New to forums but not Macs.

[Spectricide]

Hello, I have a real problem with a hidden Library Folder. Third party app finds it and I have tried to reset Permissions but to no avail. Any ideas on direction or forum I should be doing? Thanks in advance, Spectricide.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

-Which model Mac?
-Which version of Mac OS X?
-Which third party apps find it and what do they try to do with it?
-That is your User > Library folder and it is supposed to be hidden. DO NOT try to change the permissions, or your system may become unstable and applications will not work properly. Applications are allowed to access it and store information there on a per user basis...it's nothing to worry about.

If you have changed any of the permissions, we can help you repair disk permissions and reset ACLs for you user(s) which will change them back to the defaults....let us know.

C

 

[Spectricide]

Cory- iMAc 21.5 late 2012, 2.7 Intel Core i5, 8GB 1600 MHz DDR3. Version 10.10.4 Updated. Third party app is iPhoto Library Manager. Yes I did the Permissions "reset" or "fix" and nothing changed to my knowledge. I have never heard of the Library (main Folder that is part of the iOS) being hidden. Never seemed to be on other macs/ versions. PS just tried to load a screen shot pic but too large a file for here so I'll work on that.

 

[Spectricide]

Hello and welcome.

-Which model Mac?
-Which version of Mac OS X?
-Which third party apps find it and what do they try to do with it?
-That is your User > Library folder and it is supposed to be hidden. DO NOT try to change the permissions, or your system may become unstable and applications will not work properly. Applications are allowed to access it and store information there on a per user basis...it's nothing to worry about.

If you have changed any of the permissions, we can help you repair disk permissions and reset ACLs for you user(s) which will change them back to the defaults....let us know.

C

The issue is the Mac can't find it and when third party app does I then get the Permissions routine which I tell to fix and then it just doesn't and quits. And I got another story about the iPhoto Library the Geniuses never heard of but I swear it's true.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Thanks for the additional info.

Apple hid the User > Library folder starting with Mac OS X Lion 10.7. It helps protect folks from moving/deleting files that could cause issues with system/OS stability and performance.

-What is iPhoto Library Manager trying to do when it finds it...simply looking for other iPhoto Library files?
-Is it actually displaying anything from the Library folder, or just photos from within the iPhoto Library package file?
-What is you actual concern?

It should be harmless. You should be able to upload and post a screenshot here - if it is too large, open it in Preview and make the resolution smaller, then try again.

C

 

[Spectricide]

It should be harmless. You should be able to upload and post a screenshot here - if it is too large, open it in Preview and make the resolution smaller, then try again.

C[/QUOTE]

 

[Cory Cooper]

Ahhh...for some reason the iPhoto Library is in the wrong place - it should reside in Macintosh HD > Users > your home folder > Pictures, not in the hidden Library folder.

You should be able to drag it out of there and into the Pictures folder right under Phone Booth smart info folder in your screenshot. Make sure you don't already have an iPhoto Library in there and accidentally overwrite it!

C

 

[Spectricide]

Thanks for the additional info.

Apple hid the User > Library folder starting with Mac OS X Lion 10.7. It helps protect folks from moving/deleting files that could cause issues with system/OS stability and performance.

-What is iPhoto Library Manager trying to do when it finds it...simply looking for other iPhoto Library files?
-Is it actually displaying anything from the Library folder, or just photos from within the iPhoto Library package file?
-What is you actual concern?

It should be harmless. You should be able to upload and post a screenshot here - if it is too large, open it in Preview and make the resolution smaller, then try again.

C

It's complicated. All started when I got this machine and did a data transfer by wifi. All seemed to be good until I wiped out the HD on the older Mac and poof the new Mac couldn't open iPhoto bc it said it didn't exist. Was it merely sharing the Library over the wifi and it never actually physically copied over to new Mac? Was it Permissions? No clue here so I found an older back up on a hard drive and have been rebuilding that for many months. So basically there are two Libraries now one on a hard drive and a hidden one. Using iPhoto Library Manager I have tried to merge the the Libraries so now there is actually three iPhoto Libraries of which I can only access the one in the HD by third party. You are probably as confused as I am and appreciate you even trying to help. What I want to do is make the Library in HD the only one I use after having merged them all into one. How lost am I?

 

[Spectricide]

Ahhh...for some reason the iPhoto Library is in the wrong place - it should reside in Macintosh HD > Users > your home folder > Pictures, not in the hidden Library folder.

You should be able to drag it out of there and into the Pictures folder right under Phone Booth smart info folder in your screenshot. Make sure you don't already have an iPhoto Library in there and accidentally overwrite it!

C

OMG that might have done it!? No there wasn't another one in there besides a copy of the backup of one from the external drive that is in another folder and seemingly unaffected. I'll try to merge all later as it is in the middle of duplicate finding at this moment. Then I'll reboot and see what shakes out. Thank you!!

 

[Cory Cooper]

No worries. You aren't lost - things just got put into non-default places. I am not sure where things went wrong...possibly during the data transfer/migration via Wi-Fi.

So, let's see if I have this straight:

1. iPhoto Library in Pictures folder
2. iPhoto Library in home folder > Library (hidden) folder - in screenshot
3. iPhoto Library on external hard drive - is this a manual or Time Machine backup?

-Are there different pictures in all of them, or different amounts of the same pictures?

I am not familiar with the iPhoto Library Manager application. so I cannot help with instructions on how to use it. It also may be a good idea to get someone to help in person, as it is a little difficult to give step-by-step instructions via this forum, due to the nature of the issue. It isn't that bad of an issue, but it would definitely be best to have a backup of both the internal and external hard drives on a third hard drive before proceeding. The last thing we want is for you to lose any of your data.

If I had a full backup and were to work on it, I would rename the iPhoto Library in the screenshot in the hidden Library folder to iPhoto Library 2, then move it to the Pictures folder. I would then unmount/eject and disconnect the external hard drive and use iPhoto Library Manager to merge the two libraries in the Pictures folder, then deal with the one on the external hard drive later.

Does that help?

C

 

[Spectricide]

Cory-Yes it does help. I moved the hidden iPhoto Library to Picture folder so there is not one in hidden Library now but did not rename. I just Forced quit iPhoto Library Manager[iLM] and will eject that external drive which the Mac seems to struggle with anyway and move forward from there. Yes there are many duplicates and iLM is supposed to fix that too. It's not a time machine back up but I do have an Airport drive hard wired to this machine and it does do the hourly back ups but with issues I never trusted it to use. And yes this is tough to detail and nuance in this forum. Was about to give you my number! lolz and TY but be warned I have other issues in the near future.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Let us know how it goes, and feel free to post more questions/issues.

C