Tommi 7711

Q: PHOTOS face detection (macOS Sierra)

Hello,

 

I have upgraded to macOS Sierra and was aware that PHOTOS will take a while to scan (face detection) all photos as I have over 35.000 pics in my library. However I have reached the point where nothing seem to happen any longer. If I click on the "People" section it is stated that 23,880 photos have been already scannt and 12,047 have to be scanned to complete the process. The number of still to be scanned photos is not changing. I have restarted my MacBook. I have closed the program and kept the MacBook running over night but nothing is happening.

Has somebody an idea how I can force PHOTOS to continue with the picture scan / face detection? Or is there maybe a log which states what the issue is?

MacBook Pro (15-inch Late 2011), macOS Sierra (10.12)

Posted on Sep 29, 2016 12:10 AM

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Q: PHOTOS face detection (macOS Sierra)

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  • by Tommi 7711,Apple recommended

    Tommi 7711 Tommi 7711 Sep 29, 2016 5:27 AM in response to Tommi 7711
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 29, 2016 5:27 AM in response to Tommi 7711

    I found the solution for my issue. Somehow in the photo library the flag was set to optimize the disk space of my MacBook (wasn't the case before the upgrade to Sierra). About 12000 pictures were already locally removed. Seems that exactly these pictures have been the ones which could not be any longer scanned. After changing the settings the face detection started to continue with the scan.

  • by clipper99,

    clipper99 clipper99 Oct 1, 2016 8:46 AM in response to Tommi 7711
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Oct 1, 2016 8:46 AM in response to Tommi 7711

    Same problem here, 23,707 scanned out of 62,000 and it's been stuck there for 3 days. I do NOT have "optimize Mac storage" selected in my preferences so all my images are stored right here on the Mac.

  • by MarcusRockt,

    MarcusRockt MarcusRockt Oct 2, 2016 11:41 AM in response to clipper99
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Oct 2, 2016 11:41 AM in response to clipper99

    Same here! 6237 scanned out of 55000. I do NOT have "optimize Mac storage" selected in my preferences so all my images are stored on my NAS.

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Oct 2, 2016 11:58 AM in response to MarcusRockt
    Level 10 (85,108 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Oct 2, 2016 11:58 AM in response to MarcusRockt

    Ok so you do not have the same problem - the OP has a local library that is optimized

     

    I do NOT have "optimize Mac storage" selected in my preferences so all my images are stored on my NAS.

     

    Is your Photos library on the NAS (note - that will not work) of do you have a referenced library (Note - that is strongly not recommended - Disadvantages of a Referenced Library in Photos

    and I have no idea what effect if any it has on people scanning

     

    LN

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Oct 2, 2016 12:01 PM in response to clipper99
    Level 10 (85,108 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Oct 2, 2016 12:01 PM in response to clipper99

    clipper99 wrote:

     

    Same problem here, 23,707 scanned out of 62,000 and it's been stuck there for 3 days. I do NOT have "optimize Mac storage" selected in my preferences so all my images are stored right here on the Mac.

    Most likely patience is your answer - give it a few more days and see if it scans more - keep the Mac awake and connected to power and I like to quit Photos to be sure it is not considered in use

     

    LN

  • by clipper99,

    clipper99 clipper99 Oct 2, 2016 1:20 PM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Oct 2, 2016 1:20 PM in response to LarryHN

    Since my Mac is left on all the time I have oodles of patience, but going on 5 days now with no activity is certainly not an ideal situation. The process is broken somehow and I really hope Apple looks at this as there are enough people IMO to merit some kind of fix. It's especially frustrating as new photos that I add are being scanned but the remaining 40,000+ images remain in limbo.

  • by MarcusRockt,

    MarcusRockt MarcusRockt Oct 2, 2016 1:31 PM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Oct 2, 2016 1:31 PM in response to LarryHN

    Ok, i watched into the photos.db and saw the issue.

    A lot of pictured losed the volumeID.

     

    Workaround:

    • look into RKvolumes for the right ID
    • copy the functions Create Statement with RKMaster* and save it in a file!
    • delete the functions
    • update the volumeID in RKMaster with the right volumeID (UPDATE RKMaster SET volumeID = <ID>)
    • create functions from the save file
    • done! It works
  • by clipper99,

    clipper99 clipper99 Oct 2, 2016 2:44 PM in response to MarcusRockt
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Oct 2, 2016 2:44 PM in response to MarcusRockt

    I don't think I want to mess around with the database at that level but will take a peek to see if I can decipher your workaround.

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Oct 2, 2016 4:16 PM in response to clipper99
    Level 10 (85,108 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Oct 2, 2016 4:16 PM in response to clipper99

    Some people have found that restarting the Mac will kick start the process - others have found that removing a laptops power and reconnecting it kicks starts it

     

    I've just found it very slow and the progress is irrational so I ignore it and let it go and I'm down to about 1000 out of 20,000

     

    LN

  • by clipper99,

    clipper99 clipper99 Oct 3, 2016 1:00 PM in response to MarcusRockt
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Oct 3, 2016 1:00 PM in response to MarcusRockt

    can you go into more detail on how to do this? I do not see RKvolumes anywhere.

     

    edit: specifically, what do you use to open and edit the photo.db file?

  • by MarcusRockt,

    MarcusRockt MarcusRockt Oct 3, 2016 1:12 PM in response to clipper99
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Oct 3, 2016 1:12 PM in response to clipper99

    Sorry, the table called RKVolume.

    If you have no SQL skills then is it a bad idea to try it!

    Else:

    • open your library (in Finder)
    • in the folder database backup the photos.db (safety first!)
    • open photos.db with a sqlitebrowser
    • look into RKVolume for the right ID
    • copy the functions Create Statement with RKMaster* and save it in a file!
    • delete the functions
    • update the volumeID in RKMaster with the right volumeID (UPDATE RKMaster SET volumeID = <ID>)
    • create functions from the save file
  • by clipper99,

    clipper99 clipper99 Oct 3, 2016 1:25 PM in response to MarcusRockt
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Oct 3, 2016 1:25 PM in response to MarcusRockt

    Thanks, I just needed to know what you were using to browse the .db data. I installed the sqlitebrowser but the table called RKVolume has no data in it. I have selected the "browse data" button then selected RKvolume but yeah, no data in any of the fields.

  • by MarcusRockt,

    MarcusRockt MarcusRockt Oct 3, 2016 1:31 PM in response to clipper99
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Oct 3, 2016 1:31 PM in response to clipper99

    ohh sorry, but this is the right way. You see data in RKMaster?

  • by clipper99,

    clipper99 clipper99 Oct 3, 2016 2:18 PM in response to MarcusRockt
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Oct 3, 2016 2:18 PM in response to MarcusRockt

    Yes