Photos coming in blank in my PhotosLibrary

Victoria Herring wrote: … No I am not using PHotosLibrary as a system library = no iCloud access at all = I have one system library and plenty of iCloud space but these are separate non-cloud PLs

The Photos Library you're having problems with is not the System Library, but another is-- is that right?

Studio has 584G free - all the conversion is being done on the 2 externals - one has 5TB and the other has 11TB free

Those are big drives! Are they SSD or HDD? Spinning drives can be very slow…

nothing being done on iPhone

Oops-- must have snuck in there. I meant Mac, but you've answered.

just tried edit --" Photos cannot edit this image because it uses an unsupported format."

but the titles of all are JPG or jpg

OK-- just because it says jpg doesn't mean it is. Can you do File>Export>Export Unmodified Original? If so, see if the original file is readable. You can try using Preview. You can also try importing this file directly into Photos to see if it works when imported normally.

I'm not familiar with Avalanche-- I see it has only 5 ratings in App Store, so I'm not the only one.

PowerPhotos is kind of the standard. But is that what's producing the problems? FatCat Software who makes PowerPhotos is very responsive!

Can you give us some more information?

• What macOS are you using?
• Are you using any "Cleaner" apps or VPN or other 3rd party apps that have system wide access?
• Where does your Mac's Photos Library reside-- in the Pictures folder of your internal drive, or on an external drive? or on a network? on iCloud drive?
• If you're using an external drive, how is it formatted?
• Are you using iCloud Photos to synchronize your devices? If so
• …Do you have “Optimize Storage” checked in Photos’ Settings
• …Do you see all your iPhone pictures at iCloud.com?
• …Do you have more than 10% free storage on your iCloud account?
• What is your storage on this Mac? At Settings>General>Storage, my Mac says 1.45 TB of 2 TBB used. What does yours say? Do you have more than 10% free storage on your iPhone?
• Can you preview these blank pictures by pressing the space bar?
• Can you go into Edit Mode for these pictures?

Let us know details…

Victoria Herring wrote:

Thank you - I'm using Sequoia 15.6.1- haven't yet upgraded

I do have a VPN but it's not running. If by 'cleaner' apps I do have Aura & Avast but may have turned them off, and can certainly do so.

Those apps, even if they are not running, have components that are active in the background. They do not get deleted when you drag the app to the Trash bin and empty.

You can use the free app AppCleaner to remove the app and supporting files. BUT you should read the warning below if you have multiple apps from the same developer. I've tested it and it's safe for single apps from a developer.

WARNING: If you use AppCleaner on an app that you have other apps from the same developer, like Adobe, you must be extremely careful checking all checkboxes and deleting.  Some for those files may support other apps from the same developer and deleting them can mess them up.  Adobe apps is a primary example. I know from experience.  For singular apps from a developer it's safe.

Unless you're using a true VPN tunnel, such as between you and your employer's, school's or bank's servers, they provide false security from a privacy standpoint.  Read these two articles: Public VPN's are anything but private and Security Risks: The Dangers of Using Free VPNs (eccu.edu).  

Additionally, a new study ("Apple Offers Apps With Ties to Chinese Military”) is specifically about VPN apps in Apple’s App Store.

To reinforce Richard's recommendation there is no reason to ever install or run any 3rd party "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus, VPN or security apps on your Mac.  This documents describe what you need to know and do in order to protect your Mac: Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community and Recognize and avoid phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support.  

Unless you're using a true VPN tunnel, such as between you and your employer's, school's or bank's servers, they provide false security from a privacy standpoint.  Read these two articles: Public VPN's are anything but private and Security Risks: The Dangers of Using Free VPNs (eccu.edu).  

Additionally, a new study ("Apple Offers Apps With Ties to Chinese Military”) is specifically about VPN apps in Apple’s App Store.