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Photos in iCloud not showing up at all when I'm on my iMac 10.13.6
Stopped showing up all of a sudden when I click on "Library" in iCloud.
I have the 50 gig plan. So, I have plenty of room
I see names for my albums, but when I click on them, I don't see anything there either.
I only see one library on my iMac. Can I rebuild a preference or something?
I "DO" see the photos if I login to iCloud on MBP running Monterey.
iMac (2017 – 2020)
carol333 wrote: Photos in iCloud not showing up at all .... when I click on "Library" in iCloud.
Do you see a package in your iCloud drive on your Mac that has a ".photoslibrary" extension? Is that your Photos Library? A Photos library does not work if it appears in iCloud Drive. The Photos Library must be on a local drive, connected by a cable. It can't be a drive that is networked or "in the cloud."
If you use an external drive, then to avoid damaging the Photos Library an external drive must be formatted in either APFS format or Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. Additionally, the drive can not have had Time Machine on it since it was formatted. There have been so many problems with using incompatible drives that the newest macOSs won't even allow a Library on a non-Mac formatted drive to open, since there is a chance of damaging the Photos database. See this:
Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support
If the Library hasn't been damaged, yet, then you can move it back to the Pictures folder on your computer, and it may work. But you must get it off your iCloud Drive.
Let us know how it goes...
Let me see if I can deal with the first part: Photos is an application that is kept in the Applications folder and can be seen usually in the dock on a Mac. Photos contains instructions for using the data in the Photos Library.
The Photos Library has all the pictures and data, and it has a database that connects all that stuff so that the Photos app can make sense of it to us users. The default name of the Photos Library is "Photos Library.photoslibrary" This Library is normally kept in the user's Pictures folder.
The Photos Library must be directly connected to the computer-- it can't work if it's on a network of cloud or has to be accessed over the internet. So it can't work if it's locate in iCloud Drive. Sometimes, when people try to put the Library on a networked drive, it damages the Library. So, if you see it on Dropbox or One Drive or iCloud Drive, that's no good, and you should try to move it back to the Pictures folder.
Photos Library, like a folder, contains lots of files. But messing around inside of that folder can mess up the database's ability to keep track. So, the folder is protected a little bit, and if you try to open it, it gives a warning that you shouldn't. This "protected" folder is called a package. Sometimes people run unnecessary "cleanup" programs on their Macs, and they mess around inside the package and cause damage.
The Photos Library will work from pretty much anywhere on your Mac except iCloud Drive. By the way, in Sonoma, the iCloud Drive seems to be called Mobile Documents.
iCloud Drive is different from iCloud Photos, though each is used for synchronizing stuff between all a user's devices. For instance, iCloud Photos, when it's turn on, keeps the pictures on your Mac, on your iPhone, and on your iPad all exactly the same. Photos does this by copying pictures from the Mac to iCloud Photos Library, and then copying them to other devices, and vice versa. iCloud Drive does essentially the same for documents and files.
So, as with you, I'm trying to make sense of what you are saying. For instance,
There's so much, here, that either of us may lose track. If we fail to get a solution, the next step is to go to Apple and allow them to log into your computer so that they can actually see what's going on. So, there is always hope!
Update:
Richard,
I upgraded the OS to the next level, and it solved the iPhoto issue.
I think something must have gotten corrupted, but it cleared up after the upgrade.
thank you so much for trying to help me.
Good to hear from you again! Unfortunately, I know nothing about AirTags. This is another Community Discussion page that includes people who do know something about them-- I just looked it up: Try asking about them here:
First of all, thank you so much for the reply. I'll answer each of your questions below.
BTW, when I open iCloud.com, I can access other features such as my Pages documents, Notes. All seem to be syncing. It's just the photos that have disappeared. Even the Apple Mail opens in iCloud and shows emails from today's date.
1) I'm having difficulty understanding the first paragraph you wrote about the package and the .photoslibrary extension. I can't find that on the iMac. Should I be looking for an iCloud extension in Safari? Sorry, but I don't understand the first paragraph.
2) I'm not sure where I should look for the "package." I am on an 27" iMac. I searched for iCloud on the iMac and see a partial path but I can't see the entire thing. I see: . . . "core services.finder app. contents.applications.iclouddrive" But, I can't find it.
I looked in Library and Application Support. I see iCloud in "Application Support," but it only lists the names of my two
3) I tried searching for .photoslibrary but nothing comes up.
4) I have iPhoto on my iMac. I'm not on a networked drive. It's a home computer, and I'm using Ethernet and Safari to open iCloud at iCloud.com. The photos are missing in iCloud.com. They show up locally on my iPhoto.
5) I see iCloud Drive in the sidebar. I can't find where it's stored on the HD
6) I also have a MacBook Pro. It works on that. I can open Safari, login to iCloud.com and see my entire Library and albums. I opened iCloud Drive from the sidebar on the MBP and it seems the same as the iMac. There is no .photoslibrary in there.
7) I only use external drives to make a clone of my iMac. I use SuperDuper and backup the iMac using a cable connected directly to the backup drive. The backup drive "is" formatted APFS. It is not partitioned. Both the iMac and the external drives are 1T, and I make an exact clone of the iMac. The drive does not have TimeMachine on it. I bought it in summer of 2023 and formatted it for APFS immediately.
8) You mention moving the library to the Pictures folder on my computer. If the library "is" working on the iMac when I open iPhoto, won't I damage what is working on the iMac if I move something back from iCloud on the WEB?
Is there something that went corrupt on my iMac that "syncs" with iCloud?
Should I be looking for any plist that may have gone corrupt?
Again, thank you for your advice. Can you please tell me more about what you are saying in Paragraph # 1 that you wrote?
carol333
Richard,
Not sure if I posted the update in the right place.
Not sure if you saw it when I posted it. Therefore, posting again.
I upgraded the OS to the next level, and it solved the iPhoto issue.
I think something must have gotten corrupted, but it cleared up after the upgrade.
thank you so much for trying to help me.
Thanks for letting me know. A Library repair is automatic with an OS upgrade, so that's great!
I've had the pleasure of dealing with COVID for the past week, so I haven't been looking very hard! I am now out and about!
No problem. I appreciate the time you took to try and help me out.
I’m re-reading the specifics of what you wrote before I did the update.
I always like to learn. And, I’ve always tried to figure out what is wrong when I have problems with my technology, and I try to fix it. I find it so interesting.
Again, thank you for such specificity in your answers. I know it took time to type it all, and I know it took time for you to decide what to tell me to try.
I’m not sure if I’m right - that something got corrupted. Or, maybe, my OS was just getting too old. But, all the other apps were working in iCloud. It was just the photos.
My next issue is my AirTag. It stopped working after i updated my iPadPr 11 to 17.6.1
It does not work any more. It only shows when it’s here, at home.
I put it in my car. It used to work before the update, and it worked beautifully.
We tested it, and it showed the car at shopping centers, even on the road.
Now, nothing.
I paired it again with the iPadPro. It also won’t work on iPhone XS Max.
I am signed into my Apple ID when trying to use, “Find My,” but no luck.
I used to be able to have Siri open Find My and do it that way.
Siri just says she can’t locate my AirTag, and there’s nothing.
Any ideas?
Carol
9/10/24
iphoto library not showing in icloud
