How do I access the master files in Photos

I can't seem to get anywhere in Photos - years of photo and videos constantly "stuck" other in repair or restore. It doesn't matter if I reboot or update - the EHD is formatted correctly and all users have access. I just want the pics out of there! How can I backdoor access the pics without trying to open the program and export? I thought there was a masterfile location, but it doesn't seem to have all the files. Wish I would've gotten them out a long time ago - Thanks!

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 11.1

Posted on Mar 22, 2021 7:40 AM

Top-ranking reply

Rich839

Level 8

48,156 points

Posted on Mar 22, 2021 11:31 AM

If you have the PowerPhotos app on your Mac, can you open your Photos library by doing a control-click on the Photos library icon and selecting "Open With/PowerPhotos"?

If your Photos library is already is designated as the system photo library, you might also try accessing its contents through iMovie via the Photos item in the iMovie media sidebar. I don't know if iMovie can read a corrupted library, but might be worth a try.

Following lèonie's suggestion elsewhere on this forum, for the future you might keep a separate back up of your photos in the Finder outside of the Photos app structure. Then if the Photos library goes south you still have your photos intact. I organize mine in subfolders by year.

-- Rich

View in context

How do I access the master files in Photos

Similar questions