Photos Library Stuck in Updating Loop After Upgrading to El Capitan

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Level 1

5 points

Photos Library Stuck in Updating Loop After Upgrading to El Capitan

After upgrading to Mac 10.11 El Capitan, when I open Photos App I get the the window of Updating Library. The process continues normally until the progress bar reaches 85% then I get the following error.

If I quit and reopen the Photo App, the process of updating starts agian until it reaches 85%, then I'll get the error again.

My library was functioning normally on the latest Yosemite. iCloud Library is off.

I've tried to repair the library by holding cmd+option keys while opening Photos App but I get that the Library is not recognized, which makes sense since the updating process was never completed. Thus, Photos App on El Capitan will not be able to recognize the library created on Yosemite without updating. I'm no expert in this matter but, at least, this what my basic understanding tells me.

Any Suggestion ?

Thanks..

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11)

Posted on Oct 2, 2015 4:47 PM

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Answer 1

LarryHN

Level 10

106,142 points

Oct 2, 2015 7:01 PM in response to 3livesleft

Where is your Photos library located? If on an External Hard Drive what format is it and how is it connected?

LN

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Answer 2

3livesleft Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 2, 2015 8:24 PM in response to LarryHN

LarryHN

Where is your Photos library located? If on an External Hard Drive what format is it and how is it connected?

LN

I'm using the default location. Internal Hard Drive (Macintosh HD), in my pictures folder.

Thanks..

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Answer 3

lola4000

Level 1

0 points

Oct 3, 2015 2:21 AM in response to 3livesleft

Im having the same issue.. mines only gets to 17% then says unexpected error...

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Answer 4

3livesleft Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 4, 2015 12:14 AM in response to 3livesleft

Here's what I did to solve the issue:

1. Copy the existing library file (the one not working) into my desktop just as a precaution.

2. Restore the Photos library file from the most recent backup I have. I've chosen to replace the old file (the library file which is not working).

3. Open Photos App. I got a message that my library need to be repaired. clicked Ok. The App started repairing the library. Then everything worked normally.

4. Delete the library file on my desktop.

What's interesting is that the App didn't ask for updating the library as before, given that my most recent back up was done on Yosemite and I was restoring into El Capitan. It's like as if the repairing process took care of updating the library file. Also, I've noticed that the library file size on El Capitan was almost 30% larger than the library file on Yosemite despite I didn't add any new photos. Maybe this is an indication of corrupted file which was causing the problem.

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Answer 5

jbvienna

Level 1

9 points

Oct 4, 2015 12:35 AM in response to 3livesleft

Hi 3livesleft,

I've got the exact same problem after "upgrading" to El Capitan, after the upgrade Photos won't start, the application wouldn't complete the Udating Library task (crashing around (81%): "An unexpected error has occured". Repairing Library (option+command) won't complete either: "Library could not be recognized". High quality upgrade.

The only backup I have is TimeMachine. Is there a way to get only the Photos Library from the TimeMachine backup to apply your solution?

Thanks.

JB

iMac, Intel, Late 2009

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Answer 6

3livesleft Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 4, 2015 12:48 AM in response to jbvienna

Hello jbvienna,

This is what I did. I've should mentioned in step 2 that my restore was from Time Machine. My bad.

Just restore your Photos library file from Time Machine backup and everything should be fine.

I suppose you know how to do it. If not, drop a line here.

Hop this will fix it.

Cheers..

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Answer 7

jbvienna

Level 1

9 points

Oct 4, 2015 1:45 PM in response to 3livesleft

Problem solved. Thanks a lot!

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Answer 8

maneeon

Level 1

0 points

Feb 23, 2016 7:18 PM in response to 3livesleft

Hi, my first time having problem with Mac iOS update. I have the same problem only that I never made any backup (now I know I should). How can I fix this problem?

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Answer 9

LarryHN

Level 10

106,142 points

Feb 23, 2016 7:46 PM in response to maneeon

Use the solution that solved this issue above

LN

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