In the situation the photos become inaccessible from iPhoto library. Although IPhoto is a very robust utility to manage, edit, print, share, download or upload digital photos. It comes in the package of iLife software on Mac OS X. If you are facing this issue and want to know solution for this particular annoying problem 'How to unlock iPhoto. For copying iPhoto library to a new Mac, firstly, you can store your library on an external storage device, such as a USB or Thunderbolt drive formatted as APFS or Mac OS Extended. After the move is finished, eject the hard drive from your old Mac and connect it to this new one. To unlock iPhoto library you need to follow a few simple steps: If the iPhoto library is on a CD or DVD or other read only media like a USB stick then the iPhoto library cannot be accessed from that disk. To get rid of the problem you need to copy the library on the hard drive where you would be able to modify it and then add the copy to the. Solution 3: Repair iPhoto Library. Corrupted database or other metadata of a iPhoto library is known to cause issues such as these. To repair those, follow the steps below. Quit iPhoto if it is running. Now Press and Hold both the Command key and the Option key on your keyboard simultaneously.
An error pops up when you are trying to access images from multiple devices using an iPhoto. An error stating “this photo library is locked or you do not have permission to make changes to it”. Although the iPhotos app has seen quite a few updates, this old problem/error still haunts us to date. Starting your Mac in Recovery mode and running your disk repair utility, to resolve the error might not always work, here are some more things you can try.
What are the reasons behind the error “this photo library is locked”?
- When you are trying to access iPhoto from multiple devices: So, if you are accessing a library that is already open on multiple devices, you might receive an error. Close the iPhoto on the other devices, when you are trying to access iPhotos from your current device.
- Conflict of ownership on removable drives: If your iPhoto Library is stored on an external drive that is used by many Mac users, there might be a permission dispute on that drive that disables other users or devices from accessing it. Specify read and write permissions to access external drives on Mac to correct this factor.
- iPhoto library is running out of free space: If the drive on which iPhoto library is saved is running out of free space, then this could be the reason why your iPhoto library might have gotten locked.
These are the above reasons why one would encounter the message “this photo library is locked” let us know below how to fix it.
How to fix error “you do not have permissions to make changes” on iPhoto
Start troubleshooting to solve the error, using below steps
- Click on iPhoto to launch the app and press command + option keys. (quit the photos app before you do so)
- The app will request you to start repair process
- Enter your credentials as administrator to initiate the repair
- The process takes some time, depending upon the photos you have saved on the system.
Troubleshooting might have solved the issue to some extent, but if the repair process has stopped in the middle then the images are not accessible even after repairing the photo library, it can be hard to determine the reason. In such cases, it is recommended to repair iPhoto library and then rebuild the photo library database.
Quick Note: You can also use the 'Rebuild iPhoto library database' feature as shown below to rebuild the library if the above method fails to fix the repair library issue:
- Click the Command + Option button and open the iPhoto option
- Press the keys before the Picture Library Rebuild dialog box appears
- For the database repair tool, click Repair iPhoto Library Database > click Repair.
The iPhoto launches successfully once the rebuild is complete, and you can see all your images once again. If the above steps have not solved your problem, Try the Mac console app.
Fix iPhoto using Mac Console app:
- When you open a console session, go ahead and try to open the iPhoto app again
- Check the console messages for any iPhoto app-related errors or issues. Look to see if there are additional hints you can find that can help you find the problem source.
- By holding the Shift Key while restarting or booting up, try booting in Safe Mode.
- Make sure that the main library of images helps you to read and write. Go to the photo library and click or right-click on the photo library and select Get Info to open the Info Window. Scroll down to Sharing & Permissions and verify under your username that it is classified as Read & Write. If not, modify the Read & Write permissions to those.
Unless you're sure you have a permission-related problem, Repair Disk Permissions works as a troubleshooting method. before you initiate the repair process, just in case anything happens during the process, make sure you have a backup of your images. Use Remo Photo Recovery tool torecover lost files from the iPhoto library. Try the tool for free and then activate it to save the recovered files to the desired location. Download now.
For Mac users, occasional hiccups with the iPhoto Library app are not uncommon. Missing or corrupt files, errors, failed imports, the crash of the Photos app, device hanging problem while opening the iPhotos app, etc., are common issues. Such issues mean that the Images app is corrupt and it is recommended to be repaired.
If you feel this above article has helped you in resolving the error “this photo library is locked”. If you find this information helpful please share it with your friends and colleague, comment below if you have any queries.
Prepare your external drive
Can't Open Iphoto Library On Mac
You can store your library on an external storage device, such as a USB or Thunderbolt drive formatted as APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled). However, you can't move your library to a disk that's used for Time Machine backups.
To prevent data loss, Apple doesn't recommend storing photo libraries on external storage devices like SD cards and USB flash drives, or drives that are shared on a network.
Move your Photos library to an external storage device
- Quit Photos.
- In the Finder, go to the external drive where you want to store your library.
- In another Finder window, find your Photos Library. By default it's stored in the Pictures folder located at /Users/[username]/Pictures.
- Drag Photos Library to its new location on the external drive. If you see an error, select your external drive's icon in the Finder, then choose File > Get Info. If the information under Sharing & Permissions isn't visible, click the triangle , then make sure the 'Ignore ownership on this volume' checkbox is selected. If it's not selected, click the lock button to unlock it, enter an administrator name and password, then select the checkbox.*
- After the move is finished, double-click Photos Library in its new location to open it.
- If you use iCloud Photo Library, designate this library as the System Photo Library.
Make sure that the drive is turned on and available to your Mac before opening Photos. If Photos can't find your drive, it stops using the Photos Library stored there.
Delete original library to save space
After you open your library from its new location and make sure that it works as expected, you can delete the library from its original location.
In a Finder window, go back to your Pictures folder (or whichever folder you copied your library from) and move Photos Library to the trash. Then choose Finder > Empty Trash to delete the library and reclaim disk space.
Open another Photos library
If you have multiple libraries, here's how to open a different one:
- Quit Photos.
- Press and hold the Option key while you open Photos.
- Select the library that you want to open, then click Choose Library.
Photos uses this library until you open a different one.
Learn more
How To Unlock Iphoto Library On A Mac
If you have a permissions issue with your library, you might be able to resolve the issue by using the Photos library repair tool.
Unlock Iphoto Library On Amazon
* If the volume isn't formatted as APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled), or has been used for Time Machine backups but hasn't been erased, this checkbox will either not be present, or it won't be selectable after unlocking. Erase the drive for this option to be available.