'Photos' won't export, takes forever to load, constantly crashes/freezes, etc.

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'Photos' won't export, takes forever to load, constantly crashes/freezes, etc.

Hi. I have asked this before, but still no luck. Mac Photos hasn't worked properly for a long, long time. They upload from my iPhone easily enough, but that's it. I cannot share them in any way, nor export. Says "Missing cpl resource required for CPL download" or "Incorrect parameter: itemScopedIdentifier," depending on the picture. My Photos Library is on an external drive due to its size. I have used FatCat 'PowerPhotos' to test--so very many photos don't allow me to "Reveal Original Photo in Finder". (It's grayed out.) I can enlarge them in Photos to full size, no pixelation, so it must be accessing something, although it tells me that I cannot edit them.

What happened to my Photos? Repairing it hasn't helped at all. Can I scrap it and start all over by re-inputing all the thousands of pictures? But how? Would you suggest I just abandon Mac Photos once and for all (it seems that many, MANY people have issues like this with it) and then go with another Photo Manager? I would, if Photos is beyond saving in my case, but how will I be able to export them??

Please, any and all advice (I have medium Mac/computer knowledge) would be really appreciated. I've been dealing with this for ages. (Why can't Photos be less buggy/issue free like Lightroom?)

Posted on May 7, 2021 5:24 PM

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Answer 1

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léonie

Level 10

200,753 points

May 8, 2021 1:29 AM in response to cody_in_bc

I can enlarge them in Photos to full size, no pixelation, so it must be accessing something, although it tells me that I cannot edit them.

Then the Photos Library has a preview of the image. Have you tried to export the unmodified original with "File > Export > Export unmodified original"?

If you can export the unmodified original, try, if you can open it with Preview. Is it possible? If yes, delete the version in Photos and reimport the exported version. Can Photos import it, or are you getting an error message?

To be able to edit an image, your Mac needs access to the unmodified original. It has to find it in the Photos Library or to be able to download it from iCloud.

It also needs to be able to handle previous edits. If the photo has been edited using a different application or on a different system, with a different RAW support, it may not be possible to add further edits. In that case it usually helps to revert the image to the original.

Things to check:

Your iCloud storage plan and Apple ID need to be working. Check, if you are having sufficient cloud storage and if your payment method is still working.
The photos need to be in format that is supported by your current system version. What is the format of the photos?
You need plenty of free storage on the volume with your Photos Library.
The external volume needs to have been prepared like this: Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support

Could your Photos library have become damaged? Using third-party cleaning applications to remove duplicates can damage a library badly; some cleaners are not safe to use.

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Answer 2

léonie

Level 10

200,753 points

May 12, 2021 10:53 AM in response to cody_in_bc

It depends on the duplicate cleaner you have used. Some of them are dangerous.

If you used one, that modifies the library directly without using the program interface to Photos, the Photos.app may no longer be able to find the original image files. Apple is warning about the duplicate Finders: Using third-party apps to remove duplicate photos might damage your Photos for macOS library - Apple Support

If the damage has been caused by a duplicate finder, the built-in repair tool may not be able to fix it, as some Duplicate finders will trash the high resolution originals. In that case only restoring the library from a backup you made before you have been running the duplicate finder may help to restore the missing photos.

Sometimes we can save at least the preview by dragging the thumbnail of a problematic photo to the Desktop.

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Answer 3

May 7, 2021 11:32 PM in response to cody_in_bc

Hi

What version of MacOS?

What format is the external drive? Is the ignore ownership checkbox checked?

Are you using iCloud? If so, do you have optimised storage?

Do you have a backup of the library from when it was working correctly?

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Answer 4

cody_in_bc Author

Level 1

10 points

May 8, 2021 11:45 AM in response to TonyCollinet

Hi, thanks for replying. I am using Big Sur (11.3.1). My LaCie Rugged external is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

Where do I find this "ignore ownership" box?

I used iCloud ages ago, but turned it off when I was getting so many duplicates made of photos.

Optimised storage? I'm sorry, I don't understand.

No, I have auto-backup but they would be copies of the same troublesome Library. This has been going on for a very, very long time.

I appreciate your help!

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Answer 5

cody_in_bc Author

Level 1

10 points

May 8, 2021 12:03 PM in response to léonie

Hi, and thanks for replying.

I have tried, and "Export unmodified original" does not work. I get the attached error window.

Most of the photos don't export, etc. and most of them have never been modified.

• I don't use iCloud. I used to a couple of years ago, but it kept making duplicates, so I turned it off. My Library is now 185+ GB, so...

• Most photos are in JPEG, with a smaller number of TIFF, PNG, RAW and more recently HEIC. Some videos, too.

• My external drive is 4TB; it has 1.5TB free.

• I have used duplicate-clearing software before, a couple of years ago. It didn't do a great job. But maybe that was the culprit. ??

But what to do now?

Thanks for any and all help.

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Answer 6

cody_in_bc Author

Level 1

10 points

May 12, 2021 1:55 PM in response to léonie

Hi Léonie, thanks for your reply.

Okay, I am going to work under the assumption that I will not get my Mac Photos working again. And any back up I have will be of an equally ineffectual library. What can I do? Does Photos actually alter the original files? Or can I somehow find the folders hiding somewhere within the Photos Library, un-screwed-up, extract them, and save them on another HDD? (And then either add them to Lightroom or a brand new Mac Photos library?)

Cody

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'Photos' won't export, takes forever to load, constantly crashes/freezes, etc.

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