Apple really seems to be serious in killing your trusty old iPhoto software with the recent Mac OS X updates including Mavericks and El Capitan. The end result is that Apple clearly wants you to use their new Photos app, which is a direct copy of the Photos app on the iPad and iPhone. The problem is, however, a majority of users still would like to use iPhoto and not have to be forced to this new Photos app (myself included). So, what do you do when you install El Capitan and iPhoto no longer works? It’s not an easy answer(s), but, here’s some tips below to see if you can get iPhoto running again.
May 13, 2016 iMovie 11 version 9.0.4, won't see my photo library. I tried drag-n-drop and the photo show up in the timeline but when you play, it's just a blank frame. Any help is appreciated.
Have you switched to Apple's Photos app, or, do you still use iPhoto?
- I only use iPhoto (82%, 249 Votes)
- I use both iPhoto and Apple's Photos (10%, 31 Votes)
- I only use Apple's Photos (7%, 22 Votes)
Total Voters: 302
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The best advice we have seen is to simply do an app store downgrade of the iPhoto, which actually worked for us. Here’s what you want to try first:
- Go to the Apple Menu –> App Store
- Head to the Purchases tab and sign in with your AppleID if you haven’t done so
- See if iPhoto is in this list of previous purchases
- If iPhoto is in the list, you may download it from here, by clicking on the install button
- It may give you a warning about iPhoto being an earlier version–proceed to download anyway
- Make sure all other users on your computer are logged out and not running iPhoto
- This is a large download (a little over a gigabyte) so it’s going to take some time
- It may ask that you update your iPhoto library to work with this version, which you would want to do
- If iPhoto detects problems with your library, it will ask to repair it, which is also OK to perform
If all went well, you should have a previous version of iPhoto on your computer at this time, which hopefully will work with the newer Mac OS X versions. If you did not see iPhoto in purchases, here’s another tip that users have tried first:
Before doing any of the steps above, you have to create another User account with full administrator privileges in the Users and Groups area of your System Preferences. Restart your computer after creating this account and then log in to the App Store (just like above steps), head to Purchases and click the iPhoto button which now hopefully says “Install” and not “Upload”. If this works, you can then restart and go back to your original user account and now delete this temporary account you created in Users and Groups.
If iPhoto seems to keep showing you the “Welcome to iPhoto” splash screen after every restart, a simple solution seems to be to delete this preferences file:
- com.apple.iPhoto.plist file from your HD/Users/ *your username here* / library/preferences folder
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Check compatibility
You can upgrade to OS X El Capitan from OS X Snow Leopard or later on any of the following Mac models. Your Mac also needs at least 2GB of memory and 8.8GB of available storage space.
MacBook introduced in 2009 or later, plus MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008)
MacBook Air introduced in late 2008 or later
MacBook Pro introduced in mid 2007 or later
Mac mini introduced in early 2009 or later
iMac introduced in mid 2007 or later
Mac Pro introduced in early 2008 or later
Xserve models introduced in early 2009
MacBook Air introduced in late 2008 or later
MacBook Pro introduced in mid 2007 or later
Mac mini introduced in early 2009 or later
iMac introduced in mid 2007 or later
Mac Pro introduced in early 2008 or later
Xserve models introduced in early 2009
To find your Mac model, memory, storage space, and macOS version, choose About This Mac from the Apple menu . If your Mac isn't compatible with OS X El Capitan, the installer will let you know.
Make a backup
Before installing any upgrade, it’s a good idea to back up your Mac. Time Machine makes it simple, and other backup methods are also available. Learn how to back up your Mac.
Get connected
It takes time to download and install OS X, so make sure that you have a reliable Internet connection. If you're using a Mac notebook computer, plug it into AC power.
Download OS X El Capitan
For the strongest security and latest features, find out whether you can upgrade to macOS Catalina, the latest version of macOS.
If you still need OS X El Capitan, use this link: Download OS X El Capitan. A file named InstallMacOSX.dmg will download to your Mac.
Install the macOS installer
Double-click the downloaded file to open a window showing its contents. Then double-click the file within, named InstallMacOSX.pkg.
Follow the onscreen instructions, which will guide you through the steps necessary to install.
Begin installation
After installation of the installer is complete, open the Applications folder on your Mac, then double-click the file named Install OS X El Capitan.
Click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions. You might find it easiest to begin installation in the evening so that it can complete overnight, if needed.
Allow installation to complete
Please allow installation to complete without putting your Mac to sleep or closing its lid. Your Mac might restart, show a progress bar, or show a blank screen several times as it installs both OS X and related updates to your Mac firmware.
Learn more
Pages For Mac El Capitan
- OS X El Capitan won't install on top of a later version of macOS, but you can erase your disk first or install on another disk.
- You can use macOS Recovery to reinstall macOS.