Iphoto has become unreadable on external drive

Hi, my husband has iphoto on an external hard drive. This drive is also his time machine backup.
Recently, iphoto stopped opening. Then the entire drive wasn't recognized by the imac. I fixed that by simply unplugging it and plugging it back in. But it still won't open the iphoto files.
This is a big crisis for us as we have thousands of pictures of our family and recently lost our youngest son. Obviously, those pictures are invaluable to us.
HELP! please.

Drag the library to one of your Macs and try opening it there. You may have to try one of the following fixes:
Fix #1
Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys depressed and follow the instructions to rebuild the library. Select last three options.
Click to view full size
Fix #2
Rebuild the library using iPhoto Library Manager as follows:
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.
OT

Similar Messages

TS3477 Iphoto has become unreadable

I get a message when trying to use Iphoto that reads, Unreadable file

detail please - version of the OS and of iPHoto? What ahs recently changed? What is the exact error message?
LN

IPhoto has become "unreadable"!!!!

Hi all,
My iPhoto has suddenly stopped "working", how do I get it back to normal and keep all my photos?
I have followed the instructions given by Apple but it hasn't worked. It says i can try restoring my library from a backup and I don't know how to do that, and I don't think I have ever backed it up.
Any advice or help would be much appreciated, thank you.
Mollie.

Try this:
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
1 - download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.>Click on the Add Library button,
2 - select the library you want to add from those in the selection window.
3 - make sure that in the rebuild window the checkbox "Scavange orphaned photos" is checked.
4 - now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the Library ➙ Rebuild Library menu option
5 - in the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed. Click on the Create button.
Note 1: 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.
Note 2: Your current library will be left untouched for further attempts at a fix if so desired.

I have my iPhoto set to an external drive yesterday when it was in use the usb disconnected i now have a message saying (your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable) I have tried shutting down and restarting.

I have my iPhoto set to an external drive, when it was in use the usb disconected as i was moving my mac air, when i re-conected a message said (your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable).
I have tried shutting it down and then re opening iPhoto but get the same message.
The reason for the external drive was there was not enough room on my hard drive, I have around 7000 photos on it.
is there a simple fix?
Regards
Dale

These are your options:
1. Restore the iPhoto library from the most recent backup that predates the issue.
          Advantages: Always works, if library damage is causing the problem and the backup is intact.
          Disadvantages: Impossible if you don't have a backup. All changes made since the backup are lost.
2. Repair or rebuild the library. Be sure to back it up first.
          Advantages: May solve the problem with no loss of data.
          Disadvantages: May fail. May take a long time if the library is large.
3. Scavenge the library with a third-party application called "iPhoto Library Manager," which you can find in a web search. From the application's menu bar (not the iPhoto menu bar), select Library ▹ Rebuild.
          Advantages: All images and albums should be preserved.
          Disadvantages: All books, calendars, and slideshows will be lost.

I was trying to move iphoto library to my external hardrive, realised it was incompatible with Mac. The iphoto will not open now, message is "Iphoto library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable". I have read other posts.

Hi,
I was trying to save a copy of my iphoto library by copying images to my external harddrive. I wasn't sure how to do it, realised the hard drive is not compatible. Now the iphoto library wont open and reads "iphoto library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable".
I have tried to use options command and click on iphoto then rebuild yet nothing happens and same error message occurs.
I have gone to my personal drive, desktop, iphoto library, and found file Albumdata.xml and when i click on it, there is a lot of text in it, i am assuming these are all my photos.
I have tried clicking and dragging this file to iphoto app and it doesn't work, as the same error comes up in iphoto being in use or unreadable....
What am I meant to do with albumdata.xml file and how do I reopen Iphoto from here on in?
Please help as I am not technically minded and still trying to understand how to use the Macbook at all as I am used to Microsoft.
Thank you very much,
KS

Rule Number One - NEVER go directly uinto the iPhoto library - there are no user servicable parts in it and making any change no matter how small can corrupt your library and cause data or photo loss
Exactly how were you trying to save a copy of your iPhoto library?
Albumdata.xml does not contain your photos - and again NEVER make any changes to the content of the iPhoto library - no dragging - no changes - never go into the library
We need to know exactly what you did
And probalby the easiest solution is to load your backup from before you messed things up
For reference after you get things working
Moving the iPhoto library is safe and simple - quit iPhoto and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity to the external drive - depress the option key and launch iPhoto using the "select library" option to point to the new location on the external drive - fully test it and then trash the old library on the internal drive (test one more time prior to emptying the trash)
And be sure that the External drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) (iPhoto does not work with drives with other formats) and that it is always available prior to launching iPhoto
And backup soon and often - having your iPhoto library on an external drive is not a backup and if you are using Time Machine you need to check and be sure that TM is backing up your external drive
LN

I was editing photos in my iphotos and it says Your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable on me. I shut down my computer and when I restarted I can not access my photos, it keeps giving me

I was editing photos in my iphotos and it froze on me. So I shut down my computer and when I restarted I now can not access them. It says Your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable. What can I do to fix this?

What you're describing is the Finder window for your external hard drive. When you're in iPhoto and try to edit a photo what happens?
Are you saying that the photos for your iPhoto library are located on the external HD while your library is in the Pictures folder on the boot drive? That would indicate a referenced library. You can check to see if you're running a referenced library by checking the Advanced Preference pane in iPhoto:
Click to view full size
So based one the Advanced preference pane in iPhoto what type of library are you running. Where is the library itself located? It should look like this:
By default it should be located in your Users/Home/Pictures folder. However, it could be run on an external HD.

How do I restore my iPhoto. When I open i get a window dialog "Your iphoto library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable shut down and restart your computer. If problem persists, try rebuilding your iphoto library. To do th

When I try to open iPhoto I get a window dialog that says...
Your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable
Shut down and restart your computer, and then open iPhoto again. If the problem persists, try rebuilding your photo library. To do this, quit iPhoto, and then reopen it while keeping the Option and Command keys pressed. You can also try restoring your photo library from a backup.
I have tried the reopen it while keeping the Option and Command keyes pressed.
No change.
I dee nothing but a blank page,
Any help would be appreciated.
Also hace back ups of all images on cd's. dvds and jump drives.
Any advice is appreciated.

Option 1
Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Choose to Repair Database. If that doesn't help, then try again, this time using Rebuild Database.
If that fails:
Option 2
Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. (In early versions of Library Manager it's the File -> Rebuild command. In later versions it's under the Library menu.)
This will create an entirely new library. It will then copy (or try to) your photos and all the associated metadata and versions to this new Library, and arrange it as close as it can to what you had in the damaged Library. It does this based on information it finds in the iPhoto sharing mechanism - but that means that things not shared won't be there, so no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your events, albums and keywords, faces and places back.
Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one.
Regards
TD

IPhoto library has become unreadable (again!)....

I have a very large iPhoto library containing everything I ever photographed since 2000
It worked perfectly until I was away in February when it crashed (became unreadable) while I was editing new photos - I panicked thinking I had lost everything and then read as much as my small brain could understand about how to fix it and only lost a couple of photos in the repair.
Since then, iPhoto has worked perfectly again although I tend not to shut it or the MacBook down as often.
Last night, editing new photos, it became unreadable again.
I now have the old old library stored on a small hard drive, the new old library on another, time machine backed up on another and a big new LaCie 3tb external hard drive which only has the photo library on it (bar the very recent photos which are still on my camera card)
I am not technical enough to understand why my library keeps having a problem or what to do about fixing it properly and I am struggling to know how to manage it all
What I really want to do (I think) is store my iPhoto library permanently on the external drive as it has considerably more capacity than my MacBook but also be able to access the more recent photos just on the MacBook - is this possible?
How should I fix my library and sort this mess out?
Step by step info and assume I know less than a 3 year old about it please - also I have aperture on my MacBook could this be part of the problem?
Thanks in advance - v frustrated at my lack of knowledge!!
Ps I have read the forums but I don't understand most of it! I need an idiots guide...
MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4)
I have 44.29GB of space left on my hard drive (242.something maximum)
iPhoto version is 9.4.3

28k isn't a big library these days. My main library is coming up on twice that and we see reports on here from people with libraries in excess of 100k. The capacity of an iPhoto 11 library is 1,000,000, earlier versions are good for 250,000.
Option 1
Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Choose to Repair Database. If that doesn't help, then try again, this time using Rebuild Database.
If that fails:
Option 2
Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. (In early versions of Library Manager it's the File -> Rebuild command. In later versions it's under the Library menu.)
This will create an entirely new library. It will then copy (or try to) your photos and all the associated metadata and versions to this new Library, and arrange it as close as it can to what you had in the damaged Library. It does this based on information it finds in the iPhoto sharing mechanism - but that means that things not shared won't be there, so no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your events, albums and keywords, faces and places back.
Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one.
Regards
TD

IPhoto Start Error: Your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable

Having the same issues with iPhoto as an OP in another thread. When I try to start iPhoto I get the following error, "Your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable."
I have tried rebuilding the database with no joy to resolving the issue. The library has not been moved to another drive so I have not bothered with the "LockId" process someone recommended.
Following the instructions provided by Linc Davis in another thread....
Command Line In Terminal: "find ~ $TMPDIR.. $ -flags +sappnd,schg,uappnd,uchg -o ! -user $UID -o ! -perm -600 $ 2>&- | wc -l | pbcopy"
I get the following response.
319
Does anyone have suggestions for what I can do to get iPhoto back up and running?
SYSTEM:
Hardware: iMac9
OSx Version: 10.6.8

Went thru the "rebuild library" process again. This time I selected to rebuild the library from an automatic back up. When I did that a screen came up saying "Upgrade or Quit - The photo library needs to be upgraded to work with this version of iPhoto". I selected Upgrade and everything seems fine now.
Not sure why anything would require an upgrade as I haven't done anything to upgrade iPhoto. Hope this is not a virus.
My Mac seems really slow. If anyone can recommend a cleanup process, I'm interested in going that route.
Thanks for the help here on the community forums!

All my photo's are missing from iPhoto and I'm getting a message "your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable"

Yesterday when I opened iPhoto all of my photo's were missing. After many hours of frustrating time looking how to resolve, I decided to try again this morning. When I tried to open iphoto, I got the message I referenced above regarding the library is either in use or has become unreadable.
My photos are not in iPhoto anymore. There's nothing there. iphoto acts like its never even been set up. I have iPhoto '11 version 9.4.3. I have OS X Lion version 10.7.5. However, when I go to "All My Files" and then under "images", there are over 10,000 images. I see my photos (I guess it's all of them - i have no idea how many there were) and other "images" also. When i go to "pictures" I only see the 15 or so items I have scanned. In "iPhoto Library", there is 1 picture of what looks like a deck of playing cards with flowers on them - I don't know where that came from. But also in "iPhoto Library" under the heading "desktop", it shows a size of over 27GB and under "kind" it says "package". Still under desktop and "Photo Booth Library" it shows 53GB and under "kind" it says "Photo Booth Library". Before I opened iPhoto to view my photo's, I went to "empty trash" yesterday (not in iPhoto) and it showed over 65,000 items to delete. There were no more than 200 that I could actually see. So, I don't understand. I let it delete a couple of thousand before I stopped it because I didn't know what it was doing. I know - not too smart. I don't know if that has anything to do with iPhoto or not; I'm just throwing that out there. Today I went to "empty trash" and it now shows the 200 items that I can see in there. Don't know what happened.
I do have a time capsule but not sure if I’m using it correctly. If you were to tell me to restore to a certain point, I’d have to be walked thru the process.
I downloaded “iPhoto Library Manager”, not exactly sure how to use it, but got a message basically saying the library nor the database could be loaded and that album data file for the library “iPhoto Library” could not be read.
I’ve spent hours and hours and hours searching the web for answers but I’m scared to do much of anything thinking I could end up losing all my photos if I haven’t already.
Please help!
Thank you!
James

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 #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

How do I re-open and get back into my iPhoto if this message appears: "Your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable"? What do I do?

How do I re-open and get back into my iPhoto if this message appears: "Your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable"? What do I do?

Rebuild your iPhoto Library:
iPhoto 6 and later: Rebuilding the iPhoto library

When I start my iPhoto it says: "Your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable". I don't have a back-up of my library and I don't know what to do! Thanks

When I start my iPhoto it says: "Your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable". I don't have a back-up of my library and I don't know what to do! Thanks

Try to restart your Mac. If the library is really in use by another application, that can clear it.
Tell us more about your system. Which version of iPhoto are you using? Which version of MacOS X?
Where are you storing your iPhoto Library?
What happened before this problem first started? Did iPhoto crash? Did you move the iPhoto Library somewhere else?
Try Terence Devlin's fix here: Re: IPHOTO LOCKED
Go to your Pictures Folder and find the iPhoto Library there. Right (or Control-) Click on the icon and select 'Show Package Contents'. A finder window will open with the Library exposed.
Look there for a file called ‘iPhoto’Lock.data or similar. Drag it to the Desktop. Make no other changes. Start iPhoto. Does that help?

Hi, I have a brand new imac which i got today and when I open Iphoto all i get is the error message "Your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable" any ideas? thanks

Hi, I have a brand new imac which i got today and when I open Iphoto all i get is the error message "Your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable" any ideas? thanks

Are there photos in the Library? If not then just trash it and launch iphoto. It will make a new one.
If there are pics in it then Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. This will create a new library based on data in the albumdata.xml file. Not everything will be brought over - no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your albums and keywords back.
Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one.

My iphoto library has become unreadable. I am wondering if I shoudl delete iphoto and reinstall? Can I download iphoto from the web? I bought my computer in February of this year. Do I have to buy a new copy of iphoto?

My iphoto library has become unreadable. I am wondering if I shoudl delete iphoto and reinstall? Can I download iphoto from the web? I bought my computer in February of this year. Do I have to buy a new copy?

It's probably the library that's the prolem and not the application. Try this: launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and create a new, test library. Import some photos and check to see if the same problem persists. If you can create and open a new library then your existing library is damaged.
If that's the case, Make a temporary, backup copy (if you don't already have a backup copy) of the library 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.
Select the options identified in the screenshot.
Fix #2
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
Click on the Add Library button, navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
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
In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
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 left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
OT

Why does iPhoto give me this error when opening it " Your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable"

Good Day. I have been trying to open my iPhoto and i keeps giving me the following error message " Your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable " Then it suggests I push the Option and Command button at time of opening iPhoto and the 4 options given do not work as well. My operating system is OS X Vers 10.8.5. Not sure the iPhoto application as it won't open for me to tell.
Pls help . Im afraid of losing all my pics.

Make a back up now. If you have any vaule in Your photos always have a back up.
Most Simple Back Up
Drag the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to another Disk. This will make a copy on that disk.
Slightly more complex:
Use an app that will do incremental back ups. This is a very good way to work. The first time you run the back up the app will make a complete copy of the Library. Thereafter it will update the back up with the changes you have made. That makes subsequent back ups much faster. Many of these apps also have scheduling capabilities: So set it up and it will do the back up automatically. Examples of such apps: Chronosync or DejaVu . But are many others. Search on MacUpdate
In Library Manager the Rebuild command is under the File menu. There's also an excellent Help available.
Regards
TD

Iphoto has become unreadable on external drive

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