Mrs. Garbs
Level 1 (8 points)
Mac OS X

Q: I downgraded from El Capitan to Yosemite due to Photos freezing. Now my Photos library is useless. Please help!

I recently upgraded to El Capitan and absolutely regret it. I was able to access my photos, but anytime I chose videos, panoramic, etc. Photos would freeze. My Photos library is stored on an external drive because my library is too large to keep on my laptop. I even went out and bought a new external drive thinking it was an issue with the lack of a compatible El Capitan software update for the drive. But now, I see that that probably isn't the case.

 

So I downgraded back to Yosemite and now I receive this message: Unsupported Library. The library "My Photos" is from a newer version of Photos. Please upgrade Photos to open this library.

 

This is maddening! I upgraded to El Capitan thinking they had the bugs worked out by now. But Photos kept freezing and I had to Force Quit every time I used the app. I just want to go back to what was working before. But Apple won't let me.

 

I have been trying to fix this for days now. Has anyone had a similar problem? Were you able to "downgrade" your Photos library?

 

I appreciate any advice. I am ready to ditch Photos after retrieving my library. I really think I'd be better off downloading my phone through Preview and filing everything manually in folders on my external hard drive. Through the years, iPhoto/Photos problems have stolen weeks of my life. I'm exhausted.

MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)

Posted on Jul 26, 2016 12:14 PM

by Kappy,Solvedanswer
Kappy Kappy
Level 10 (271,811 points)
Desktops
A:

Before you upgraded to El Capitan you should have made a copy of your photo library. There is nothing you can do now but return to El Capitan. Photos in El Capitan should perform even better than in Yosemite. I think you upgraded a dysfunctional Yosemite, but since you have reinstalled it perhaps you should try El Capitan again. This time you might try installing El Capitan on a separate partition of your startup drive if you have sufficient space to do so. If not then install it on a separate drive. Now, if you have problems it will be easy to return to Yosemite. Furthermore, you may find that El Capitan will work better when installed cleanly.

Posted on Jul 27, 2016 2:21 AM

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Mrs. Garbs

Q: I downgraded from El Capitan to Yosemite due to Photos freezing. Now my Photos library is useless. Please help!

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Kappy,Solvedanswer

    Kappy Kappy Jul 27, 2016 2:21 AM in response to Mrs. Garbs
    Level 10 (271,811 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 27, 2016 2:21 AM in response to Mrs. Garbs

    Before you upgraded to El Capitan you should have made a copy of your photo library. There is nothing you can do now but return to El Capitan. Photos in El Capitan should perform even better than in Yosemite. I think you upgraded a dysfunctional Yosemite, but since you have reinstalled it perhaps you should try El Capitan again. This time you might try installing El Capitan on a separate partition of your startup drive if you have sufficient space to do so. If not then install it on a separate drive. Now, if you have problems it will be easy to return to Yosemite. Furthermore, you may find that El Capitan will work better when installed cleanly.

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Jul 27, 2016 2:21 AM in response to Mrs. Garbs
    Level 10 (85,673 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jul 27, 2016 2:21 AM in response to Mrs. Garbs

    You can not downgrade a Photos library - you have Two choices - restore your backup from before you upgraded or start over from scratch with the original photos - or of course use El Captain and trouble shoot the problem since ElCaptain is more stable that Yosemite

     

    LN

  • by Mrs. Garbs,

    Mrs. Garbs Mrs. Garbs Jul 26, 2016 12:42 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 26, 2016 12:42 PM in response to Kappy

    I kept up to date with Yosemite software updates and it always ran smoothly for me. I didn't start having problems until I upgraded to El Capitan. How do I install El Capitan cleanly? The only way I know to download the system software is to go to the App Store and click "FREE UPGRADE." Is there something else I should to to ensure that it is installed cleanly?

     

    I did a Time Machine back up before I upgraded to El Capitan, but I did not realize that since my Photos Library is housed on an external drive that it would not include that. Foolish mistake.

     

    Will it really make a difference to upgrade to El Capitan again? I truly appreciate your advice. Thank you for replying to my question.

  • by Mrs. Garbs,

    Mrs. Garbs Mrs. Garbs Jul 26, 2016 12:48 PM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 26, 2016 12:48 PM in response to LarryHN

    I did a Time Machine back up before I upgraded to ElCapitan, but I did not realize that since my Photos Library is housed on an external drive that it would not include that. Big mistake.

     

    Have you heard about Photos freezing for anyone with ElCapitan? By freezing, this is what happens for me: Photos will launch and I can access my photos. But the second I click on videos or any other option, I get the spinning beach ball, and when I go to Force Quit it notes that Photos is Not Responding.

     

    I have tried to troubleshoot through ElCapitan. I went through Error - 36 fixes. Disk Utility. Nothing worked. I am completely at a loss at this point. Is there a chance that if I upgrade back to ElCapitan that Photos won't freeze when I try to access my videos?

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Jul 26, 2016 1:00 PM in response to Mrs. Garbs
    Level 10 (85,673 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jul 26, 2016 1:00 PM in response to Mrs. Garbs

    As documented TM by default does not backup EHDs - you have to remove the EHD form the excluded list in the the TM Preferences

     

    Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac - Apple Support

    http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html

     

    a few people have had freezing issues but not many - in many cases it is simply an initial set up and having patience is the solution - it may take an hour or so the first tims

     

    LN

  • by LACAllen,

    LACAllen LACAllen Jul 26, 2016 1:03 PM in response to Mrs. Garbs
    Level 5 (5,576 points)
    iCloud
    Jul 26, 2016 1:03 PM in response to Mrs. Garbs

    I did a Time Machine back up before I upgraded to El Capitan, but I did not realize that since my Photos Library is housed on an external drive that it would not include that.

     

    I don't believe this is true. The actual libraries system file, containing a number of files in addition to your photos, lives on your system drive which would have been in any Time Machine backup.

     

    Your photo files may be on the external drive, but the library file is not.

     

    The file will have the file extension .photoslibrary and by default would have been placed in your PICTURES folder.

     

    If it's in an older format, you should be given a chance to upgrade it.

  • by Mrs. Garbs,

    Mrs. Garbs Mrs. Garbs Jul 26, 2016 1:07 PM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 26, 2016 1:07 PM in response to LarryHN

    Thank you very much for your TM tip. After this experience, I wasn't sure what I was going to do to back up my EHD. I didn't realize there was an option in Preferences. Thanks for the link.

     

    It looks like I am just going to have to upgrade to ElCapitan again. My concern is that I'll click on the "FREE UPGRADE" button, upgrade my system like last time, and I'll run into the same issue. How could it be different? Is there something in the initial setup that I should do differently?

     

    I appreciate the time you're taking to help me with this. Many thanks.

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Jul 26, 2016 1:16 PM in response to Mrs. Garbs
    Level 10 (271,811 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 26, 2016 1:16 PM in response to Mrs. Garbs

    You will need to re-download El Capitan from your Purchases page in the App Store. I suggest that you make a copy of the Installer and put it in your Downloads folder. Should you need to install it again this will be faster. You can also make a bootable USB flash drive installer should you wish: Create a bootable installer for OS X - Apple Support.

  • by Mrs. Garbs,

    Mrs. Garbs Mrs. Garbs Jul 26, 2016 1:17 PM in response to LACAllen
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 26, 2016 1:17 PM in response to LACAllen

    I looked in my PICTURES folder, but did not find .photoslibrary. I searched for it on my "Macintosh HD" and it finds it on my MacBook Pro, but leads me to the external drive.

     

    Perhaps I'm in over my head on this one. But I really appreciate the advice. Thanks.

  • by Mrs. Garbs,

    Mrs. Garbs Mrs. Garbs Jul 26, 2016 1:23 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 26, 2016 1:23 PM in response to Kappy

    Thanks for the tips. I will re-download El Capitan, make a copy of the Installer, and upgrade again. Hopefully this will work. I will add a reply tomorrow when I will know if it is a success or not.

  • by Mrs. Garbs,

    Mrs. Garbs Mrs. Garbs Jul 27, 2016 2:27 AM in response to Mrs. Garbs
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 27, 2016 2:27 AM in response to Mrs. Garbs

    Thank you everyone! I reinstalled El Capitan and I am now able to access photos, videos, panoramas... everything on Photos. I appreciate your time and advice.