Photos.app fails to repair its photoslibrary on external drive

Copying the library on another HFS+ formatted hard disk solved the problem.

The problematic library was on a disk also used for Time Machine backups, and this is probably what made the database file

/Volumes/JoMaxHfs/Photos-Library-main-exp.photoslibrary/database/photos.db

inaccessible, don't ask me why...

Anyway, as explicitly stated in footnote 1 of

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201517

it's bad to have the Photos Library on a Time Machine drive, although it would be good to have only one disk on the go!!!!

The library seems pretty screwed up and I am really scared!!!

PowerPhotos "could not determine the version of library ..." and "Could not determine the database schema of the library ...".

photoslibraryd error log on opening the library is:

Failed to open library Photos-Library-main-exp.photoslibrary Error: Error Domain=com.apple.lithium Code=305 "Database error." UserInfo={NSFilePath=/Volumes/JoMaxHfs/Photos-Library-main-exp.photoslibrary/database/photos.db, NSLocalizedDescription=Database error., NSLocalizedFailureReason=Schema could not be read.}

And each click on the "Repair" dialog box generates:

Fatal SQLite error 6922 (Error Domain=com.apple.lithium Code=304 "Database error : disk I/O error" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Database error : disk I/O error, SqliteErrorCode=6922}) for LiSqliteDb<0x7ff697f5dc90>: /Volumes/JoMaxHfs/Photos-Library-main-exp.photoslibrary/database/photos.db with callstack: (

0   photolibraryd                       0x0000000107a709c1 __24-[LiServiceLibrary init]_block_invoke + 272

1   photolibraryd                       0x00000001079b2b23 -[LiSqliteDb handleSqliteError:code:] + 182

2   photolibraryd                       0x00000001079b2bc3 -[LiSqliteDb handleSqliteErrorCode:] + 97

3   photolibraryd                       0x00000001079cec6a -[LiSqliteDb(RidListModule) createRidListVirtualTable] + 328

4   photolibraryd                       0x00000001079b3aa2 -[LiSqliteDb openPath:asReadOnly:create:attemptJournalCleanup:error:] + 2351

5   photolibraryd                       0x0000000107a71137 -[LiServiceLibrary openDatabaseWithSchema:migrateTables:error:progress:] + 989

Library is being relinquished (sendToAll=1) at path /Volumes/JoMaxHfs/Photos-Library-main-exp.photoslibrary

Failed to open library Photos-Library-main-exp.photoslibrary Error: Error Domain=com.apple.lithium Code=304 "Database error : disk I/O error" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Database error : disk I/O error, SqliteErrorCode=6922}

Hi Leonie,

And thanks!

I'm not yet on Mojave, just HighSierra, and the problem exists already.