A numeric error code is always frustrating to see ; misplay “ 4302 ” when open Photos for macOS is just as unintelligible as most others . Some lector have seen this codification when the transcript of Photos on their Mac say it ca n’t open up the Photos Library . Others , when they ’re give birth slowdowns with exposure or seeing blurry preview .

The answer in most case seems to be that macOS 11 Big Sur does n’t corroborate — or at least does n’t fully brook — a Photos Library located on an external drive initialise for Windows compatibility using ExFAT . you could check whether that ’s the typeface by choose the drive in the Finder and choosingFile > Get Info . In the Format field , it will take ExFAT .

as luck would have it , the answer appear to be straightforward , although it expect consume enough drive capacity to reformat the ExFAT drive :

You should be back to normal .

If this fails , quit Photos and concord down Command - Option while launching Photos . ClickRepairwhen prompted . This may take a long period of clock time .

If that also fails , you may have an irrecoverably damaged Photos program library , but you may still retrieve your unmodified source medium . This Mac 911 tower from 2017remains accurate for the method acting to recover those files .

This Mac 911 article is in response to a question submit by Macworld reader Miguel .

Ask Mac 911

We ’ve roll up a list of the questions we get ask most ofttimes , along with answer and connection to pillar :   take our super FAQ   to see if your interrogative sentence is covered . If not , we ’re always search for Modern problem to solve ! Email yours tomac911@macworld.com , include screen capture as appropriate and whether you desire your full name used . Not every question will be answered , we do n’t reply to email , and we can not allow for direct troubleshooting advice .