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I have used Photos as recently as a few weeks ago. I have 150 gigs of photos on iDrive set to be backed up. Today Photos does not recognize the library and I cannot open Photos or access my photos. When I check iDrive, it has the Photos library as being created Aug 23, 2016, modified Oct 10, 23 BUT last opened as Aug 25, 2021. How can I get access to my photos!?!?!?!?
iMac (M1, 2021)
Your photo library (the file that ends in .photolibrary) on your Mac should be in a location that does not sync with iCloud. Drag it into the Pictures folder or any other location. You can even keep the library on an external drive. Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support. Dragging the library file into iCloud does not enable syncing your photos. Keeping this library file in a location that syncs may cause the library to cease functioning or to become corrupt. Once moved. When you open the library it should sync with your iCloud libraries again as normal.
If the file will not open, you can try to restore it from a Time Machine backup when the library was stored in the Photos folder. Or, create a new library and make it the system library and then sync with iCloud.
As for your other questions:
To solve this, should I move my Desktop folder back from iCloud Drive to my Mac drive?
It is not necessary to turn off Desktop and Documents, no.
Would this restore everything back to my Mac drive?
By default anything in iCloud is also on your Mac. But, if you optimize storage, your least accessed files may offload into iCloud only. If you did not select optimize, everything is already on your Mac.
Should I erase the copy on iCloud Drive? I do not want to erase the more recently modified one noted on my desktop, right?
If you sync Desktop to iCloud, those are the same file. But, it needs to be moved to a non-syncing location.
Your photo library (the file that ends in .photolibrary) on your Mac should be in a location that does not sync with iCloud. Drag it into the Pictures folder or any other location. You can even keep the library on an external drive. Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support. Dragging the library file into iCloud does not enable syncing your photos. Keeping this library file in a location that syncs may cause the library to cease functioning or to become corrupt. Once moved. When you open the library it should sync with your iCloud libraries again as normal.
If the file will not open, you can try to restore it from a Time Machine backup when the library was stored in the Photos folder. Or, create a new library and make it the system library and then sync with iCloud.
As for your other questions:
To solve this, should I move my Desktop folder back from iCloud Drive to my Mac drive?
It is not necessary to turn off Desktop and Documents, no.
Would this restore everything back to my Mac drive?
By default anything in iCloud is also on your Mac. But, if you optimize storage, your least accessed files may offload into iCloud only. If you did not select optimize, everything is already on your Mac.
Should I erase the copy on iCloud Drive? I do not want to erase the more recently modified one noted on my desktop, right?
If you sync Desktop to iCloud, those are the same file. But, it needs to be moved to a non-syncing location.
Are you implying that you're trying to store your photo library in iCloud? That won't work. Your photo library needs to reside on your Mac (in a folder that does not sync with iCloud) or on an external drive. Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support
It will not function properly, if at all, if synced into iCloud and will likely become corrupted. (you should not be able to store the library in iCloud as it's an ineligible file type -- hence the cloud icon with the "no" symbol)
I should probably add that I do have access to all my photos on the iCloud Photos library from my iPad and iPhone, just not on my Mac. In Time Machine I have a recent version of the library that does not have the symbol of a cloud with a bar through it meaning that it can be downloaded. When I restore that to my Mac desktop it shows up with a cloud and a bar through it and will not open.
I moved my Desktop to iCloud a year or so ago, and the photos library was included. I assume that is the root of my problem? I did this to free up room on my drive. I have a 1 terabyte drive on my Mac that now has 303 GB free. My photos use 150 GB for something around 35,000 photos.
Meanwhile, my iPhone and iPad photos show all 35,000 of my photos. And everything seems to be working fine. The Mac is the problem. It had all of my photo folders where I had everything organized over the past 15+ years.
My photo library is stored in iCloud and on my Mac, and has been for years. Photos from my phone and iPad store them in the same library (I assume) in iCloud so when I take an iPhone photo, I can see it on my iPad and Mac. I am not sure what you are mean about not being able to store photos on iCloud.
The copy on iCloud Drive says it was last used in 2021. The copy on my Mac desktop says it was last used on Oct 10, 2023 (which should be more like the beginning of Nov). Am I mistaken in thinking that I have been using the photos library on iCloud, and that I have really been using the one on my desktop instead (which I moved to iCloud a while back) all this time?
Yesterday, I checked my Time Machine back up and downloaded a backup copy of my library from a few days ago. I was asked if I wanted to keep both copies (the original that was already there and that I could not download and the new one that I was downloading from Time Machine). I elected to keep both copies, and once the new copy downloaded to my drive, it too indicated that I could not download it from iCloud (little cloud etc.). Again neither one works. I have since erased the backup copy I downloaded.
In other words, I have all the photos available on my iPhone and iPad, but they are not well organized; and I am unable to use my photos file or the Photos app on my Mac where I can edit them and organize them properly.
To solve this, should I move my Desktop folder back from iCloud Drive to my Mac drive? Would this restore everything back to my Mac drive? Should I erase the copy on iCloud Drive? I do not want to erase the more recently modified one noted on my desktop, right?
As you can tell, I am confused.
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After reading my reply below, can you tell me where the photos that show up on my iPhone and iPad are stored if not in the Photos library showing on my Mac Desktop and iCloud Drive? Is there a way to bulk copy those photos to a file on my Mac? I will then need to go back and reorganize 15+ years of photos, but at least I would not lose them.
I started to move the photos library from iCloud to my Mac and got this message: "This item will be moved to this Mac and will no longer be available in iCloud Drive on any of. you devices." But I want it to be available on all my devices. This seems to be saying that is not possible.
No. The library file is not even accessible on an iPhone or iPad. You want the file to be moved off of iCloud Drive. Again, this does not affect iCloud syncing of the library. The library file is the database that contains your library information.
I took the plunge and went ahead and downloaded the library to my external drive. It took over 11 hours to download. I then had to repair it and restart my Mac. Everything seems to be intact. I have now erased the copy on iCloud that had the little cloud and bar. Thanks for your help. I would not have taken the plunge if you had not said it was all right to do so. The warnings from Apple are sometimes confusing and anxiety invoking.
I now have a question about the system photo library and Time Machine. I now have a 150 gig photo library on one of two external drives, the copy I just made. I want to make this the system library and leave it on the external drive to save room on my Mac drive. Can I then include the library in a Time Machine backup to my other external drive?
Accessing Photos in Photos Library
