Andy Drefs

Q: I cannot copy my Aperture library from one drive to another

I have tried this 5 or 6 times now.  I have done all three steps in the First Aid section in Aperture. Every time the transfer begins fine and then hangs up with 2 hours remaining and about 272 GB of 700+ GB total having been transferred.  I then get this error screen:

Screen Shot 2014-11-03 at 7.48.27 PM.png

 

I am attempting to transfer from one internal drive to another.

Mac Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10), 2.66 Ghz Quad Core

Posted on Nov 3, 2014 5:53 PM

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Q: I cannot copy my Aperture library from one drive to another

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  • by Gerald Gifford,

    Gerald Gifford Gerald Gifford Nov 4, 2014 8:46 PM in response to Andy Drefs
    Level 1 (72 points)
    Desktops
    Nov 4, 2014 8:46 PM in response to Andy Drefs

    I have seen this message in the past. Wish I could remember exactly what I did to get around it, but my recollection is that I rebuilt the database, possible several times, before I got past it.

     

    Be sure Aperture is not running when  you try to do the copy. Whether you're actively doing something or not, when Aperture is running it's messing with the library.

     

    Also, I have found that during the copying process the speed of the copy slows considerably in the early stages. I've had my computer report "3 days" to finish the copy then suddenly finish up in a few hours.

     

    Hope this helps.

    Good Luck !!

     

    Jerry

  • by Kirby Krieger,

    Kirby Krieger Kirby Krieger Nov 5, 2014 4:51 AM in response to Andy Drefs
    Level 6 (12,522 points)
    Nov 5, 2014 4:51 AM in response to Andy Drefs

    I suspect the problem is not with the Library package.  Can you reformat the destination drive, making sure it is "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)"?  Are you able to copy the Library to an external drive?

  • by léonie,Solvedanswer

    léonie léonie Nov 5, 2014 5:43 AM in response to Andy Drefs
    Level 10 (107,942 points)
    iCloud
    Nov 5, 2014 5:43 AM in response to Andy Drefs

    Andy, "error code -36" is an I/O error.

    I have seen it at these occasions:

    • Hardware problems: When either the source drive or the destination drive are starting to fail.  When you are seeing this error, back up your drive asap, to be on the safe side, as long as you can still read it and check the drive with disk utility.
    • Wrong file system: (see Kirby's post above): When one of the drives is not formatted MacOS Extended (Journaled), there may be files that cannot be written with the original filename. For example files with ethnic characters in the name can cause problems when writing them to a drive, that is not formatted correctly (see: Use locally mounted Mac OS X Extended volumes for your Aperture library, iPhoto: Sharing libraries among multiple users)
    • Library corruption and permission problems: Set the "ignore Ownership on this volume" flag for your external drive. If the Library First Aid Tools did not help, and the file system on the destination drive is correct, but you can still not copy, one of the files inside may be corrupted and cannot be read. Then try to copy the library in parts. This way, you are able to identify the culprit that is causing the I/O error and can skip it, when copying:

     

      • Create a new folder on your external drive. Call it "Aperture Library Copy".
      • Ctrl-click (or right-click) your current Aperture Library and use the command "Show Package Contents". This will open a folder, showing you the files and folders inside your Aperture Library.
      • Copy these folders one-by-one to to the new folder on your external drive.  If one of these folders is giving an error -36, check how far the copying proceeded. The files, that have been copied are o.k. The file or folder, that should have been copied next will be the unreadable  file. Probably the problem is caused by one of the files in "Masters" or a database folder. In that case look into the Masters folder and copy as much as you can, while leaving out the file that will not copy.

     

    When you are done, rename the copy of your Aperture Library to "Aperture Library Copy.aplibrary"  and double click it to open it in Aperture. can Aperture open this library?

  • by Frank Caggiano,Helpful

    Frank Caggiano Frank Caggiano Nov 5, 2014 6:17 AM in response to Andy Drefs
    Level 7 (25,796 points)
    Nov 5, 2014 6:17 AM in response to Andy Drefs

    In addition make sure neither drive is formatted 'case sensitive'

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Nov 5, 2014 1:51 PM in response to Andy Drefs
    Level 10 (107,942 points)
    iCloud
    Nov 5, 2014 1:51 PM in response to Andy Drefs

    Could you copy the Library, Andy?  Does it work now?

  • by Frank Caggiano,

    Frank Caggiano Frank Caggiano Nov 5, 2014 1:57 PM in response to Andy Drefs
    Level 7 (25,796 points)
    Nov 5, 2014 1:57 PM in response to Andy Drefs

    Yes enquiring minds want to know?

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Nov 5, 2014 2:05 PM in response to Frank Caggiano
    Level 10 (107,942 points)
    iCloud
    Nov 5, 2014 2:05 PM in response to Frank Caggiano

    Yes, I really want to know if there are unexpected problems with Yosemite. That is all still very new. 

  • by Andy Drefs,

    Andy Drefs Andy Drefs Nov 5, 2014 2:22 PM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (11 points)
    Apple TV
    Nov 5, 2014 2:22 PM in response to léonie

    Well, I was finally able to transfer to the new hard drive but had to do it piece by piece and there 2 or 3 files that it hung up on.  I just went into Aperture and switched to the new library and it appears to be making the connections now.  So yes, it appears to be working.  Thanks for the help to you all...

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Nov 5, 2014 2:38 PM in response to Andy Drefs
    Level 10 (107,942 points)
    iCloud
    Nov 5, 2014 2:38 PM in response to Andy Drefs

    Great! Thanks!