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

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I am unable to open Photo on my MacBook Pro after installing ilife 11 from a disc. The message I get says "you can't open the application iPhoto because it may be damaged or incomplete. What can I do?!

I am unable to open iPhoto on my Macbook Pro (OSX 10.9.3) after installing ilife 11 from a disc. The message I get is "you can't open the application iPhoto because it may be damaged or incomplete. What can I do?! Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Reinstall it.This time delete the receipts first.
To re-install iPhoto
1. Put the iPhoto.app in the trash (Drag it from your Applications Folder to the trash)
2. Download it from the App Store to reinstall It's on your Purchases List* there.
For older versions that have been installed from Disk you'll need these additional steps:
2a: On 10.5: Go to HD/Library/Receipts and remove any pkg file there with iPhoto in the name.
2b: On 10.6: Those receipts may be found as follows: In the Finder use the Go menu and select Go To Folder. In the resulting window type
/var/db/receipts/
2c: on 10.7 or later they're at
/private/var/db/receipts
A Finder Window will open at that location and you can remove the iPhoto pkg files.
3. Re-install.
If you purchased an iLife Disk, then iPhoto is on it.
If iPhoto was installed on your Mac when you go it then it’s on the System Restore disks that came with your Mac. Insert the first one and opt to ‘Install Bundled Applications Only.
*Sometimes iPhoto is not visible on the Purchases List. it may be hidden. See this article for details on how to unhide it.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4928
One question often asked: Will I lose my Photos if I reinstall?
iPhoto the application and the iPhoto Library are two different parts of the iPhoto programme. So, reinstalling the app should not affect the Library. BUT you should always have a back up before doing this kind of work. Always.
Important:
As you're on 10.9.3 you'll need to update iPhoto to v9.5 before opening it. Use Software update.

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

I just backed up my photos by copying my iPhoto Library onto an external drive. Now the Library on my MacBook won't open. I can only open the photos if the external is plugged in. How can I resolve this issue?

I just backed up my photos by copying my iPhoto Library onto an external drive. Now the Library on my MacBook won't open. I can only open the photos if the external is plugged in. How can I resolve this issue?

Exactly what did you do?
The correct steps are
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
My guess is that that you have not switched iphoto to use the external drive yet - opttion launch and select libary
LN

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.

Fix for iPhoto lost thumbnails on an external drive

I've had a few times when iPhoto seems to have lost all my thumbnails and pictures. I finally figured out what caused it and how to solve it. I thought others might be interested.
The problem occurs because of 2 things:
1. I store my iPhoto Library on an external drive.
2. While running iPhoto, the external drive becomes disconnected by mistake (usually because I kick the power cord)
I found that the problem is that iPhoto still tries to write the library files to the same location as it used to be. In order to fix the problem, you just need to remove the files that were created accidently. Here are the steps I used for iPhoto '06 and Max OS X 10.3.9 on an eMac. I'm guessing they'll work with other versions, but have not tested them.
0. Quit iPhoto. Make sure you have a current back-up of all your files (don't you always
1. Write down the name of the drive where you store your iPhoto library on the external drive:
I'll use <drive> in the remainder of this description. Replace that text with the name you just wrote down.
2. Open the "Terminal" inside "Applications/Utilities/"
3. Type "cd /Volumes". This is where Mac connects external drives to your UNIX filesystem. "cd" means "change directory" to the "/Volumes" drive.
4. Type "ls". You should see the name of your drive there. "ls" means "list" the contents.
5. Eject the <drive> from you Mac via the Trash Can and turn it off as normal.
6. Type "ls". Normally your drive should disappear from this listing. However, you'll notice that the drive still appears there. The problem is that there are really 2 directories there, one gets over-written when you attach an external drive. But having 2 causes lots of problems.
7. With the drive off, you want to move the 2nd directory out of the way. To do this, you will need to become a root user for a moment. This is done with the "sudo" which means "switch user and do something then switch back". The first time you use it in a terminal you will be required to type the administrator password. It's a very powerful command, but keeps you from getting into the wrong mode forever.
8. Type "sudo mv '<drive>' '<drive>.wrong'". This switches users, "moves" the bad directory to another directory name (ie. rename for UNIX). Make sure to use the single quote (') in case the name of your drive has spaces in it.
This doesn't remove the bad files, just moves them out of the way. That way if this doesn't work, you can just move it back with the reverse command "sudo mv '<drive>.wrong' '<drive>'".
9. Now turn your drive back on.
10. Type "ls". Your <drive> should now re-appear in this listing.
11. Restart iPhoto. It may ask you to locate the Library again.
Please note that these instructions are only provided to help other users running into the same problem. Also, I am not responsible for any lost data by following these instructions.
Also, if anyone finds this doesn't work, or has way to improve these steps, please feel free to post a reply.
eMac Mac OS X (10.3.9) iLife 06

It would be much easier if you make frequent backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto database file and when you have a disconnect like you did, just replace the damaged file with the backup version. It is important to have a "recent" backup so you can get back where you were. So I've created an Automator application that will copy the file to the Pictures folder, label it orange, any time you click on it. So you can backup after any import, or work on a book, slideshow,etc. You don't need to close iPhoto to do it. Just don't be writing the the database file. You can download the application at Toad's Cellar.
Do you Twango?
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 written 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. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.
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How do I export my images from iPhoto 9.4, to an external drive?

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mainly to back them up without using time machine.
Thanks

Just the Images?
File -> Export
This User Tip
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4921
has details of the options in the Export dialogue.
To back up the Library: that is images, organisation, edit history etc etc
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.
Example of such apps: Chronosync - but there are many others. Search on MacUpdate or the App Store

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?

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

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