How can I unlock iPhoto Library that incorrectly thinks Time Machine busy?

I copied my iPhoto '11 library (310GB) onto an erased internal drive for better speed (getting too many iPhoto crashes when importing with library on a network server, and it takes hours and hours).
But after working a couple times another import crashed, and a Time Machine backup had started. I stopped the backup, but iPhoto launches with this message:
"iPhoto will open as soon as the iPhoto library is available Time Machine might be backing it up."
So I re-enabled Time Machine and let the backup run to completion, figuring stopping it must have left it locked, and a normal completion would unlock it.
No luck.
I'm completely frozen out of this library because I always get this error message, and there's no reason the library should be locked.
How can I unlock it???

Sheesh. That got it working.
Of course, iPhoto crashed before it finished repairing my library, but at least it started now.

Similar Messages

I have macbook pro w existing iPhoto library. Now have Canon printer and loaded Canon software for same. Cannot access iPhoto library from Canon software, but prints fine from iPhoto. How can I use iPhoto library w Canon software?

I have a macbook pro w exisitng iPhoto library. I now have Canon printer and loaded Canon software for same. I cannot access iPhoto library for use from Canon software. I can print from iPhoto directly to new printer without problem. How can I use iPhoto library with Canon software? I would like to try the software to see which I prefer...

Simply export some photos from iPhoto to a folder on the desktop and experiment.
Without telling us even what this program is, not to mind what it does, that's the best anyone can suggest.
Regards
TD

How can I unlock iPhoto on a locked disc after installing Mavericks?

How can I unlock Iphoto from a locked disc after I installed mavericks?

What is the complete, exact text of the error message?

How can i unlock the iphone4 that i bougth it from south korea

How can i unlock the country lock of my iphone4 that i bought from South Korea

It is a carrier lock (not country) and only the carrier who has locked the iPhone can unlock it

How can i open iPhoto Library on Time Machine after full Backup?

After i had a full backup to iomega external hard drive i wonted to see photos in iPhoto library by using Time Machine. I can see the iPhoto Library icon on
Time Machine, but when i click on an icon it does not open the folder and i can't see the pictures stored on iomega external hard drive. All other backed up
documents i can see and restore if i ineed it. Please help. Thank you.

Thank You for your help. I did what you sugested and it works. Only one more question. Just to make sure.
When you wrote: "Control-Click the iPhoto Library icon and choose Show Package Contents there will be a Masters folder with you photos inside."
Under Master folder did you mean LibraryiPhoto or something else?
Thank You

'iphoto will open as soon as the iphoto library is available. Time machine might be backing it up" - message been cycling for hours now. Can't access anything in photos

Up till yesterday, our iphoto was working correctly. At one point, I noticed the slideshow wasn't displaying, so I opened iphoto and the message said there was a newer version, so I selected upgrade. The next message said the library needs rebuilding. Selected rebuild. Next,
I got the message in the header, and it's been cycling for hours now with no result. I'm not computer friendly, so I could use some help.

Thanks for the reply.
I was wrong - the OS is 10.6.8. Is that old, too? I don't know where to find the version of iphoto I had and which one is trying to upgrade. Where would I find that. I restarted and still the same message.
"Your photo library will not be readable by previous versions of iPhoto after the upgrade. The upgrade process for very large libraries may take an hour or more to complete." selected upgrade:
"iphoto is unable to open this library. The library has issues that require rebuilding. The iphoto library is missing required database files and must be rebuilt before it can be opened" selected rebuild:
Next message is: "waiting for iphoto library...will open as soon as library is available. Time machine might be backing it up" and cycling.....
During this time, the iphoto file is unavailable, all options greyed out.
I have an external hard drive connected and time machine is on.
Like I said, not literate with computers, so I hope I'm giving the right information

Transferring iPhoto Library to External Drive/Time Machine

Hi LarryHN and Terrence Devlin (and any others who can answer my questions);
I have successfully transferred my iPhoto Library for the first time to an new external drive (thank you LarryHN and Terrence Devlin for your awesome threads). Would I be able to do this again when my iPhoto Library on my laptop requires another transer without changing the first transfer?
However, another part of LarryHN's thread is that the iPhoto Library transfer to an external drive is not a back up, why is it not considered a back up? I am trying to utilize Time Machine (also for the first time) but they are recommending I use an external drive with nothing on it (as they would be wiped out). Luckily I haven't wiped out my iPhoto Library on my laptop and am willing to re-do that after I set up Time Machine.
I appreciate your recommendations!

If you're running the library on the EHD as your working library then it's not a backup, it's your working copy.
To have a backup you must have two copies of the the working library on different hard drive. so to use Time Machine you need a dedicated HD just for it. When set up TM will backup your MB Air hard drive and any other EHD connected to it.
If you need to run your library from an EHD because your MBA doesn't have enought room and you want to use TM to backup your files including the iPhoto Library you'll need to have 2 EHDs.
So where do you want to run the library: on your MBA or on the EHD?
If you intend to run the library on your MBA make sure it's up to date and then reformat the EHD as OS X Extended (journaled) with Disk Utility. Connect it to the MBA and launch TM. It will ask if you want to use that drive for you backup and click yes. From there it's automatic. The first backup will take a while so have your MBA plugged in to a power outlet and let TM do it's thing.
This website has the best information on TM available: Apple OSX and Time Machine Tips
An alternate solution would be to use a backup application that can make incremental backups like Synk Pro. It will copy only those new or modified files from your working library to the backup copy on the EHD. I use it and have it configured to do the copy as soon as I quit out of iPhoto to keep the writing to disk at a minimum. Synk Pro will backup any selected file or folder you select so it doesn't have to be the entire hard drive if you don't want it. Personally I think TM would be a better solution for you as it will backup other files that may be important to you, i.e. music, documents, movies, etc.
OT

Can't open iPhoto because it is a Time Machine Backup

So I am trying to find some pictures, that have gone missing. They are showing up on the Apple TV, through Photo Share, but I can't find them anywhere on my MAc. I go to my External Hard Drive and try to find them from back ups, and when I click on iPhoto, I can;t open it becuas it is a Time Machine Back Up.
I am going nuts trying to find these dang picture's.....any idea on how to track them down? they are obviously somewhere, since they are still showing up on the Apple TV........
Argh!

Nope....still get the same picture's that were already there.
At one point, I changed the destination folder if memory serves...I had to replace the hard drive, and got all of my pictures back from the External Hard Drive, so I knwo they are there somewhere.....it is driving my nits thati can go downstairs, see the pictures on the TVm but can't find them ANYWHERE!!!!!!!

How Can I Share iPhoto Library/Keywords Among Multiple Users

Hi there! I am having a bit of a dilemma where I am trying how I can have several users access a shared iPhoto library (as well as retain their own personal iPhoto libraries). Basically, I have a handful of (three) users that need to be able to store/search against a common shared photo library - ideally, in iPhoto.
I understand that I can share albums through iPhoto (users are using a mix of iPhoto '08 and '09) on one account as long as iPhoto is running - a serious drawback. When I tried sharing photos via this method I was able to see the shared albums; however the keywords that were defined for those photos were not available. This presents two questions:
1) Can iPhoto share its library among multiple users (including keywords, etc) so that if a user account (let's call it "media") shares out selected albums that the viewing users (user1 and user2) can search against the keywords in the host library? Or is this not possible with iPhoto?
2) Is there another way of sharing photos that is more efficient and can be hosted on our private servers? The interface in iPhoto is amazing - and if there was an application that allowed for that same sort of feel/tagging we would be good to go...

Well here is the weird thing. If I was sharing out the library from my computer, I could search for the keywords (and obtain results) as expected. However, if I went to another computer that was viewing my shared library, searching by the same keyword did not return any results.

How do I unlock iPhoto Library?

Hi,
I upgraded to iPhoto 11 and now when I open the iPhoto Library I get this message:
" Caution, The Iphoto Library is on a locked volume. Reopen iPhoto when you have read/write access, or reopen iPhoto with the Option Key held down to choose another library".
How do I unlock the volume?
Thank you
VPH

Set Ownership to be ignored as Terence suggested:
If that doesn't do the trick download BatChmod and drag the library into it's window. Set the settings as shown below and apply.
OT

How can I save iPhoto Libraries that are in Trash?

Hello. I have been having troubles with iPhoto which are basically cured at the moment. However during the process I had to drag two iPhoto Libraries to my Trash.
My iPhoto is working fine at the moment, but I do not want to delete those two in the Trash for awhile yet. How can I get them out of Trash into a Folder to save them until I am sure I want to trash them? Can I create a Folder in Documents or Movies and save them there or some other place I can create a Folder to save them. I do not want them on my Desktop as they are quite large (15 and 22GB).
Thanks for any ideas.

Create a new folder on the desktop. Drag the libraries from the trash into that folder. Then put the folder where ever you want, including your Photos folder.
The desktop and trash are just like any other folder on your Mac. Their contents are stored on your hard drive, so they are taking up the same space where ever you put them. (You have to empty trash to regain the space the contents of trash take up.)
Larry posted the same info while I was composing
Message was edited by: Peter Bannon

How can I protect iPhoto library on EHD when backing up with Super Duper?

I moved my iphoto library awhile ago to an external firewire drive. I've kept my old iphoto library in my trash in case that drive died, but there are many photos that only exist in the iphoto library on the firewire drive.
I finally got another EHD (this one is a USB drive). My idea is to keep iphoto library on the EHD along with a bootable copy of my MacBook Pro's internal hard drive. However, I'm worried that when I create the bootable backup using Super Duper my iphoto library will be lost.
So I thought I could copy all the stuff from the firewire drive (where my only current iphoto library is located) to the USB drive and then move the library back to the firewire drive. Then I would have my working iphoto library and bootable copy on the firewire drive, and a backup of my iphoto library and backup bootable copy on the USB drive.
1. Does this make sense?
2. When I tried to copy everything (using Super Duper) from the firewire drive to the USB drive, my iphoto library didn't copy. I thought I had to do this because otherwise I might lose my iphoto library when I create the bootable copy on the firewire drive. (??)
3. Does it make sense to partition the firewire drive? If so, I will still need to move iphoto to the USB drive before I do that, correct?
BTW, my MacBook Pro is all full up. I can't move the iphoto library back to my internal hard drive while I move all this around.
THanks and let me know if I need to clarify...

prettyred
Never, ever, store anything in the trash. Would you store things in your trash at home? It’s far too easy to accidentally erase it.
I don’t know that you need to have an empty firewire drive for Super Duper, but pop over to their site - they have a forum too: http://www.shirt-pocket.com/forums/ and they’ll answer that question for you.
Do you need two bootable back ups? I wold think one bootable back up, plus a back up of your data on the second disk would be enough.
Yes, if you are going to partition a disk it will erase the data on it, so you’ll need to back up any data on it.
Regards
TD

How can I migrate iPhoto library from an old MacBook Pro to a new one?

When the hard drive on my MacBook Pro 13 needed to be wiped clean, I restored all my files from Time Machine except for my iPhoto files. Not sure why my iPhoto library wasn't restored, but it wasn't, and I can't find it on my Time Capsule. I want to move my partial iPhoto library from my old MacBook Pro to my new one. I understand this is possible by linking them in some way. What is that way?

There are three ways; using File Sharing over a network, transferring them via an external drive, or using FireWire Target Disk mode. If you use file sharing, use the AFP protocol. If you use an external drive, it or a partition or disk image on it needs to be formatted as Mac OS Extended.
(65126)

How can I share iPhoto library between users on same mac. External hard drive has not worked.

I need to share and edit photos between users on one mac. I have tried sharing the file on an external drive but this has caused all sorts of problems with photos disappearing and/or not being able to be edited. I was hoping iCloud sharing or family would work but being on the same machine I need the main iCloud account active at all times. This is a workplace so the second user has minimal access permissions.

okay I'm not sure if I'm missing something, but i just imitated the same scenario on my mac and it seems to work fine. I made sure to change permissions of the shared folder AND the the actual photo library. I gave everyone access to everything (as far as the folder & library was concerned). I uploaded & viewed from both accounts. You might want to view permissions of your entire disk in disk utility to make sure there isn't an error.. Make a backup first though.
The permissions will not stick. Earlier iPhoto versions did allow this, because iPhoto did not write to an iPhoto Library if you only wanted to browse it, but with iPhoto '11 the behaviour changed. Opening an iPhoto Library from a different account will write files with changed ownership right into the library, and that will cause problems if you edit or tag photos from a second account. The document I linked to in my earlier post is Apple Support's answer to these permission problems, when using a shared folder: iPhoto: Sharing libraries among multiple users

How can I restore my library that was erased off external drive....

I just accidently erased 90% of my itunes library that was reading off an external drive. The last 10% was recently purchases music that I downloaded directly to my laptop hard drive and remains intact (makes sense?). Basically I wiped out the external drive that my 90% library read to.
I was able uncover hidden files off my ipod and inturn copy my library back to the external drive but the big question is - is there a way to restore all this without having to start over Itunes? Can I reimport it off the external drive from the ipod copyover? One thing I can't do is copy it back onto the laptop hard drive because there's nowhere near enough space. Thanks for you help!

OK first thing you might want to do is read this post of mine from the other day...
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6296361&#6296361
because, well I am too lazy to type much of it again.
But the part that really is for you is about half way down, just above the link where it starts with "If it was me, " which is what you want to do. In your case, you would use the "Add to library..." command twice. Once to add all the files from the external, and then again to grab all the ones off the internal, if you want everything located in one location. You can then remove the ones from your internal AFTER you verify that they made it to the external ok.
As noted in that post at the end, but worth repeating, doing it with that method keeps everything all together (database files, media files, etc) in a single folder for your library rather than your database files on the internal and your media on the external or spread across both drives. If you ever need to move the library or want to use your library on other computers, you can simply move the folder or the entire drive and use the above instructions to open your library.
Patrick

How can I unlock iPhoto Library that incorrectly thinks Time Machine busy?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for