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.

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

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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

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,
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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

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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?
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How do I recover my iPhoto Library from a failing hard drive?

My older MacBook has begun shutting off in the middle of startup. I get a gray screen with an Apple and progress bar in the middle. When the startup progress hits about half way, the system shuts down. I have been able to start it up to Disk Utility but cannot repair the disk or create a new image from it to the external HD. I cannot reinstal Yosemite because the drive is locked. I have tried using Migration Assistant from my iMac with no luck. The only thing left that I need to get transferred is my iPhoto Library. Is there a way to get these files transferred?
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(121369)

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.
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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.

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.

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 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

TS3683 Not enough space on my Mac HD to back up my iPad. My iTunes library is on an external drive. Can I use this same drive to Back yup my iPad?

I don't have enough space on my Mac HD to back up my iPad. Actually, my iTunes library is on an external drive. Can I use this same drive to Back up my iPad?

1. First make sure iPhoto is not running. If it is, quit it. Use the Finder to copy your iPhoto Library file to your external drive. Unless you've changed it, its located inside your Pictures folder and is named "iPhoto Library".
2. After the copy is complete, start iPhoto while simultaneously holding down the option key. iPhoto will bring up a dialog box. The file in the list is your existing Library on your internal disk. Click the "Other Library" button and navigate to your external drive. Select your freshly copied iPhoto Library file and click "Open". iPhoto will from now on open and work with this library on the external drive.
3. After you've confirmed iPhoto is working properly with the newly copied library you may wish to delete the original library in your Pictures folder to recover the disk space.
Don't forget to keep a backup copy of your library on a separate disk. It's not a matter of "if" your external drive will fail but "when". You need to make regular backups or you'll be sorry someday.

How do I repair a damaged time machine backup drive/remove pictures from library on locked/failing external drive

I have a WD 1TB external hard drive that I use as my time machine backup drive as well as to store a number of things including my iphoto library (due to its size of about 85 GB) as well as documents. I began using the WD 1TB external drive with my 2007 13" MacBook and when I purchased a brand new 13" MacBook Pro in 2013 I used the WD to transfer what I wanted to the new laptop. My new MacBook Pro is running OSX 10.8.4 (2.9 GHz Interl Core i7 with 8GB 1600 MHz DDR3) (not the retina display). The WD 1TB product # is WDBACX001... and it's only about one year old so I'm super bummed that it's failing and trying to take my life with it It has only ever been used with my two MacBooks, never with a PC.
The external WD was working fine until this week when I noticed that it wasn't appearing on my desktop. I rebooted, unplugged and replugged the WD drive in each USB portal, and still nothing. I ran Disk Utility to verify and repair the disk, which did force it to show up on the desktop again, though it made everything painfully slow. After running the repair function Disk Utility told me that the drive couldn't be repaired, and that I should backup whatever is on it and restore the WD drive. I managed to pull off most of the documents before it decided to freeze up my laptop (I had a couple of folders with a few documents each left), but I wasn't able to move the iphoto library over before the drive disappeared again. I got it back by running the repair option in disk utility, with the same message that the WD drive is failing and to back it up, and tried to move the iphoto library. It told me it would take 180+ days, and kept going up. I left it up anyway for about a day to see if it would change, and instead it gave an error message, and moved nothing. I can't open the library in iPhoto- it tells me it's on a locked disk. I checked the permissions and it's set to Read & write by me (the admin user) but then under that it says read only for "everyone." I can't get into the library to pull out my pictures, which I cannot afford to lose.
I would appreciate any help or advice on how to crack into my iphoto library on this failing drive to remove the pictures. I read a lot about DiskWarrior but I also read that it won't work on newer macs (anything after June of 2012 supposedly), so I'm wondering if that's true or not, and if not is that a good program to use?
I can't afford to take it to a professional right now, so any help or advice would be so greatly appreciated! Also if anyone then could suggest the best way to back up in two places (digitally and perhaps a better brand of external drive) it would be amazing.
If you need more info let me know!

If you're very lucky, you might be able to salvage the drive mechanism, and the data, by removing it from the enclosure and installing it in another one, or in a drive dock.

How do I back up my entire iphoto library to an external hard drive that I have dedicated for photos only? Can I simply drag the iphoto library onto my seagate (hard drive) icon?

How do I back up my entire iphoto library on to an external hard drive that will be my second back up plan. I already have one back up that is also synched with time machine. But now I want to back up my iphoto library to a new hard drive to have a second copy. Can I simply drag the whole library onto the icon on my desk top? THX

WHile you can do it that way, the next time you back up you'll end up copying the entire library again, and,as you'l see, once a library gets bigger that can take a considerable amount of time.
Try using 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.
Example of such apps: Chronosync - but there are many others. Search on MacUpdate or the App Store

If I upgarde my iPhoto on my computer..can I open my iPhoto library stored on an external hard drive?

I have all my photos saved on an external hard drive..if I upgrade to the latest version of iPhoto..will I be able to access my library?

Greetings,
The current version of iPhoto can read libraries on external drives (just double-click the Library).
It is always advisable to have a backup of your data before you make changes to it (like upgrading) so make a backup of that library just in case.
Finally, make sure the drive is Mac Formated.
Hope that helps.

How do I save an IPhoto library onto a new hard drive while it's open? It is a miracle I got it open, and it has refused to be copied the usual way (by dragging its icon to destination drive). i want to save those photos!

How do I save an IPhoto library onto a new hard drive while library is open? It is a miracle I got it open, and it has refused to be copied the usual way (by dragging its icon to destination drive). i want to save those photos!

My external Lacie Hard drive that contains the IPhoto library is a "locked volume." Wow, now it is suddenly letting me copy it. I dragged the library's icon to the new destination (a 3T hard drive) and it is working so far.
I have also had problems copying my IMovie events from this drive, whose data I'm trying to save. It reaches a certain video and stops. I will delete that video and try again.

IPhoto library locked on failing external drive

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