Upgrading iPhoto Library keeps stalling out

Question

New MacBook Pro, OS X 10.9.1
Restored from Time Machine back-up on a firewire drive, from a 17" MBP using Snow Leopard.
iPhoto 9.5.1
When I open up iPhoto it says the Library has to be upgraded. I click on upgrade, the blue bar goes almost all the way across, then stalls, then iPhoto stops responding. Here is the beginning of the trouble report:
Date/Time:       2014-01-27 08:43:42 -0800
OS Version:      10.9.1 (Build 13B3116)
Architecture:    x86_64
Report Version:  18
Command:         iPhoto
Path:            /Applications/iPhoto.app/Contents/MacOS/iPhoto
Version:         9.5.1 (902.17)
Build Version:   3
Project Name:    iPhotoProject
Source Version:  902017000000000
App Item ID:     408981381
App External ID: 233642646
Parent:          launchd [168]
PID:             838
Event:           hang
Duration:        2.63s (process was unresponsive for 3 seconds before sampling)
Steps:           27 (100ms sampling interval)
Hardware model:  MacBookPro11,3
Active cpus:     8
Fan speed:       2161 rpm
Free pages:      1039546 pages (-5164)
Pageins:         15 pages
Pageouts:        0 pages
Swapins:         0 pages
Swapouts:        0 pages
Process:         iPhoto [838]
Path:            /Applications/iPhoto.app/Contents/MacOS/iPhoto
Architecture:    x86_64
Parent:          launchd [168]
UID:             503
Task size:       234987 pages
CPU Time:        0.045s
Note:            Unresponsive for 3 seconds before sampling
  Thread 0x4839     DispatchQueue 6          priority 55 

Answer 1

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