how do I update iPhoto on my Mac

You are way beyond iLife 09. You need to open your restored iPhoto library with the Photos application by one of two ways:

1 - drag the iPhoto Library onto the Photos icon (it can be in the Dock or in the Applications folder).

2 - launch Photos with the Option key held down and in the Open Library window select the restored iPhoto Library. If it down's show up in that window click on Choose Library, navigate to it and select.

Assuming that you just upgraded to Catalina and iPhoto will not run anymore, you can't. Photos replaced iPhoto years ago. Photos can convert your iPhoto Library. Launch Photos with the option key held down. From the resulting dialog, choose your iPhoto Library. Photos will create a new library from your iPhoto media. Your iPhoto Library will not be changed.

If you actually want to upgrade iPhoto (9.6.1 is the latest) to a more recent version of iPhoto on a non-Catalina OS, tell us what OS you have and what version of iPhoto you currently have.

First you'll have to download and run the iPhoto Library Upgrader on the library. Then drag and drop the library onto the Photos icon in the Dock or Applications folder to migrate it to the new Photos format. Or you can open Photos with the Option key held down and select the iPhoto library to open. Either way the library gets migrated to the new Photos format and you can then start using Photos.

Unless you purchased some version of iPhoto 9.x from the App Store you won't be able to upgrade to 9.6.1.

If that's the case then you'll have to do what I mentioned in my previous post to migrate to Photos.

Have you tried to open that iPhoto library with Photos? What happens when you do?

What version of iPhoto do you have now?

Thank you.

Yes, there is Photos in the Applications folder. IPhoto is greyed out. I have tried to reinstall life '09 with OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 but it seems they are not compatible with each other.

Thank you! (I think!)

I went to Time Machine, selected Picture or iPhoto (sorry...so excited and hopeful at this moment, I cant remember exactly) and selected "Restore." Something BIG is happening....

Dialogue box "Copying 'iPhoto Library' to Pictures'" About 33 mins.

Whoa!

Same issue. I have OS X El Capitan, v 10.11.6. How to update iPhoto on a MacBook?

9

9 what? 9.6.1 is the latest.

iLife'09 but iPhoto 7.1.5....

Thank you. I've previously tried these suggestions but this error message is returned "There is no library to update"

Researching now online and other forums what to do next....

Thank you. There is no iPhoto Library.

Was there one? If so, restore it from your back up.

Do you have any type of library?

What system version are you running?

Do you have the Photos app in the Applications folder?