When I try to open a photos library I haven't used for while, it reports "Cannot Import Item. This item cannot be added to your Photo library because it might be an unrecognizable file format or the file may not contain valid data." The last time I opened this library it came up just fine, but there have been a couple of OS updates since then. How can I process these libraries to make them accessible again?
MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 14.1
Just a thought - are you trying to open the library in Photos or are you trying to import it to another library? It is strange, that the error message is saying "Cannot import ...".
Have you tried to repair the library?
A very old library may contain items that Photos on Sonoma can no longer process, videos or photos in a legacy format, that need converting to a different format. Such items should be removed and replaced by more compatible items, before you try to import the library into a different library.
Just a thought - are you trying to open the library in Photos or are you trying to import it to another library? It is strange, that the error message is saying "Cannot import ...".
Have you tried to repair the library?
A very old library may contain items that Photos on Sonoma can no longer process, videos or photos in a legacy format, that need converting to a different format. Such items should be removed and replaced by more compatible items, before you try to import the library into a different library.
Where is the library located? If on an external drive that drive must be formatted APFS or Mac OS Extended (journal).
If all else fails you can try using the paid version of PowerPhotos. It can merge iPhoto and old Photos libraries into a new or existing Photos library. It's an extremely powerful tool for Photos.
The following is a comparison of PowerPhotos vs Photos regarding merging/importing a ibraryt into an existing Photos library.
PowerPhotos: Photos:
Albums -----------
Smart Albums (as regular albums) -----------
Folders -----------
Captions Captions
Titles Titles
Original images Original images
Edited images Edited images
Locations Locations
Favorites Favorites
Can detect and exclude Duplicates detected after import
duplicates (or not) during import
Neither method included projects.
Both methods could import older iPhoto libraries into a Photos library when the iPhoto library couldn't be migrated into a Photos library.
How are you trying to "open" this library? I think we need more detail. For instance, a Photos Library can not be on a disk with Time Machine. When you restore an old Library from Time Machine, do you restore it to the Pictures folder on you internal drive? Or to a different external drive formatted APFS or Mac OS Extended (journal) as Old Toad suggested? Where is this stubborn Library?
When I "open" a different Library, I can double click on it, and then Photos, if it's busy with another Library, asks if I want to switch. I can also open another Library by closing Photos and then option-clicking on the Photos icon. I don't ever use "import," so the "Cannot Import Item." error in confusing.
Photos is a database, kind of like Excel, so when a new version comes out, that database will have more and different columns than the old one, so the old Library won't fit. Photos has to be able to interpret the old one and translate it to the new database. That's why PowerPhotos has to wait for the Library to be rebuilt by Photos.
Is there more detail that you can provide?
I have the same problem! I did the Option+Command with a doubleclick and it did ask me if I wanted it to repair the file. I said YES and it worked for a few minutes and then gave me the same "The Library could not be opened." error message #3146. I upgraded to IOS Sonoma 14.3.1 and Photos V 9.0 on my Mac Mini a couple of days ago. Ever since it cannot open my Photos library on my external SSD drive. (It was able to open and OLD Photos library on a different spinning (slow) external drive.)
I purchased a copy of PowerPhotos. When I attempted to process the old library, it generates the following error: "The library at xxxxx.photoslibrary appears to have been restored from a Time Machine backup. Please open the library in Photos to complete the restoration process so that PowerPhotos can display the library." Since failure to open in Photos was the problem that started this, I'm no better off than I was before. I don't recall ever having restored the library from a Time Machine backup, although it has been backed up by Time Machine on numerous occasions.
I'm sorry to have steered you in that direction.
Where is the library located? Did you restore it from Time Machine while in Time Machine or did you just drag if from the TM drive to wherever it is now?
After two different tries I was able to have my photo library rebuild. However, now it looks like the "people" function is not complete! One a small number of photos show up for each of the over 500 people I have listed. What is going on? Does this function have to be rebuilt over time now?
photos 9.0 wont open old library
