"Unable to write to library iPhoto Library" error message..amoung other things

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"Unable to write to library iPhoto Library" error message..amoung other things

This is the 2nd or 3rd time I gotten this message when i try to open iPhoto on my iMac (running OS X version 10.9.5) and using current iPhoto. i've been able to get around this, usually, by restarting, but it has happened several times recently.

Also, i've gotten an error message after attempting to upload photos/videos from my Canon camera to iPhoto...says that iPhoto doesnt recognize the extension...which are jpegs. This has also only been happening recently.

Can anyone please help!!???

Thanks

iMac, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)

Posted on May 23, 2015 1:40 PM

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Answer 1

Old Toad

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207,367 points

May 23, 2015 1:48 PM in response to allen1014

First try the following:

1 - launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down to open the First Aid window. Be sure to follow the circled recommendation in the screenshot.

2 - apply Option #4, Rebuild Database.

3 - try importing from the camera again. (Do not let iPhoto delete the photos from the camera after import).

Report back with the results.

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Answer 2

LarryHN

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May 23, 2015 3:33 PM in response to allen1014

what version of iPhoto do you have? Where is your iphoto library located?

LN

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Answer 3

allen1014 Author

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May 25, 2015 7:25 AM in response to allen1014

Thanks Old Toad and LarryHN for the help.

LarryHN my version of iPhoto is 9.5.1 (902.17).

Old Toad - i tried that fix (option 4) and it doesnt seem to be working. any other suggestions would be great!

i wanted to provide the following information in case it could be helpful/related to my problem...

1. My iMac is 7-8 years old

2. Just prior to having these issues with iPhoto i tried to copy my iPhoto library to my external Seagate HD, by dragging and dropping it...this approach did not work.

the issues seem to happen within a week or so of #2

any help is most appreciated!

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Answer 4

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

May 25, 2015 9:03 AM in response to allen1014

So where is the iPhoto library you are using located?

What format is the SeaGate drive - to use the iPhoto library on it is must be Man OS extended (journaled) - you can reformat (and totally erase) it using Disk Utility in your utilities folder

LN

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Answer 5

Old Toad

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207,367 points

May 25, 2015 9:35 AM in response to allen1014

As a test launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and create a new, test library. Import some photos and also try importing from the camera and test to see if the same problem persists. Does it?

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Answer 6

allen1014 Author

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May 25, 2015 12:33 PM in response to allen1014

OT - I created a new "test" library and was able to import pics/videos from locations on my mac as well as from my camera, both successfully. So with this success, what do i need to do now - to get all of my pics/videos in one iPhoto library??? thanks again

LarryHN - my iPhoto library is in the pictures folder on my mac. My 3TB seagate is partitioned (2TB Mac OS extended and 1TB NTFS) - this is being backed up by TimeMachine, however the external HD (also Seagate) that i tried to drag/drop my iPhoto library into couple weeks ago isnot Mac OS extended and unfortunately there is too much on it to erase and start over.

Continued thanks...

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Answer 7

Old Toad

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207,367 points

May 25, 2015 2:02 PM in response to allen1014

Launch Photos with the Command+Option keys held down and repair the library.

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Answer 8

allen1014 Author

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May 25, 2015 8:13 PM in response to Old Toad

OT - when i launch iPhoto w/ Command+Option keys held down i don't get the screen above, instead i get 4 options (Repair Permissions, Rebuild Thumbnails, Repair Database or Rebuild Database). I dont have "Photos" yet...still have iPhoto. How should i proceed?

thank you

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Answer 9

Old Toad

Level 10

207,367 points

May 26, 2015 9:01 AM in response to allen1014

Oppps. Trying to answer too many posts at the same time. Yes you would get the 4 options. Since the test library worked OK it's your primary library that's causing the problem. Since you've tried option #4 try #1 followed by #4 again.

If that fails restore your backup copy of the library that was made just prior to this problem occurring.

Where is your Time Machine backing up to? The 2 TB partition of you hard drive? If so you do not have a viable backup. If you lose that disc you'll lose your boot volume and the second volume and won't have a backup that's on a separate hard drive. TM must be on a separate hard drive.

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Answer 10

allen1014 Author

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May 27, 2015 7:11 PM in response to Old Toad

OT - Well this seems to have worked. I went back to my original library and tried option #1 then did option #4. After that i was able to successfully upload pics from my canon. i also was able to upload from other devices also. Thanks so much for the help!!!

Just to clarify about my back ups and TM....Yes, TM is backed up to the 2 TB partition of my Seagate HD. i also use this partition to save pics/videos too as well - that way i can easily access them. So based on this information are you saying that i dont have a viable backup if my iMac were to crash??? If that's what you are saying can you point me in the right direction to properly use TM and my HD for my back ups???

Many thanks...

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Answer 11

Old Toad

Level 10

207,367 points

May 28, 2015 9:05 AM in response to allen1014

That's right. Since you have only one hard drive and if that fails all volumes will be lost.

Get an external HD that's about 2X the size of your current drive and us it for Time Machine. Then all of your internal drive will be backed up, regardless of the number of partitions. My preference for EHDS are these: OWC Mercury Elite Pro USB 3.0 / FireWire 800 / eSATA.

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