dgersonphoto
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Q: Can't access Aperture library

I have Aperture 3.1, and have been using Aperture since shortly after it was introduced. One computer that I use it on requires me to use external storage due to the size of the library. A while ago, I had a problem accessing the external disk which has been repaired. Everything that was on that disk is fine, except that I cannot access the library. I get a message to the effect of "unsupported file format." I also had a vault, and when I try to access that - on a seperate disk, I get the same response. I've tried several approaches, but cannot access either the origanal library or the vault. Any ideas please?

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Feb 28, 2012 2:57 PM

by léonie,Solvedanswer
léonie léonie
Level 10 (108,906 points)
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A:

You probably need to move the vault to a volume formatted MacOS X extended, or at least restore the library to such a volume. See this support article on the requirements for external disks holding Aperture Libraries:

 

Aperture: Use locally mounted Mac OS X Extended volumes for your Aperture library:

 

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3252

 

Sometmes you may be lucky and an Aperture Library may work on a volume with a different formatting, but you risk inconsistent filenames and sooner or later you may run into trouble with missing masters and similar problems.

 

Regards

Léonie

Posted on Feb 29, 2012 10:54 AM

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dgersonphoto

Q: Can't access Aperture library

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  • by Frank Caggiano,

    Frank Caggiano Frank Caggiano Feb 28, 2012 6:34 PM in response to dgersonphoto
    Level 7 (25,796 points)
    Feb 28, 2012 6:34 PM in response to dgersonphoto

    If you create a new empty library on the internal disk does Aperture run ok? If so I would recommend you start with the Aperture 3: Troubleshooting Basics permission and library repair woud be my first guess to try.

     

    What type of drive is the drive with the library and how is it formatted? What was the problem with the drive and how was it fixed?

     

    What is odd is that you get the same message from the vault which you say is on a different external drive that had no problems. But for naow lets see if you can get the library back.

     

    Post back when you've tried the repairs.

     

    good luck

  • by dgersonphoto,

    dgersonphoto dgersonphoto Feb 28, 2012 8:47 PM in response to Frank Caggiano
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 28, 2012 8:47 PM in response to Frank Caggiano

    Thank you, but I can't do that - the internal disk is too small to hold the library. That's the reason why I had it on two external disks; one the actual library, and one a vault.

  • by Frank Caggiano,

    Frank Caggiano Frank Caggiano Feb 29, 2012 5:08 AM in response to dgersonphoto
    Level 7 (25,796 points)
    Feb 29, 2012 5:08 AM in response to dgersonphoto

    A new empty Aperture library will take up very little space.

     

    If you can't fit that on your internal drive you have bigger problems then trying to run Aperture.

  • by dgersonphoto,

    dgersonphoto dgersonphoto Feb 29, 2012 9:55 AM in response to Frank Caggiano
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 29, 2012 9:55 AM in response to Frank Caggiano

    Sorry, it was late at night, and I misunderstood the question. Actually, I have a small library on the internal disk from when I originally started with Aperture in 2008. It needed to be updated, and works fine. When I try to switch to the library on my external disk, I get "Aperture cannot switch to the selected library because the file system of the library's volume is not supported." This is a 1TB disk, Western Digital My Book. The problem that I had mentioned was not with the disk, but was internal to the iMac I am using, and was solved through instructions that I got through Apple Support Communities. Everything else on that disk works fine. When I try to restore the library from the vault, using the My Book disk to resore it to, I get "Volumes/MY BOOK T" is an unsupported file system." MY BOOK T is my name for the disk, and this is the same 1 TB disk that the large library is on. By the way, I also created a new empty library on the internal disk, and that worked fine.

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Feb 29, 2012 10:19 AM in response to dgersonphoto
    Level 10 (108,906 points)
    iCloud
    Feb 29, 2012 10:19 AM in response to dgersonphoto

    I get "Volumes/MY BOOK T" is an unsupported file system.

    What is the file system type of your 1TB disk? Is it not MacOS Extended? What kind of File System does Disk Utility show for this disk?

  • by dgersonphoto,

    dgersonphoto dgersonphoto Feb 29, 2012 10:42 AM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 29, 2012 10:42 AM in response to léonie

    Under Format it says: MS-DOS (FAT32)

  • by Frank Caggiano,

    Frank Caggiano Frank Caggiano Feb 29, 2012 10:53 AM in response to dgersonphoto
    Level 7 (25,796 points)
    Feb 29, 2012 10:53 AM in response to dgersonphoto

    That's your problem. Aperture libraries need to be on OS X formatted volumes. See Format external drives to Mac OS Extended before using with Aperture

  • by léonie,Solvedanswer

    léonie léonie Feb 29, 2012 10:54 AM in response to dgersonphoto
    Level 10 (108,906 points)
    iCloud
    Feb 29, 2012 10:54 AM in response to dgersonphoto

    You probably need to move the vault to a volume formatted MacOS X extended, or at least restore the library to such a volume. See this support article on the requirements for external disks holding Aperture Libraries:

     

    Aperture: Use locally mounted Mac OS X Extended volumes for your Aperture library:

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3252

     

    Sometmes you may be lucky and an Aperture Library may work on a volume with a different formatting, but you risk inconsistent filenames and sooner or later you may run into trouble with missing masters and similar problems.

     

    Regards

    Léonie

  • by dgersonphoto,

    dgersonphoto dgersonphoto Feb 29, 2012 11:25 AM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 29, 2012 11:25 AM in response to léonie

    Thank you very much. I'll do what you have suggested, and this should solve the problem.