Cannot Restore Photos Library

A few weeks ago my 2010 Macbook Pro began to restart by itself every hour or so. I ended up wiping it and restoring it with my Time Machine backup on my Time Capsule though the problem was still there.


My second solution was to backup all my files to a separate drive and then restore to new, having a clean slate with my important files. However, when I imported my 80gb Photos Library (Photos Library.photoslibrary file), it says there are only 358 pictures, not the 20,000 or so that I know I have. I have done this once before where all I have to do is select the Photos Library file in the Photos app and Walla! I would have all my photos. This did not work this time.


I tried restoring with the Time Machine backup again though it has the same problem (only shows 358 pictures). Currently I am sitting with a fresh install of El Capitan and an 80Gb Photo file. What can I do to fix this?


Already Tried:

- Repairing Photos Library

- Restarting Macbook

- Clean install of El Capitan

- Using an older Photos Library file saved in my Time Capsule

- Upgrading to MacOS Sierra because why not try when you are desperate?


Any ideas/solution would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading this. My photos library goes back to 1997 so anything will help.

MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)

Posted on Aug 9, 2016 2:04 PM

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3 replies

Aug 9, 2016 2:38 PM in response to vspmc

My second solution was to backup all my files to a separate drive and then restore to new,

How was that EHD formatted and connected to your Mac. It must be formatted as shown in this screenshot and connected directly by cable:

User uploaded file


One thing you can do is to open the restored library package

User uploaded file

and look in the Masters folder to see if your original files are there or you only have the 358 that Photos indicates or if you have all of them. Do not make any changes, just look and get an idea if they are there or not.

User uploaded file

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Cannot Restore Photos Library

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