I opened the photos app after 3 weeks of not using my computer, and all of the pictures are gone. I tried the "option click" when I opened the app in an attempt to locate one of the libraries. The iphoto library was there, but it would not let me select it. I closed out of the app and tried again. The second time, the iphoto library was not even showing. Where did my photos go?
MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.4)
You should be able to find both your iPhoto Library (if you still have it) and the Photos Library in the same folder, i.e. at:
<yourusername>/Pictures/
Select the iPhoto Library and right click: Open with iPhoto (Default)
Select the Photos Library and right click: Open with Photos (Default)
Have you tried rebooting? 😉
Where are you iPhoto Library and the Photos library stored? Do you keep them on an external drive? If yes, how is this drive connected? Directly or is it a NAS? And what is the file system on your external drive?
If your iPhoto Library is in your Pictures folder - what happens when you try to open it directly by double clicking it? do you see a warning pane, that the library has been migrated to Photos? Then click one of the buttons "Open in iPhoto" or "Open in Photos".
I have tried rebooting. The iPhoto library is greyed out. I can't click on it.
They are stored on my hard drive. The iPhoto library is greyed out in finder. It won't let me open it from there.
They are stored on my hard drive. The iPhoto library is greyed out in finder.
In the Pictures folder in your Home folder or somewhere else?
You cannot open an iPhoto Library with "File > Open" in Photos. That would create mess of imported thumbnails, previews, etc.
Either drag the iPhoto Library onto the Photos icon in the Dock, or hold down the options key while you launch Photos to show the Library Chooser panel.
If the "Library Chooser" panel is showing the library as greyed to, it may be an incompatible version.
Which version of iPhoto created the library? You can only open a library created by iPhoto '09 or iPhoto '11 directly in Photos. If the the iPhoto version has been older, you need to run iPhoto Library Upgrader first. You can download it from here: iPhoto '11: About the Library Upgrader
Install it and run it, if your iPhoto version is older.
Photos deleted all of my pictures. Is there a way to get them back?
