You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Lost Photos after Catalina Update, iphotos library gone. HELP.

I had my over 250 GB worth of photos on my old mac book hard drive and external storage hard drive (time machine). Prior to installing Catalina, I was able to plug in my hard drives and access my photos on my mac book. After the update, I can't find any of the photos.


I tried to look up the master files but no luck. The storage on both hard drives were previously almost full ~ 500 GB. Now when I check the usage, it shows 250 GB available.


Did all my photos get deleted? Or is my macbook unable to read the files due to the update? I even tried to boot my computer with my old hard drive connected but I am still unable to access the files and when I check the storage usage, it says 250 GB available.

MacBook Pro 13", macOS 10.13

Posted on Apr 24, 2020 6:09 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Apr 25, 2020 5:33 AM

meeek123 wrote:

I had my over 250 GB worth of photos on my old mac book hard drive and external storage hard drive (time machine). Prior to installing Catalina, I was able to plug in my hard drives and access my photos on my mac book. After the update, I can't find any of the photos.

I tried to look up the master files but no luck. The storage on both hard drives were previously almost full ~ 500 GB. Now when I check the usage, it shows 250 GB available.

Did all my photos get deleted? Or is my macbook unable to read the files due to the update? I even tried to boot my computer with my old hard drive connected but I am still unable to access the files and when I check the storage usage, it says 250 GB available.



What happens if you hold the Option key while launching Photos.app— are you presented with other possibilities here of libraries?



Designate a System Photo Library in Photos - Apple Support

Get help with the Photos app on your Mac - Apple Support

Combine libraries in Photos - Apple Support


Similar questions

3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 25, 2020 5:33 AM in response to meeek123

meeek123 wrote:

I had my over 250 GB worth of photos on my old mac book hard drive and external storage hard drive (time machine). Prior to installing Catalina, I was able to plug in my hard drives and access my photos on my mac book. After the update, I can't find any of the photos.

I tried to look up the master files but no luck. The storage on both hard drives were previously almost full ~ 500 GB. Now when I check the usage, it shows 250 GB available.

Did all my photos get deleted? Or is my macbook unable to read the files due to the update? I even tried to boot my computer with my old hard drive connected but I am still unable to access the files and when I check the storage usage, it says 250 GB available.



What happens if you hold the Option key while launching Photos.app— are you presented with other possibilities here of libraries?



Designate a System Photo Library in Photos - Apple Support

Get help with the Photos app on your Mac - Apple Support

Combine libraries in Photos - Apple Support


Lost Photos after Catalina Update, iphotos library gone. HELP.

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.