Holding down option key doesn't my open iPhotos library.
iPhoto Library Updater installed doesn't open my iPhotos library.
Was accessible before Big Sur installation.
Where is the actual photo library update? Cannot locate in my App Store.
Did Apple forget about the Photo library feature? My MAC is far newer than this outdated, unusable program. Have we permanently lost access to our own stored photo data collected over the years?
It looks like you are inadvertently trying to start a version of photos not compatible with Big Sur. That can happen if you are launching from an icon in the dock which might have an out of date link after the update.
Try going to launchpad and finding the photos icon there - it should then open.
If that doesn't work, try opening it from the applications folder.
The photos icon in big sure should be square with rounded edges, rather than the circular one in Catalina.
It looks like you are inadvertently trying to start a version of photos not compatible with Big Sur. That can happen if you are launching from an icon in the dock which might have an out of date link after the update.
Try going to launchpad and finding the photos icon there - it should then open.
If that doesn't work, try opening it from the applications folder.
The photos icon in big sure should be square with rounded edges, rather than the circular one in Catalina.
If you are trying to open an old iPhoto Library in Photos for Mac, and the library is on an external volume, you should be able to open it in Photos for Mac, even on Big Sur. But the iPhoto Library needs to be on a volume that is compatible with Photos 6 on Big Sur. Check, if your external volume with the libraries has been prepared as described here: Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support
Particularly , the file system format should be MacOs Extended (Journaled) or APFS, and the volume mist not have been used for Time Machine backups. The external volume must not be accessed ver the network.
Which system version do you have installed?
You seem to be trying to launch Photos 5.0, as shown in your screenshot, which would mean macOS 10.15 Catalina.
But you mention the iPhoto Library Upgrader tool. This tool cannot run on a Mac with macOS 10.15 Catalina or macOS 11 Big Sur, only on the older system versions. Did you perhaps downgrade back to macOS 10.14 Mojave, where you can run the iPhoto Library upgrader? Are you really trying to open an iPhoto Library in Photos or is that a typo?
Excellent suggestion. I saved the new photos library app to the removable drive. I should have recognized the difference in their appearance! Oddly enough the photos aren't found on the drive though. Thankfully a second drive is loaded up with my images individually. I probably only lost the last few months. I used to be able to switch between libraries on the drive and the Mac.
All this due to being unable to find a simple solution from Apple directly. So much is posted info is outdated listing solutions with paths that no longer exist.
I do have a time machine backup! I cannot remember when I did that. I had absolutely no room left on my macbook, and found I had never been backed up. Did that possibly overwrite everything? What is the significance?
BIG SUR Photos on external drive inaccessible
