dinamarie2

Q: Issue backing up iphoto to flash drive

I am having issues backing up iphoto to a flash drive. My photoslibrary is 65gb and after about an hour of copying the process times out and I get the following error message - The Finder can’t complete the operation because some data in “Photos Library.photoslibrary” can’t be read or written. (Error code -36).


Does this mean there is an issue with my photoslibrary and if so, how do I go about fixing this?


Thank you!

MacBook Pro

Posted on Jun 14, 2016 9:01 AM

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Q: Issue backing up iphoto to flash drive

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  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Jun 14, 2016 9:58 AM in response to dinamarie2
    Level 10 (107,706 points)
    iCloud
    Jun 14, 2016 9:58 AM in response to dinamarie2

    - The Finder can’t complete the operation because some data in “Photos Library.photoslibrary” can’t be read or written. (Error code -36).

    Error -36 is a file error. That usually means that the file system on your flash drive is incompatible. If you copy between drives with different file systems, some filenames may be ambigious and the copy will stop, for example, if the filename is very long or contains ethnic characters.

     

    Your flash drive  should be formatted MacOS Extended (Journaled).  Otherwise the Photos Library may not work on the drive.

     

    Use Disk Utility to reformat the flash drive as described here for Aperture lIbraries, see the link:   Format external drives to Mac OS Extended before using with Aperture

  • by dinamarie2,

    dinamarie2 dinamarie2 Jun 14, 2016 12:57 PM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iLife
    Jun 14, 2016 12:57 PM in response to léonie

    Thank you for your reply. I did what you suggested and all was going fine but once again toward the end of the process I got the following message -

     

    The Finder can’t complete the operation because some data in “Photos Library.photoslibrary” can’t be read or written.

    (Error code -36)

     

    Any suggestions on what to try next is appreciated. Thanks so much.

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Jun 14, 2016 1:52 PM in response to dinamarie2
    Level 10 (107,706 points)
    iCloud
    Jun 14, 2016 1:52 PM in response to dinamarie2

    Repair the Photos Library before you try to copy it and run a disk check on your flash drive with Disk Utility.

     

    To repair the Photos Library:

    https://help.apple.com/photos/mac/1.0/?lang=en#/pht6be18f93

    • If Photos is open, choose Photos > Quit Photos.
    • Press Option-Command and double-click the Photos icon in the Applications folder (or click the Photos icon in the Dock).The Repair Library window opens.
    • Click Repair to rebuild your photo library.

    But don't repair without having a current backup of your Photos Library.  If you are using iCloud Photo Library, repairing will cause the library to upload again to iCloud.  


    The error -36 could also be created by a corrupted image file or video in your Photos Library.


    • If the Library cannot be read, and the file system on the destination drive is correct, but you can still not copy, one of the files inside may be corrupted and cannot be read. Then try to copy the library in parts. This way, you are able to identify the culprit that is causing the I/O error and can skip it, when copying:

     

      • Create a new folder on your external drive. Call it "Photos Library Copy".
      • Ctrl-click (or right-click) your current Photos Library and use the command "Show Package Contents". This will open a folder, showing you the files and folders inside your Photos Library.
      • Copy these folders one-by-one to to the new folder on your external drive.  If one of these folders is giving an error -36, check how far the copying proceeded. The files, that have been copied, are o.k. The file or folder, that should have been copied next will be the unreadable  file. Probably the problem is caused by one of the files in "Masters" or a database folder. In that case look into the Masters folder and copy as much as you can, while leaving out the file that will not copy.

     

    When you are done, rename the copy of your Photos Library to "Photos Library Copy.photoslibrary"  and double click it to open it in Photos. Can Photose open this library?