Is there a Catalina bug where Photos' libraries do not open?

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Is there a Catalina bug where Photos' libraries do not open?

After upgrading to OS Catalina recently I am now having trouble connecting Photos with my Library. Error #3130 is non-descript and using the 'library repair tool' also yields no results. Photos is able to locate and select the library file in Finder just fine, but cannot open. Any thoughts?

*The library is located on a external hard drive, however no problems have occurred on previous versions of macOS. The library is too large (32Gb) to be moved directly to my laptops local storage.

MacBook Pro 13", macOS 10.15

Posted on Jan 19, 2020 4:55 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

léonie

Level 10

195,643 points

Jan 28, 2020 2:10 AM in response to Stratiegery01

Apple's cloud storage is also limited to 2TB currently.

My solution is to keep my large archive of photos on external drives, that I routinely back up with Carbon Copy Cloner. The volumes with the backup copies are kept in my fire-prove safe.

I am only keeping a smaller Photos Library on the system volume The system library is just holding the current projects I am currently working on and a selection of favorites, that I need to see in the Media Browser and on all devices. This Library is syncing with iCloud Photos Library and backed up with Time machine. This is working, because I am not using "Optimize Storage". I rarely need to connect the drives with the photo archive, just to copy the finished projects to the archive.

As an alternative - Terence Devlin has recommended Mylio in another discussion. It allows to sync the photos on the local network.

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Answer 2

léonie

Level 10

195,643 points

Jan 20, 2020 5:27 AM in response to Stratiegery01

Has the external drive been used by Time Machine? This will cause problems with the file ownership and permissions and does not work on Catalina. Also, the external drive must not be accessed over the network. With Photos 5 on Catalina you can only use external volumes that have been prepared like this, see: Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 3

tygb

Level 9

64,628 points

Jan 28, 2020 6:10 AM in response to Stratiegery01

You were having different photo libraries and merged them https://support.apple.com/en-in/HT204414

The photo space is increased to 32 GB , not even photos occupy the space the applications notes , mails , calendars .....also do , you can upgrade the storage plan https://support.apple.com/en-in/HT201318

Or else reduce the space https://support.apple.com/en-in/HT204410

Then drag and drop the photo library from external hard drive connected to Mac .

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Answer 4

Jan 20, 2020 10:56 PM in response to markwmsn

It's formatted to MacOS Ext., connected via direct Ethernet cable to computer (it's a NAS drive), and has a separate partition specifically for Time Machine.

Why, if TimeMachine and the Photos library have coexistd before on previous OS builds, would Catalina kill a good thing? Apple says that "its not recomended" to store the library file on a network drive but it doesnt say it cannot be done; I've been storing my photos this way for years.

Are you suggesting that both Time Machine and Photos cannot be running at the same time perhaps?

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Answer 5

léonie

Level 10

195,643 points

Jan 21, 2020 11:50 AM in response to Stratiegery01

Since Photos 2.0 on Sierra we had the warning in the Photos user Guide, that the Photos Library must not be on a volume used for Time Machine backups because of file ownership errors. It has always been risky, but might have worked for some Time. macOS 10.15 Catalina has additional security features and Photos may not be able to access the library on a Time Machine volume.

Apple has always warned against storing photo libraries on a NAS, because of the possible transaction errors for the internal databases. The software has not been designed to work on a NAS and the library may become corrupted and data lost. It may be working for quite some time, or you may not notice, if data get lost, giving you a false security.

But the additional security features on Catalina seem now to prevent Photos completely from being able to upgrade the library, if it has to be accessed over the network. Try to upgrade the library, while it is on a locally mounted volume.

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Answer 6

Jan 27, 2020 8:12 PM in response to léonie

Hmmm, this is very unfortunate to hear. Like many photographers, our photo collection is greater than what the computer's available free storage is capable of; there is no way to try to open the library locally. Cloud storage is more expensive than owning a NAS myself at these data levels, and external drives via Thunderbolt are not as convenient. Even if I am able to find master photos through the finder, I am not able to add any or transfer any to my iPad/iPhone. The photos still exist, stored on the NAS drive behind the library file, but I'm locked out of searching for them through the gateway of Photos.

As safe storage is more important than convenient use on other Apple products, I think the best solution will be to stop using the Photos software in the future. Unless you can tell me there is another way to locate the library file externally, while remaining universally accessible.

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Answer 7

markwmsn

Level 6

15,125 points

Jan 19, 2020 9:23 PM in response to Stratiegery01

What format is the external disk? APFS, Mac OS Extended, ExFAT, NTFS?

How is it connected? Direct cable or network?

Some combinations that worked for some people earlier no longer work as well.

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Is there a Catalina bug where Photos' libraries do not open?

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