Photos cannot find the system photo library even though I have set it up properly

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Level 1

8 points

Photos cannot find the system photo library even though I have set it up properly

Each time I open Photos on my Mac, I get the dialog that "Photos cannot find the System Photo Library" named "Photos Library.photoslibrary".

I select "Open other...", find the library (which is on an external HD), then select it and it opens fine. I then go into Photos preferences and set that library as the default system library. Then, once I close Photos and open it up again, I need to go through the same process.

Has anyone had this issue before and if so, how did you resolve it? Thanks!

Lee

Mac Mini

OS X 10.11.3

Mac mini, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)

Posted on Feb 9, 2016 8:00 PM

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Answer 1

LarryHN

Level 10

106,142 points

Feb 9, 2016 11:00 PM in response to Ape Planet

what is the format of the EHD and how is it connected?

LN

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Answer 2

Ape Planet Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 10, 2016 10:37 AM in response to LarryHN

Hi LN,

My EHD is formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and is connected via a USB hub and then the hub to the computer. I should note that this has been my setup for sometime, and worked okay, but recently (maybe after my update to 10.11.3?) is when this started happening.

Thanks for helping!

Lee

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Answer 3

LarryHN

Level 10

106,142 points

Feb 10, 2016 10:41 AM in response to Ape Planet

as a test eliminate the hub and directly connect the drive to your Mac - Hubs often cause this type of problem

LN

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Answer 4

Ape Planet Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 10, 2016 2:29 PM in response to LarryHN

That didn't work either. Any other tricks in your bag? It just seems that each time I shut photos down it "forgets" the system photo library I set in the Prefs.

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Answer 5

Old Toad

Level 10

215,352 points

Feb 10, 2016 2:37 PM in response to Ape Planet

Go to you Users/Home/Containers folder and move the com.apple.Photos folder to the Desktop. Reboot, launch Photos with the Option key held down and select your library on the EHD. Then test to see if it will open the next time you close and open Photos.

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Answer 6

Ape Planet Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 10, 2016 7:29 PM in response to Old Toad

Old Toad,

When I read your suggestion, I thought, "Yes! This is gonna work!" But I did it and it did not. Now, I didn't remove any preference files, I only moved the com.apple.Photos folder to my desktop, restarted my computer, was prompted to select the library, did that, then went into Photo's prefs and made that library the system one. I then quit Photos and restarted and the same dialogue popped back up.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks,

Ape Planet

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Answer 7

léonie

Level 10

200,531 points

Feb 10, 2016 11:17 PM in response to Ape Planet

Make a new test library in your Pictures folder and make it the System photo Library. Can Photos find your System Library, if it is on your system Drive?

If yes, there may be a problem with the permissions on your external drive. Is the Ignore ownership flag set?

Is the ignore ownership on this volume flag set? You can set it from the get Info pane l for the drive.

Seelct the icon of the drive in the Finder, enter the key combination ⌘I , then click the padlock in the Sharing&Permissions section to unlock the permissions, enable Ignore Ownership on this volume".

Do you have read&write access on that drive?

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Answer 8

Ape Planet Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 11, 2016 9:07 AM in response to léonie

Good news is that creating a new "Test" library on my computer worked. I created a new library in my Pictures folder, set is as the system library in prefs and then quit and re-opened and had no issues.

Bad news is that I feared this would be the case where I need to move my photos library to my main computer. Not the end of the world, but I was trying to contain my media (Photos and iTunes media) on an external.

After the successful "Test" library, I re-tried the library on my external HD but still had the same outcome. I still wonder why it worked and then now doesn't work. I didget info on the external HD, unlocked the padlock,enabled Ignore Ownership on this Volume and tried it again to no avail. And yes, I do have read and write access.

Thanks again very much,

Ape Planet

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Answer 9

Ape Planet Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 16, 2016 8:49 AM in response to Ape Planet

Hello. I just wanted to follow up to see if anyone else is running Photos on El Capitan (10.11.3) with their System Photo Library on an external HD and is working fine for them. Or is it just now that you cannot house your library on an external without having to search for it each time you load up Photos.

Thanks again very much,

Ape Planet

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Answer 10

Old Toad

Level 10

215,352 points

Feb 16, 2016 8:52 AM in response to Ape Planet

How is the EHD formatted and connected to your Mac? There have been a number of users who have reported having their System Photo Library on an EHD without issue as long as it was formatted OS X Extended (journaled) withy Ownership set to be ignore and hard wired connected to the Mac.

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