iPhoto 9.6 will no longer recognize my Library

Question

iPhoto 9.6 will no longer recognize my Library

I just upgraded my iMac to Yosemite. Once upgraded, I had to update my iPhoto to 9.6. Now, I can't open any of my photos. This is the message I get when I open iPhoto:

Caution

The iPhoto Library is locked, on a locked disk, or you do not have permission to make changes to it. iPhoto can try to repair the permissions.

Repair/Quit

I click Repair, it asks me for my password, I type it in, and it says Repairing photo library permissions

Then I get:

The iPhoto Library is locked, on a locked disk, or you do not have permission to make changes to it.

Ok

I click ok, and then iPhoto closes.

So I tried holding Option and clicking on my iPhoto Library. iPhoto opens up and tells me:

The iPhoto Library is locked, on a locked disk, or you do not have permission to make changes to it.

Your photo library will not be readable by previous versions of iPhoto after the upgrade. The upgrade process for very large libraries may take an hour or more to complete.

Quit/Upgrade

I click upgrade, it says it's upgrading, I watch the bar go all the way to just before the end and then it freezes and iPhoto says it's not responding. I've tried this many times and even left it on for 1-1/2 days to see if anything would happen. I have to Force Quit

Other things I've tried:

- Re-installing iPhoto 9.6 twice

- Using Time Machine to retrieve an older backup of my Library

- Using iPhoto Library Manager to rebuild my Library

Nothing works. Someone please help me! I desperately need to access these photos for work! Is there something I'm not doing?

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10)

Posted on Nov 17, 2014 1:55 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Nov 17, 2014 2:43 PM in response to dave_todaro_art

First, if you've moved the iPhoto library to an external drive, make sure that drive is mounted by opening it in the Finder.

The 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.

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Answer 2

Nov 17, 2014 7:13 PM in response to Linc Davis

Thank you. This resolved the issue of the Library being locked.

However, now when I open iPhoto, I get:

The photo library needs to be upgraded to work with this version of iPhoto.

Your photo library will not be readable by previous versions of iPhoto after the upgrade. The upgrade process for very large libraries may take an hour or more to complete.

Quit/Upgrade

I click on upgrade, it upgrades the Library for about 40 minutes and the program stops responding just before the progress bar gets to the end (just as before). I've tried it many times.

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Answer 3

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Nov 17, 2014 7:32 PM in response to dave_todaro_art

The library is corrupt. These are your options:

1. Restore the iPhoto library from the most recent backup that predates the issue. In this case, you probably don't know when that was.

Advantages: Always works, if library damage is causing the problem and the backup is intact.

Disadvantages: Impossible if you don't have a backup. All changes made since the backup are lost.

2. Repair or rebuild the library. Be sure to back it up first.

Advantages: May solve the problem with no loss of data.

Disadvantages: May fail. May take a long time if the library is large.

3. Scavenge the library with a third-party application called "iPhoto Library Manager," which you can find in a web search. From the application's menu bar (not the iPhoto menu bar), select Library ▹ Rebuild.

Advantages: All images should be preserved.

Disadvantages: All books, calendars, and slideshows will be lost.

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Answer 4

Nov 18, 2014 7:14 PM in response to Linc Davis

It worked!

With the permissions issue out of the way, I was able to use iPhoto Library Manager to rebuild my Library without losing any photos or albums. Problem solved!

Thank you so much!

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