to open and it might take a few hours. I had received this message (or similar one) the 1st time I opened this library in my new laptop iPhoto app and so I said yes, for it to fix it. However, it didn't seem to do it properly this time and ended up closing itself. When I tried to open it again, it said some other errors needed to be fixed and I said yes again. Sorry, these details are a bit fuzzy about what went wrong & what messages I got...I just know something didn't seem right as my laptop wouldn't let me close iPhoto and I ended up having to do a force quit to shut down my laptop and reboot.
So now when I rebooted, and I click "option" and open iPhoto, I am able to choose my normal 2008-2014 Library, but it opens with the basic "To get started with iPhoto, do 1 of the following 3 things...", with NO PHOTOS or VIDEOS showing up at all in events, places, albums, etc. It looks just like a brand new Library. However, when I look in Finder and find my 2008-2014 iPhoto Library file, it says the size of it is 171.72 GB, which I think is large and would indicate photos are still in there? These are ALL My photos from the last 6 years. I have most of them still saved on my old laptop (everything before getting my new laptop Nov 20th), just don't have pics I've downloaded to that Library on the external drive between Nov 20th and now. Can anyone help me figure out why iPhoto is opening up an empty library when it should have 6 yrs wroth of pics in it? Did I accidentally erase all the photos in my Library on my external drive??? Thanks in advance for your help/thoughts.

Thanks guys. I did what you said and am about to choose option #4. I cannot really back up this drive before starting rebuild as I don't have a backup of this library exactly, but it is a copy of my entire iLibrary off my old laptop, which I copied over on Nov 20th, so I should have a complete copy of this Library though 11/20 date on my old laptop. I will just potentially lose any photos I've taken and downloaded to external drive since then (luckily not many or any since I haven't downloaded my SLR camera since Dec 5th, so all pics are still on my camera). One last question...is it worth doing the rebuild, or would be be safer (long term...this external library on this drive will be my primary source of ALL my 2008-2014 photos) to just copy over my original library again from my old laptop to this drive?
One additional question though...I just came back to my computer after being away from it for 30 minutes, and again got the "you improperly disconnected your external drive" message. However, my drive is still plugged in and I did not touch it!! So it is disconnecting itself somehow. Any advice on why it's doing this or how to get it to stop? Is it because my computer went to "sleep" or something? Should I not leave my external drive plugged in? Seems like a pain if that is the case as I need to access these pics on my drive often and don't want to be constantly plugging in and then ejecting my drive all the time to keep it safe.

Iphoto does not recognize video files when the iphoto library is on an external drive

I have copied my iphoto library to an external hard drive. I pointed iPhoto to the new location. I can import photos with no problem, but when I try to import video files (from my iPhone or from another drive) I get a message that the file is not recognized. When I moved the iphoto library back to the MAC hard drive, the import works OK both for photos and videos.
I am using iphoto 11 and all the videos were taken with my iphone.
Any ideas?

Video could be imported from an iPhone before the library was copied to an external drive.
The video that was imported before the library was moved could be read before and after the library was moved to an external drive.
Video from the same iPhone cannot be imported into the library once the library had moved ton an external drive.
The problem is that video can no longer be imported into the library that was moved to an external drive. Photos from the same iPhone can be imported and read.

How can i backup iphoto in time machine from external drive

I have recently placed iphoto onto an external drive to save on space. How can I still ensure that this is backed up on time machine?
Thanks

If you're on 10.5 best to take that to a Time Machine forum here
https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os/mac_os_x_v10.5_leopard

How do i transfer iphoto library from a imac external drive to a notebook external drive

How do I transfer my iphoto library that is stored on an external hard drive for my imac to a macbook air external drive?

drag it intact from one drive to the other - be sure both driver are formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) and that they both are connected using a high speed wired connection like USB, FireWire or Thunderbolt
Then connect the new drive the the MBA and launch iPhoto on the MBA whild holding down the option key - use the resulting select library window to select the library on the external drive -- always be positive that the EHD is available prior to launching iPhoto on the MBA
LN

Can't rebuild iPhoto library now

I've had iPhoto problems but throught I had them licked when I broke the library into smaller ones (by year) and began using iPhoto Buddy (very nice). The libraries are about 2000 - 4000 photos in size.
I've noticed that after backing up the libraries using Intego Personal Backup, I am able to open some libraries but not others. I have one for each year since 2000. The application just crashes on open. I've tried using option-open to select a library manually as well as iPhoto Buddy.
I went to rebuild the library using option-apple-iPhoto and iPhoto doesn't even open. Any suggestions? Any thoughts around using backup software? Doesn't make sense that that would have anything to do with it since it presumably is just reading files and not doing anything to them.
I've fixed permissions, trashed preferences file, run the application off a cloned drive, etc.
Thanks in advance.
--David

Hi David,
I don't think your problem is the backup software, but you never know.
To go over your steps..
You used the Option key to switch to another library
The library did not open and iPhoto crashed. any error message?
You used Command Option to launch iPhoto to rebuild the last opened library and nothing happened.
Did iPhoto crash this time to?
-Check and make sure all the libraries are Read/Write for you
iPhoto Library Info
-Clean out all cache files
OnyX
In case you want to create a new library for the ones that don't open...
Close iPhoto
Rename your messed up iPhoto Library to "iPhoto Library_old"
Drag this library to your desktop
Hold down the Option key and launch iPhoto
This is the window you will get
Create a new library or choose a library to open
Choose to create a new library
Once this new empty library is open it is time to import the images from your old library
Go to File>add to library
Navigate to the old library on your desktop and choose it.
iPhoto will start importing the images from your old library
This is what to expect:
Your images will be imported in nice dated rolls. (make sure your view is set to sort by rolls to see it) There are a couple of caveats to this. You will get rolls named "Originals" These rolls will contain your video clips and your original images that you had edited. If you had RAW files they would be in those rolls too (I don't do RAW, so I don't know for sure) Delete what you don't want from those rolls. You will also get the jpeg pointer files to your video clips imported. They will just be jpegs and will not point to the video clips anymore as iPhoto made new ones when the clips were imported again. You can delete those. they should be in a roll right next to the newly imported video clips so they are not hard to find. The thumbnail files don't get imported as iPhoto makes new ones when the images are imported.
Once all you images have been imported, check through the library and make sure everything looks ok.
You can now start making your Albums, and do your keywords or any other organizational steps.
You can also delete the old library on the desktop.
It is also a good time to backup this new library to CD/DVD by burning the iPhoto LIbrary folder in the Finder, or copying the iPhoto Library folder to an external drive formatted for Macs, or copying the iPhoto LIbrary folder to an iPod.
Good luck!

Can TM restore iPhoto Library to Non-Startup External Drive?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for