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User profile for user: R I Archibald
R I Archibald Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

restoring System photos library on my MacBook Pro after installing Monterey 12.6

I am getting the error "Library could not be opened" Photos was unable to open the library “Photos Library.photoslibrary”. (3145)


When I select open other it guides me to /Users/robertarchibald/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary and client requested library rebuild with the button okay.

When I select that I get the infamous beach ball and nothing else happens.



iMac, OS X 10.11

Posted on Sep 18, 2022 9:00 PM

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User profile for user: léonie
léonie
User level: Level 10
196,989 points

Posted on Sep 18, 2022 10:13 PM

How large is your Photos Library /Users/robertarchibald/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary?


Rebuilding a large library may take several hours and you need plenty of free storage on the volume with the library. You must not interrupt Photos while it is rebuilding the library, or the library may get damaged. Let it run.


If Photos cannot rebuild the library even after waiting a day or two, you may want to restore an older version of your Photos Library from your Time Machine backup to your Pictures folder.


Or have you been using iCloud Photos? If your Photos Library is in iCloud, the easiest way to restore a working version of your Photos Library would be to

  • Quit Photos, then save your current library /Users/robertarchibald/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary on an external drive to keep a backup copy of it, so you can recover your photos from it, if all should fail.
  • Remove the old Photos Library from your Mac, if you do not have enough free storage for another copy.
  • Now create a new, empty Photos Library and make it the System Photos Library and enable iCloud Photos again.
  • Wait for your photos to come back from iCloud.




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Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: léonie
léonie
User level: Level 10
196,989 points

Sep 18, 2022 10:13 PM in response to R I Archibald

How large is your Photos Library /Users/robertarchibald/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary?


Rebuilding a large library may take several hours and you need plenty of free storage on the volume with the library. You must not interrupt Photos while it is rebuilding the library, or the library may get damaged. Let it run.


If Photos cannot rebuild the library even after waiting a day or two, you may want to restore an older version of your Photos Library from your Time Machine backup to your Pictures folder.


Or have you been using iCloud Photos? If your Photos Library is in iCloud, the easiest way to restore a working version of your Photos Library would be to

  • Quit Photos, then save your current library /Users/robertarchibald/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary on an external drive to keep a backup copy of it, so you can recover your photos from it, if all should fail.
  • Remove the old Photos Library from your Mac, if you do not have enough free storage for another copy.
  • Now create a new, empty Photos Library and make it the System Photos Library and enable iCloud Photos again.
  • Wait for your photos to come back from iCloud.




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restoring System photos library on my MacBook Pro after installing Monterey 12.6

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