HT204484: If Photos can’t copy or create a library

Learn about If Photos can’t copy or create a library
PeteMeehan
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Q: iPhoto is on an external drive

What should the command be if the iPhoto library is sitting on an external drive?

 

Because in my case iPhoto is not even in a Pictures folder, it sits at the top level inside an external drive.

 

It got so big that I had to store it on an external drive... so how do I go about modifying the command for this situation

 

Thanks!

MacBook Air, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on May 11, 2015 8:24 AM

by PeteMeehan,Solvedanswer
PeteMeehan PeteMeehan
Level 1 (0 points)
A:

Thank you, that solved it!

 

As it turns out, the drive didn't have read/write permissions set freely enough for this operation. This caught me off-guard, because I use the drive almost daily for copying files back and forth. So there was no clue in wasn't set up for this task. Anyway, fixed is fixed.

 

Thanks again.

Posted on May 14, 2015 9:32 AM

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PeteMeehan

Q: iPhoto is on an external drive

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  • by Niel,

    Niel Niel May 11, 2015 8:34 AM in response to PeteMeehan
    Level 10 (313,156 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 11, 2015 8:34 AM in response to PeteMeehan

    Instead of typing out the path, drag the library into the Terminal window.

     

    (127284)

  • by PeteMeehan,

    PeteMeehan PeteMeehan May 11, 2015 8:41 AM in response to Niel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 11, 2015 8:41 AM in response to Niel

    I will try that, but should I do that before or after using the same commands?

  • by Niel,

    Niel Niel May 11, 2015 8:46 AM in response to PeteMeehan
    Level 10 (313,156 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 11, 2015 8:46 AM in response to PeteMeehan

    The rest of the command will be the posted text. For example, type or paste in:

     

    sudo chmod -R 700

     

    and then a space, and then drag the folder instead of typing out the path.

     

    (127285)

  • by PeteMeehan,

    PeteMeehan PeteMeehan May 11, 2015 8:46 AM in response to Niel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 11, 2015 8:46 AM in response to Niel

    When I drag iPhoto (from the external drive) to Terminal, this is what I get:

    /Volumes/MyBook\ 3TB/iPhoto\ Library

    -bash:

     

     

    Thanks for your help!

  • by Niel,

    Niel Niel May 11, 2015 8:48 AM in response to PeteMeehan
    Level 10 (313,156 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 11, 2015 8:48 AM in response to PeteMeehan

    The command and path need to be on the same line. Do not press Return or Enter between them.

     

    (127286)

  • by PeteMeehan,

    PeteMeehan PeteMeehan May 11, 2015 8:49 AM in response to Niel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 11, 2015 8:49 AM in response to Niel

    Yes, I tried that, but it's not working. I guess there is something wrong with my path.

     

    I keep getting the same error message.

  • by PeteMeehan,

    PeteMeehan PeteMeehan May 11, 2015 8:50 AM in response to Niel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 11, 2015 8:50 AM in response to Niel

    "The command and path need to be on the same line. Do not press Return or Enter between them."

     

    Okay thanks. I will try that now.

  • by PeteMeehan,

    PeteMeehan PeteMeehan May 11, 2015 8:54 AM in response to Niel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 11, 2015 8:54 AM in response to Niel

    No luck. Doesn't work. I must be doing something wrong... but I cannot see it yet.

     

    This is my command and path which I type in straight after opening Terminal:

    sudo chmod -R 700 /Volumes/MyBook\ 3TB/iPhoto\ Library

  • by PeteMeehan,

    PeteMeehan PeteMeehan May 11, 2015 8:55 AM in response to PeteMeehan
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 11, 2015 8:55 AM in response to PeteMeehan

    To be exact:

     

    MacBooks-Air:~ Pete$ sudo chmod -R 700 /Volumes/MyBook\ 3TB/iPhoto\ Library

  • by Niel,

    Niel Niel May 12, 2015 7:42 AM in response to PeteMeehan
    Level 10 (313,156 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 12, 2015 7:42 AM in response to PeteMeehan

    Run the following:

     

    ls /Volumes/MyBook\ 3TB/

     

    and put the library's entire name, including the extension, into the sudo command.

     

    (127318)

  • by PeteMeehan,

    PeteMeehan PeteMeehan May 13, 2015 11:47 PM in response to Niel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 13, 2015 11:47 PM in response to Niel

    I tried this:

    step 1: "ls /Volumes/MyBook\ 3TB/"

    result: it lists out all the files and directories on the MyBook 3TB drive, such as ‘iPhoto Library’, which presumably is the important one here.

    step 2a: "sudo chmod -R 700 /Volumes/MyBook\ 3TB/iPhoto\ Library"

    (I also tried step 2b on a separate occasion)

    step 2b: "sudo chmod -R 700 /Volumes/MyBook\ 3TB/iPhoto Library"

    step 3: inputed password upon request

    step 4: ran the ‘Preparing Library' routine from iPhoto to Photos


    Result:

    It failed. The Preparing Library routine stopped at the 8% completed mark.

    "Photos was unable to make a copy of your library before preparing it.

    Photos does not have the necessary permissions to create a Photos library in the folder that contains your library."


    (Note: iCloud Photo Library has not been turned on yet..)


    1. SO IT’S STILL A PERMISSION PROBLEM — WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?" I CAN'T SEE IT.

    2. On the possibility that this procedure might not work for some obscure reason… is there another workaround?

    3. Would the slowest way be the quickest way in the end? Meaning, would it be feasible to build a new Photos Library on the external drive, and one by one import the events from the old 73GB iPhoto Library to the new Photos Library?


    Thanks for your help. Appreciated!



    [Mercy on the average Mac user who has an external iPhoto library… as this is far from intuitive]

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN May 14, 2015 7:22 AM in response to PeteMeehan
    Level 10 (84,857 points)
    Photos for Mac
    May 14, 2015 7:22 AM in response to PeteMeehan

    Please explain what the problem is

     

    Note

     

    1 - to use with Photos the external drive must be formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) - Is it?

     

    2 - it must be connected with a fast wired cable like FireWire, USB or Thunderbolt. is it?

     

    3 - to switch library locations you hold down the Option key while launching Photos and use the resulting window

     

    LN

  • by PeteMeehan,

    PeteMeehan PeteMeehan May 14, 2015 7:35 AM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 14, 2015 7:35 AM in response to LarryHN

    Hi,

     

    Objective:

    Start using Photos as a replacement for iPhoto.

     

    Challenge/Issue:

    My iPhoto is on an external drive, and each time I run commands and then start the application (Preparing Library), I run into permission problems.

     

    As you can see from the thread above, I have been advised to try different ways of executing the sudo command, but it has not overcome the permissions problem. I don't know what to do next.

     

    To answer your questions:

    1 - to use with Photos the external drive must be formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) - Is it?

    Yes it is. iPhoto is currently residing there too.

     

    2 - it must be connected with a fast wired cable like FireWire, USB or Thunderbolt. is it?

    Yes, it uses a fast USB (recent drive).

     

    3 - to switch library locations you hold down the Option key while launching Photos and use the resulting window

    Yes - I am doing that.

     

    Thanks

  • by LarryHN,Helpful

    LarryHN LarryHN May 14, 2015 7:40 AM in response to PeteMeehan
    Level 10 (84,857 points)
    Photos for Mac
    May 14, 2015 7:40 AM in response to PeteMeehan

    Get info for the drive an verify that ignore ownership is checked for the drive

     

    LN

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