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Photos Library created in Mac OS 10.13 High Sierra not working correctly in Mac OS 11.5 Big Sur - blank thumbnails and missing pictures

Hi All,


Pictures in Photos Library created on Mac OS 10.13 High Sierra with Photos 3 do not appear correctly on Mac OS 11.5 Big Sur in Photos 6 -

Of almost 6,000 pictures in the 2 GB Library, the majority are blank thumbnails or are missing.


1. Photos Library and copies made of it open and pictures appear correctly on the 11" MacBook Air running Mac OS 10.13 High Sierra it was originally created on.


2. Photos Library was copied to a 13" MacBook Air running MacOS Mojave 10.14 and all pictures appeared correctly.


3. After the 13" MacBook Air was upgraded to Mac OS Catalina 10.15, and then Mac OS Big Sur 11.5, the pictures do not appear correctly.


4. Library Repair Tool was run on 13" MacBook Air running Big Sur 11.5 with Photos 6 but that did not solve the problem.


*** Testing on other Macs shows copies of the library open correctly and pictures appear correctly in High Sierra (Photos 3) and Mojave (Photos 4) - but not in Catalina (Photos 5) or Big Sur (Photos 6).


How can this be corrected so all the pictures show up properly on the 13" MacBook Air running Big Sur?


Thanks

Posted on Sep 19, 2021 9:50 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 19, 2021 9:53 AM

On the 13' MacBook Air boot into Safe Mode according to Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.


NOTE: Safe Mode boot can take up to 10 minutes as it's doing the following; 

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts 

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files


Similar questions

2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 19, 2021 9:53 AM in response to Making_Progress

On the 13' MacBook Air boot into Safe Mode according to Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.


NOTE: Safe Mode boot can take up to 10 minutes as it's doing the following; 

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts 

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files


Sep 24, 2021 11:30 AM in response to Old Toad

Thanks for your help and suggestion.


Pardon my delayed response - these laptops belong to a friend who I'm helping with this problem, so I only have occasional access to them.


I did try your suggestion of booting the 13" MacBook Air in Safe Mode, but that did not resolve the issue.


Also, as stated in my original post:


"Testing on other Macs shows copies of the library open correctly and pictures appear correctly in High Sierra (Photos 3) and Mojave (Photos 4) - but not in Catalina (Photos 5) or Big Sur (Photos 6)."


The library was copied to other Macs which were each running a fresh OS install of High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina, or Big Sur.


The library opens correctly and pictures appear correctly in High Sierra and Mojave, but not in Catalina or Big Sur.


When the library is opened in Catalina and Big Sur the majority of pictures are blank thumbnails or are missing.


What might be done to resolve this?


Thanks

Photos Library created in Mac OS 10.13 High Sierra not working correctly in Mac OS 11.5 Big Sur - blank thumbnails and missing pictures

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