Photos library “recovering” after upgrade to Monterey

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Level 2

469 points

Photos library “recovering” after upgrade to Monterey

I just upgraded my 2017 iMac Pro to Monterey — without any apparent issues. However, when I opened “Photos,” the app consisted of a blank window with the message “recovering” with a percent complete. It took 4 hours to get to 85% complete and 6 hours to finish and open the library. It seems to be functioning properly now. The Photos library is on an external TB spinning drive and has 55k photos.

However, I had an identical copy of the Photos library on my 2020 M1 MacBook Pro (13”). After upgrading to Monterey, it took about one minute to “upgrade” the library, then opened immediately. The library is on the internal flash drive.

What is the significance of the “recovering” process? It seems there must have been some kind of failure and now I am concerned about the integrity of the library.

Posted on Oct 28, 2021 5:14 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

TonyCollinet

Level 7

23,972 points

Oct 28, 2021 6:23 AM in response to David Strait

Hi

Is the external drive correctly set up for using with a photos library?

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 must have the 'ignore ownership" checkbox ticked.

It should not be on a memory stick, SD or similar.

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

If it is not a compatible format, then the recovery is likey doing a library repair. You should move the library to a compatible format if you value your photos.

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Answer 2

David Strait Author

Level 2

469 points

Oct 28, 2021 6:37 AM in response to TonyCollinet

It meets all those criteria…

Also, it is on a spinning drive formatted MacOS extended (journaled). It is connected directly to the Mac by TB cable and has never been used for TM backup. I also used First Aid on the Disk and no repair was needed.

I guess you confirmed that it was performing a recovery as part of a library repair (?). I have never seen a spontaneous repair previously. Not sure if I should be concerned or take further measures to prevent problems in the future.

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Photos library “recovering” after upgrade to Monterey

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