Summary
Ever since Lion (OS X 10.7), Apple has hidden your personal Library folder (/Library) by default. In Lion and Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8), you could make the folder visible, but it required some work. Dec 27, 2015 Added: After you delete the Photos Library from your Mac you can only access the photos in iCloud using the web interface and the Photos.app on the www.icloud.com page. You cannot access iCloud Photo Library using Photos on your Mac, unless you make a photos library on an external drive your System Photos Library.
Losing photos and Photos Library corrupting can really drive Mac users crazy. If you are facing such a problem, calm down and read this article. Follow methods on this page to repair your Photos Library and recover all lost photos with EaseUS data recovery software for Mac immediately.
Applies to all new macOS: 10.15 (Catalina), 10.14(Mojave), 10.13 (High Sierra), 10.12 and old Mac OS X like 10.11 (El Capitan), 10.9, etc.
The article provides full solutions to recover photos after Photos Library corruption and fix the corrupted Photos Library:
| Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
|---|---|
| Part 1. Recover lost photos after Photos Library corruption | Fix 1. Restore lost photos with EaseUS Mac data recovery software in three steps...Full steps |
| Part 2. Repair corrupted Photos Library | Step 1. Close Photo Library if it's opened. |
Photos Library corrupted, help me restore my photos, please.
'Hi there, can anyone of you tell me how to restore my lost photos on Mac? The Photos Library corrupted suddenly. All my photos stored in the Photos Library all disappeared. What can I do?
Please help me. And this is important for me to recover photos. Any solutions or suggestions are all welcomed.'
How many of you guys are facing Photos Library crash or corrupt problem and unable to restore photos? Here EaseUS software provides effective methods to prevent similar problems from happening again, follow to repair Photos Library and recover all photos on Mac immediately.
Tip: Back up photos in case of losing them
If you didn't lose photos, the best choice is to backup them first. When unexpected troubles happen to your photos, you'll still have the backups. Here we recommend you to use Time Machine to backup all important photos and other data on Mac:
1. Click Time Machine and choose Set Up Time Machine.
2. Click Select Backup Disk or select locations (an external storage device is preferable) back up photos, and then click Use for Backup.
You can also copy photos and files one by one and paste to another storage device where you want to store the backups. Be patient and careful while copying and pasting.
Part 1. Recover lost photos after photos library corruption
If photos lost due to Photos application or Photos Library corruption, you have two ways to restore the lost photos: 1. Restore lost photos with Mac data recovery software; 2. Retrieve Photos Library with photos from Times Machine backup.
Method 1. Restore lost photos with EaseUS Mac data recovery software
If you didn't create a backup of Photos Library in the Time Machine, you'll need Mac data recovery software to help. We recommend you try EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac which supports to recover photos from corrupted Photo Library and even worse situations.
Step 1. Select the location where your valuable photos were lost and click Scan button.
Step 2. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac will start immediately a quick scan as well as a deep scan on your selected disk volume. Meanwhile, the scanning results will be presented in the left pane.
Step 3. By Path and Type, you can quickly filter the photos you've lost earlier. Select the target files and click Recover Now button to get them back at once.
Method 2. Restore corrupted Photos Library with photos from Time Machine backup
If you've created a backup of Photos Library with Time Machine, follow the steps below to restore Photos Library and all lost photos:
1. Connect Time Machine backup drive.
2. Click Time Machine in the Dock and enter Time Machine
3. Find backups - your photos then click Restore to recover lost photos.
Part 2. Repair corrupted Photos Library
If the Photos behaves unexpectedly or Photos Library corrupts, follow next steps to start repairing Photos Library with Photos library repair tool:
Step 1. Close Photo Library if it's opened.
Step 2. Relaunch Photo Library by holding Command + Option key.
Step 3. Click 'Repair' when the 'Repair Library' dialog pops up and ask whether you'd like to repair the library.
You might be asked to enter your account and password to authorize the library repair. And the Repair tool will analyze the database of Photos Library, repair detected errors.
If your Photos library is automatically updated with iCloud Photos, the entire contents of the library will re-updates with iCloud when the repair process completes.
Bonus Tip: Create a new Photos Library
The other alternative way to repair corrupted Photos Library is to create a new Photos Library on Mac. By doing so, you'll have your Photo Library back and reuse it to edit your photos again:
Step 1. Hold the Option key and double-click the Photos icon in the Applications folder (or click the Photos icon in the Dock).
Step 2. In the Choose Library dialogue, click Create New.
Step 3. Type a library name and choose a location to store the library. Click OK to confirm.
The Library Menu item is hidden by default on Macs, to prevent the possibility of inexperienced users deleting important files in the Library Folder. In this article, you will find different methods to reveal the hidden Library Menu and access the Library Folder on your Mac.
Access Library Folder On Mac
The Library Folder on your Mac contains Preference Files, Caches, and Application Support Data.
While regular Mac users may not find the need to access the Hidden Library Folder, advanced Mac users will at times come across the need to access files inside the Library Folder for troubleshooting and other purposes.
One example of the need to access the Library Folder on Mac would be to rebuild the Database Files in the Library Folder, in order to fix Launchpad related issues like Apps Missing From Launchpad or deleted Apps showing up in the Launchpad.
Before going ahead with the steps to Access the Hidden Library Folder on your Mac, you need to be aware that ~/Library Folder contains important Data and Files related to Mac User Accounts.
Hence, make sure that you are accessing the Library Folder for a good reason and you do know as to what you are trying to achieve.
Access Hidden Library Menu Option On Mac
Follow the steps below to access the Hidden Library Menu option on your Mac.
1. Left-click your mouse anywhere on the screen of your Mac. This will reveal the Go Option in the top menu bar of your Mac. You can also click on the Finder Icon in the Dock of your Mac to activate the Go Option.
2. Next, click on the Go option in the top menu-bar of your Mac.
3. While you are still on the Go option, press and hold the Option key on your Mac and then click on the Library option that appears when you press down the Option Key.
Note: Press the Alt Key in case you are using a Windows keyboard with your Mac.
4. Clicking on the Library Menu option will take you straight to the Library Folder on your Mac.
Access Library Folder On Mac Using “Go to Folder” Option
Another way to access the Library Folder on your Mac is by using the Folder Option on your Mac.
1. Left-click your mouse anywhere on the screen of your Mac to reveal the Go Option in the top menu bar. You can also click on the Finder Icon in the Dock of your Mac to activate the Go option.
2. Next, click on the Go option from the top menu-bar on your Mac and then click on Go to Folder… option in the drop-down menu (See image below).
3. In the search window that appears, type ~/Library, and click on the Go button.
This will immediately take you to the Library Folder on your Mac.
Permanently Unhide the Library Menu Option On Mac
You can permanently unhide the Library Menu Option in the top-menu bar on your Mac by using the Terminal Command. The process is reversible and you can easily go back to the default hidden Library Menu Setting by using the Terminal command once again.
1. Click on the Finder icon in the dock of your Mac to activate the Go option in the top Menu bar of your Mac.
2. Next, click on the Go option in the top menu-bar and then click on the Utilities option in the drop-down menu.
3. On the Utilities window, open the Terminal App by clicking on it.
4. Next, type chflags nohidden ~/Library/ and Press the Enter key to submit your command for execution.
Once the command is executed, you will see the Library Option clearly visible and permanently unhidden in the top menu-bar of your Mac.
As mentioned above, you can always go back to the default hidden Library option on your Mac by executing a simple command in the Command Prompt Window.
1. To hide the Library option, type chflags hidden ~/Library/ in the Command prompt window (See image below)
2. After typing the Command, hit the Enter key on the Keyboard of your Mac to execute this Command.
How To Get To Library On Mac Os Pro
Once the Command is executed, you will see the Library Menu option becoming hidden.