how do i unlock iphoto

my iphoto says caution i photo library is locked, on a locked disk or i dont have permission to unlock it

MacBook (13-inch Early 2009), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.5)

Posted on May 24, 2014 8:44 PM

Reply
2 replies

May 25, 2014 11:11 AM in response to sledhed89

This issue can be caused by sharing the photo library on a network (against Apple's advice) or by opening it in more than one local user account at the same time. You may be able to clear the error by logging out or restarting the computer. If not, do as follows.

Quit iPhoto if it's running, locally or on any file-sharing client. Select the iPhoto Library in the Finder. Usually it's in the Pictures folder, but you may have moved it somewhere else. Right-click or control-click the library icon and select

Show Package Contents

from the popup menu. In the folder that opens, navigate to

Database/apdb/lockfile.pid

and move that file, if it exists, to the Trash. Close the Finder window.

Credit for this observation to ASC member Elijahg.

May 25, 2014 6:25 AM in response to sledhed89

Couple of things to try:


Restart your mac and try launch iPhoto again.


If that fails:


Go to your Pictures Folder and find the iPhoto Library there. Right (or Control-) Click on the icon and select 'Show Package Contents'. A finder window will open with the Library exposed.


Look there for a file called ‘iPhoto’Lock.data or similar. Drag it to the Desktop. Make no other changes. Start iPhoto. Does that help?


If not: Where is your iPhoto Library stored? If it's on an External Disk, what format is that?

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

how do i unlock iphoto

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.