Unable to open iPhoto or update software

Question

Unable to open iPhoto or update software

I am unable to open iPhoto and therefore access any of the photos stored on my computer (2014 MacBook Air), of which there are many. An error report is generated, stating something like "iPhoto quit unexpectedly whilst using the iPhoto plug-in" (I now can't get it to open at all). It suggests that the report will automatically be sent to apple, but the issue remains. I notice also that there are 'no app updates available' on my computer but there is an iPhoto software update listed as an 'incompatible app update'.

I would so appreciate some help!

MacBook Air

Posted on Nov 2, 2020 7:37 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Yer_Man

Level 10

163,830 points

Nov 2, 2020 11:57 PM in response to clementine180

What version of the OS do you have on that machine.

iPhoto was discontinued 5 years ago. It is no longer developed or sold. It was replaced by the more powerful (and free) Photos.app that comes with the OS. You can migrate to that app very simply:

Hold down the option (or alt) key and launch Photos. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and point at your iPhoto Library. It will do the rest.

If you prefer not to use Photos there are several 3rd party apps that you can use. Which to choose depends on the kind of photographer you are and your budget.

Reply

Answer 2

Nov 3, 2020 2:58 AM in response to clementine180

So, it seems I don't have Photos (/Photos.app) on this computer and can't seem to locate or download it from the app store - not sure if I'm right to search there if it usually comes with the OS. I now also understand that OS X is different from OS in some regards, but I'm just as lost for where to go from here unfortunately.

Reply

Answer 3

Yer_Man

Level 10

163,830 points

Nov 3, 2020 5:39 AM in response to clementine180

Photos comes with OS 10.10 or later. So you could update your OS.

To troubleshoot the iPhoto issue:

As a Test:

Hold down the option (or alt) key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Create Library'

Import a few pics into this new, blank library. Is the Problem repeated there?

Post back with the result.

If you do get that error message again could you post it verbatim thanks.

Reply

Answer 4

léonie

Level 10

197,297 points

Nov 3, 2020 6:27 AM in response to clementine180

Which version of iPhoto do you have installed? On your system version it should be iPhoto 9.5.1, but this update is no longer available at the App Store. The App Store is now offering only iPhoto 9.6.1 (and only if you have can AppStore version of iPhoto) , which would also require the macOS 10.10.3 Yosemite.

Reply

Answer 5

Nov 4, 2020 3:10 AM in response to Yer_Man

Thanks again Terence.

The error message reads "iPhoto quit unexpectedly while using the iPhoto plug-in." It then gives a full problem details and system configuration report, but I don't know what of any of this information is significant or helpful to include here. This error message is as far as I can get in my attempt to launch iPhoto, so I am unable to get to a point where I can create a library unfortunately.

I'm just looking into updating my OS now.

Reply

Answer 6

Nov 3, 2020 2:40 AM in response to Yer_Man

Thank you so much - I'm certainly not opposed to using Photos, so I will give this a try now.

I have OS X 10.9.5

Thank you again

Reply

Answer 7

Nov 4, 2020 3:12 AM in response to léonie

It appears to be version 9.5.1

Reply

Unable to open iPhoto or update software

Similar questions