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I can't open Photos on iMac. After selecting the Photo Repair Library option, the following message appears but Photo shuts down: The operation couldn’t be completed. (PHPhotosErrorDomain error 1000.)

I can't open Photos on iMac. After selecting the Photo Repair Library option, the following message appears but Photo shuts down: The operation couldn’t be completed. (PHPhotosErrorDomain error 1000.) Please help as I have a lot of photos store there.

iMac 27″, macOS 11.2

Posted on Jun 2, 2021 2:52 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 2, 2021 3:50 AM

Have you already tried to open your Photos Library directly? Double-click the Photos Library (not the Photos.app) to launch Photos on this library.

If Photos still cannot open the library, test if Photos can run at all, by creating an additional, new, empty library for testing.

  • Open your Applications folder and hold down the options key ⌥ while double clicking the Photos.app in Applications (not the Dock icon or an alias). This way you are sure to laugh the Photos 6 app installed by Big Sur and not an old version.
  • When the library chooser appears, select to create a new library. Can Photos launch correctly on the new library?
  • If yes, repeat by selecting your current library. Does it work?



If Photos can still not open the library - Where is your Photos Library stored?

Are you keeping it in your Pictures folder (where it is stored by default) or have you moved it to a different location? If you have moved the library, check, if it is in a compatible place - the library needs to be on a locally mounts volume, not a NAS, not in a synced cloud folder, and the volume must not have been used for Time Machine backups.

The file system format should be APFS or MacOS X Extended (Journaled)


Also, consider to install the recent updates. The current system version is macOS 11.4.

5 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 2, 2021 3:50 AM in response to farzi136

Have you already tried to open your Photos Library directly? Double-click the Photos Library (not the Photos.app) to launch Photos on this library.

If Photos still cannot open the library, test if Photos can run at all, by creating an additional, new, empty library for testing.

  • Open your Applications folder and hold down the options key ⌥ while double clicking the Photos.app in Applications (not the Dock icon or an alias). This way you are sure to laugh the Photos 6 app installed by Big Sur and not an old version.
  • When the library chooser appears, select to create a new library. Can Photos launch correctly on the new library?
  • If yes, repeat by selecting your current library. Does it work?



If Photos can still not open the library - Where is your Photos Library stored?

Are you keeping it in your Pictures folder (where it is stored by default) or have you moved it to a different location? If you have moved the library, check, if it is in a compatible place - the library needs to be on a locally mounts volume, not a NAS, not in a synced cloud folder, and the volume must not have been used for Time Machine backups.

The file system format should be APFS or MacOS X Extended (Journaled)


Also, consider to install the recent updates. The current system version is macOS 11.4.

Jun 8, 2021 3:42 AM in response to léonie

Dear Leonie,


I have done the following to no avail:


  1. Install current updates for macOS version 11.4.
  2. Open Photos Library directly. It tried to open but a window with "Repair Library Permissions" box appears to which I select Repair since Quit only shut downs the App. I wait until the "Repairing Library" completion 100% then asked to select the location of the file. After selecting, an error message appears stating "The operation couldn't be completed" as per attached photo
  3. I also tried to create a new library which ended up with the same results.


For your info, the photo library is stored on an external hard drive. Previously, there was no problem with the Photos Library App... lately it took a long time to open. I also tried to get access to the original photos by selecting the photos library file (1.38 TB) and selecting "Show Package Content". But the "Loading..." msg just continuously appears with no end until I select another folder. Previously, it worked fine as a back door for me to access all my photos.


Why is the Photos Library App not loading/opening at all? I have a ton of photos in there?? Please help!

Jun 8, 2021 5:12 AM in response to farzi136

How much free storage is on the volume with your Photos Library?

What is the file system format of the external volume? You can see the file system format in the Info, when you select the external drive in the Finder and use the keyboard shortcut ⌘i . Is the format macOS Extended (Journaled) or APFS, as it should be?

The volume must not have been used for Time Machine backups, or you will not be able to work with the library, because Time Machine volumes are having a special protection. Try to set the "Ignore Ownership on this volume" flag as described here: Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support

If you cannot set the "Ignore Ownership" flag, the volume is not compatible with Photos and you need to move the library to a different volume.


And you need plenty of free storage on the volume, because Photos needs a lot of free working space. I try to keep an amount of storage free, equal to the size of the library.


Do you have a backup copy of your Photos Library, if all else fails?


Jun 14, 2021 10:26 PM in response to farzi136

The lack of free storage could be the problem, yes. To be able to repair a very large library, you need more free working space.


You cannot us an ExFAT volume to store a Photos Library. Either reformat the external volume (this will erase it, so you have to move the data somewhere else) before you reformat the drive, or create another volume on the drive formatted APFS, forget yourself another external drive for your Photos Library. I would buy a drive with at least twice the size of the Photos Library, better more, so you have free working storage for upgrading or repairing the library, or to make a safety copy on the same volume before trying to repair or upgrade it. Follow this procedure to move the library: Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support


I can't open Photos on iMac. After selecting the Photo Repair Library option, the following message appears but Photo shuts down: The operation couldn’t be completed. (PHPhotosErrorDomain error 1000.)

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