I upgraded to Sierra and now am trying to import some of my iPhoto Library pictures which I had backed up to Time Machine. The Photos App says "nothing to import" - has anyone figured this out? Thanks!
MacBook Pro (13-inch Late 2011), Other OS
Is the iPhoto Library still part of the Time Machine backup?
Then restore it to a different drive. You cannot migrate the library as part of a Time Machine backup or on a Time Machine drive.
To migrate the iPhoto Library to Photos, drag it to the Photos icon in the Dock or launch Photos while holding down the options key. That will bring up a library chooser panel. Now select the restored iPhoto Library.
The Photos App says "nothing to import" - has anyone figured this out? Thanks!
Photos cannot import libraries and merge them into existing libraries. It can only open a library to create a converted Photos Library.
if you already have a Photos Library, read the Help page on how to switch between several Photos Libraries:
Thanks so much! So, just to clarify... I first have to move the iPhoto Library out of the backups in Time Machine... so, should I just drag the iPhoto Library into my desktop (it's gonna take a LOOOONG time, I have thousands of photos and was hoping to only move the ones I want to work with on projects)... and then move it to Photos as you suggested above? Or can I move it from the Time Machine back up directly to the Photos by dragging it to the Photos icon?? I'm so sorry... probably a dumb question, but I honestly am not sure. Thanks again.
A photo library needs to be restored using Time Machine. If you just drag it from the backup drive, some of the internal links may not work and you may not be able to access all photos.
This link describes how to restore your iPhoto Library.
If you do not have enough free storage on the internal drive, you could restore the library to a different external drive.
Hi Leonie, thanks so much for your reply. I followed the steps on the link you sent me and when I get to the iPhoto Library within my backup that is on the external hard drive, it does not allow me to restore (button is there but i can't click on it). Should I try to drag the iPhoto Library to another external drive? I appreciate your help. I am starting to get concerned about not being able to recover my photos from that library... 😟
No, use it as designed, not as you'd like to. Backups MUST be restored using Time Machine.
csound1, ugh, I feel dumb now... I thought I was trying to do it as designed based on the link leonie sent me for help, but it does not allow me to restore from Time Machine... I'm not sure what I am doing wrong.
The restore button will be dimmed, if nothing is selected, or if you did not go back in time. You cannot restore the present.
Could you post a screenshot of what you are seeing in Time Machine?
While you are in the time tunnel view the key combination shift-command-3 is working to capture the full screen.
Continue to follow léonies directions
I tried to go back to September 10th Back up which is when I backed up the library to begin with... but it's not letting me...
Open System Preferences > Time Machine. The Preferences panel will show you the date of the first backup on your backup drive. What does it say? What is the oldest backup?
September 23... but it says it has 976 GB of 1 TB available, so did it delete the old backups? I'm really confused. I made an appointment for the Genius Bar on Friday. When I was there on the 23 they told me to get another disk so I could have a second backup. The old one is named photos and I thought thats where I'd keep all the old backups from he computer before I upgraded to sierra. Then, with the new time machine, I'd do the backups for this new computer AND do one full backup of the Photos external hard drive (which was the old time machine). Does that make sense? IT's what they recommended but I am going to be completely crushed if I lose five years of photos.
Then, with the new time machine, I'd do the backups for this new computer AND do one full backup of the Photos external hard drive (which was the old time machine).
You made full backup of your Mac, while the old backup drive called "Photos" has been connected?
There is one problem - Time Machine will not include drives in the backup that are Time Machine drives. They are automatically excluded.
I am not sure about what you did with the old Photos drive. Is this drive still available?
I think that was the intention, so yes, I did make a full backup of my mac while the old backup drive called photos was connected. I do have the old photos drive, yes, that's the one i sent you the screen shots from, I think. I am confused. You have been so helpful but I'm afraid if I do anything else I'll do more damage then good. I am nervous just thinking about what you said that time machine does not include drives in the backup that are tm drives... why would the genius bar tell me to do that? ugh. I made an appointment to go back on friday as I think at this point i need someone guiding me live through the process. I am going to be devastated if i lose those photos. I so appreciate all your help. It feels like maybe I've done more damage then good by upgrading and restoring the computer.
am nervous just thinking about what you said that time machine does not include drives in the backup that are tm drives... why would the genius bar tell me to do that?
The Time Machine System Preferences have an "Exclude" panel in the "Options" panel. It can include external drives in the backup, but initially it will leave out the external drives, and it will not backup a Time Machine backup. Perhaps the genius you talked to misunderstood you.
Yes, let the Genius Bar guide you to restore the iPhoto Library from the old drive. The important thing is to get a copy of the library on your system drive. Once you have the library on your system drive, Photos open the library in Photos, don't try to import it.
Even if Photos should not be able to migrate the library as a library, you should be able to extract all photos from the old backup.
Importing iPhoto Library after Sierra upgrade
