Photos stuck preparing library for an old iPhoto library I'm transferring from a hard drive.

I have an old iPhoto '09 library on an old Macbook I'm transferring to my newer Macbook Air running OS Sierra.

I can't open the iPhoto library on the old Macbook (and I've tried repairing/rebuilding... it's a no go.) I transferred it onto an external hard drive and was going to move it over to my Air to see if it would open there. Photos began loading the library but it's now been stuck at 34% for half an hour with no indication of going anywhere. I can't close out Photos and can't eject the hard drive because it's in use. Suggestions?