Photos libraries issue since Mac update

Hi

Are the external drives correctly set up for using with a photos library? I notice that at least one of your libraries is on an ExFat drive. That is not a compatible location for a photos library, and more recent MacOS versions are much more fussy about this. You will need to move the libraries to a compatible volume, and hope that they have not been unrecoverably damaged.

It must be formatted APFS or MacOS extended (journaled) (preferred for spinning drives)

It Must not be (or have been) used for time machine. (A time machine drive can be used if re-formatted)

It should have the 'ignore ownership" checkbox ticked.

It must also not be a network drive (a direct connection is required - eg USB or Thunderbolt).

File sharing services such as iCloud Drive, Drop box, Onedrive etc are not compatible with Photos libraries.

See

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201517

To check use CMD-I on the drive:

For an SSD, APFS is recommended. I'm going to state the obvious just in case - you'll need to copy your library somewhere else before reformatting.

The problem with incompatible volumes is they can work - until they don't. Operating the library on one can result in a gradual build up of errors in the library until it eventually stops opening, otherwise malfunctions, or a later OS version decides it can't work with it.

Let's get it on a compatible volume and hope it is not damaged to badly.

Nevertheless ExFat format worked when I was with Big Sur 11.4... ???

arnaud226 wrote:

...

Nevertheless ExFat format worked when I was with Big Sur 11.4... ???

ExFAT will work on a Mac for single files, but not for the internal links inside the Photos Library package. You have been lucky that it worked previously.

Press and hold the Option key when you launch Photos. It should give you a list of every Photos/iPhoto library it sees on your computer.

Then point at the Library on the external. Does that work?

Good news - thanks for letting me know. 🙂