How can I upgrade an old photo library on an external hardisk?
Mac mini, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)
You mean upgrade to Photos? The easiest way is to drag and drop the EHD library onto the Photos icon in the Dock. Photos will open and convert it there on the EHD. However, the EHD must be formatted OS X Extended (journaled). If it's not Photos will not open the library at all.
Do you want to upgrade to iPhoto 9.6.1 or to Photos?
It will depend the version of Photos that created the library. If the library has been created by iPhoto 7.x.x., ru iPhoto Library upgrader: iPhoto '11: About the Library Upgrader
Then you can open the library in iPhoto '11 or in Photos.
On MacOS X 10.10.3 you need to update iPhoto to version 9.6.1.
Updating to iPhoto 9.6.1 is a bit tricky now, since Apple stopped selling iPhoto from the AppStore. See this User Tip:
Get iPhoto 9.6.1 if you didn't update before OS... | Apple Support Communities
Where is your iPhoto Library stored. Neither iPhoto nor Photos will open the library, if the drive is not formatted MacOs Extended (Journaled) and not locally mounted. If your drive is not correctly formatted, move the library to a correctly formatted volume.
See: Format external drives to Mac OS Extended before using with Aperture
Once the library is on a correctly formatted drive, drag it to the Photos icon to open it in Photos or double-click it to open it in iPhoto 9.6.1.
How can I upgrade an old photo library on an external hardisk?
