Stanley Kalemaris

Q: Used iphoto library upgrader to migrate from old imac (Lion) to new iMac (ElCapitan); can I reverse tthe process?  Or how do I access the old photos from my external time machine drive?

iphoto library upgrader used to migrate from old iMac (Lion) to new iMac (El Capitan).  Upgraded photos not readable on old iMac.  Can I reverse the upgrade, or how do I access the pre-upgrade photos on my external time machine backup? (my wife insists on continuing to use the older machine).  Obviously, I want to restore the old photos, but keep the lastest version of all other data.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Jun 16, 2016 6:28 PM

Close

Q: Used iphoto library upgrader to migrate from old imac (Lion) to new iMac (ElCapitan); can I reverse tthe process?  Or how do ... more

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Jun 16, 2016 10:34 PM in response to Stanley Kalemaris
    Level 10 (106,799 points)
    iLife
    Jun 16, 2016 10:34 PM in response to Stanley Kalemaris

    iPhoto can only open libraries that have been opened in the same version of iPhoto or an older version, but not a newer version, because the older iPhoto apps cannot handle the new format of the library.

     

    To open an older version library from a Time Machine backup restore the library from the back up using Time Machine. It cannot be opened as part of the backup.

    Restoring a library is described in this Help text:   iPhoto '11: Restoring from Time Machine with iPhoto '11 (9.2 or later) and OS X Lion 10.7.2 (or later) - Apple Support

  • by Stanley Kalemaris,

    Stanley Kalemaris Stanley Kalemaris Jun 17, 2016 11:43 AM in response to léonie
    Level 3 (739 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 17, 2016 11:43 AM in response to léonie

    Embarrasingly easy once I realized my photos were buried in Users.  Delete iPhoto file from Pictures, open backup drive, go to last backup before operate, drag file from backup drive to internal drive, everything works as before.  Didn't use time machine.  Duh!

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Jun 17, 2016 7:44 PM in response to Stanley Kalemaris
    Level 10 (106,799 points)
    iLife
    Jun 17, 2016 7:44 PM in response to Stanley Kalemaris
    go to last backup before operate, drag file from backup drive to internal drive, everything works as before.  Didn't use time machine.  Duh!

    You are lucky that this worked. The iPhoto Library is a complicated network of linked database files, and if you do not use Time Machine to restore the the library, quite a few of the aliases and other references in the library may not work. If you later should come across black thumbnails and warnings about missing originals, remember that you did not restore the library using Time Machine.

    Dragging and dropping from the Time Machine backup is meant for single files, but not bundled packages like photo libraries.