Import from Aperture stalls at 5%

[MaxwellTSmart]

     i am trying to migrate a library of about 30,000 images from Aperture to Lightroom Classic CC 7.01, using the plug-in. I use a referenced library on an external HD. Using a 2016 MacBook Pro, running High Sierra 10.13.

After about 5% it stalls. In the log the error message says "Possible reasons asset offline or unsupported file type."

I have checked and double checked --  thee are no images offline in aperture and virtually all are jpegs. RAW and tiff's. the stalls that are recorded are all jpegs.

After the first fail, I went back and did a check on my library for offline, missing and missing referenced files. Everything looks ok.

Twice I have deleted the Lightroom files in Pictures and started over Same result.

What can I try?!

Thanks very much.

[Mohit Goyal · Accepted solution]

Hi MaxwellTSmart,

Please install Lightroom CC 2015 on your machine and import the Aperture library into new Lightroom catalog. Once the Aperture library is imported then you can merge the new catalog with the existing one in Lightroom Classic CC.

Also, move the Aperture library to the desktop location on your machine before you start the import.

Regards,

Mohit

[MaxwellTSmart]

Thank you, Mohit.

I had finally tried that approach, to go back to Lightroom CC 2015. That did work. I had trashed the Lightroom Classic CC library and uninstalled that app. Then started the importing all over again. Success!

After getting my CC 2015 library in order, I will then upgrade back to Classic CC.

Larry

[Alex Eckermann]

Hi Mohit. I'm having the same problem on Lightroom Classic CC 2018. But I think I know what the problem is.

At the time of the hang the Lightroom application was using exactly 4,096 threads (memory and other system resources were not saturated). Simply put, the plugin or Lightroom is exhausting the amount of threads the system will provide it, a single process. My suspicion is that post-ingress tasks (previews or file scanning) are spawning new threads and a) not releasing them, or b) not completing in a reasonable due to high load and compounding as the import creates yet more threads.

I hope that helps rectify this issue. I have a lot of Aperture libraries to import and this is now a complete blocker to that.

Edit: I am now using Lightroom CC (2015) and its no longer compounding threads and its importing faster! Looks like this will work, will update in an hour or so's time. So a tip for anyone still having issues, use the old Lightroom CC (2015) not 'Classic' — thats one confusing naming convention.

[skivvie]

YES!!! This solved my issues with the latest Classic import stalling... wasted an entire day on this until I found this thread... then had to find a current download since you can no longer go back to CC in the Creative Cloud app. 

https://prodesigntools.com/adobe-lightroom-6-cc-direct-download-links.html was where I found the direct link: https://prodesigntools.com/prdl-download/Lightroom/60BA1251F1BC48B8B82B1B63AE8E620E/1552642986882/Li.... 

If this is a known problem why not fix the plug-in?? 

[MontanaKarl]

Thanks for this reply / workaround, Mohit.   Downloading Lightroom 2015 CC allowed me to import my full Aperture library (19,000 images) - which had stalled at 5% or 1002 images with Lightroom Classic.    Was no need to move my Aperture library to the desktop.

This same issue has come up in two other threads - you might want to post your workaround there.  And, it might be helpful to all of us to know why Adobe is delivering the Aperture Import plug-in with Lightroom Classic when it only seems to work with Lightroom 2015 CC.  Is there any plan on fixing whatever bug is keeping it from operating?

Here are the two other threads reporting import plug-in failure with Lightroom Classic:

Aperture Import stops at 1004 files

Why does the Aperture Importer Stall?

[capella161]

I've recently purchased a new MPB and figured that now was the time to finally import my Aperture Library into LR.  I've been trying for 2 days now; my third attempt just stalled at 18% (I have about 11K images). 

Just wanted to voice the same frustration as MontanaKarl about the the Import plug-in LR Classic.  Thankfully I still have LR 2015 on my 2009 MBP, so going back to it to try this work around.  There were many reasons why I've put off doing this task for over 2 years.  This wasn't one of the reasons.

Cheers all.

[MontanaKarl]

Thanks for joining this thread, capella161.   I imagine we had similar reasons - and suspect that lots of other Aperture users have also put off converting to Lightroom, so hope for their sake that Adobe fixes the Aperture Import Plugin in LR Classic.

You needn't go back to yoru 2009 MBP to do the LR 2015 conversion.  Anyone on CC can download/install previous versions as part of the subscription.  From what I can tell, there is no issue with having both versions installed on the same machine, although I'll delete LR 2015 to save space/confusion.

In the Adobe CC app, rather than click Open for LR Classic, click the down arrow to the right and you'll see 'Old Versions" which will take you to where you can download/install LR 2015 onto your new MBP.  Screenshot attached.

Cheers,

Karl

[capella161]

Thanks for pointing that out MontanaKarl​

I've come to realize that part of my issue is that I have 2 old iPhoto libraries, plus the Aperture library, plus 30 years of scanned photos.  I've changed file names at times over the years, so finding duplicates is a bit of a headache.  I've previously imported many 5* photos into LR...  All that to say that my originals are a bit of a mess even though my Aperture Library is in good shape.

I think I'm going to take a cue from john beardsworth​ and manually migrate the original files into a new LR catalogue.

Perfect rainy weekend project!

[MontanaKarl]

You bet, capella161.   If you do the manual export, do consider at least going to the Photos group at the top left in Aperture, with no filters so that all pics are listed in the total at the bottom of the screen, Select All / cmd-A and then use the Metadata > Write IPTC Metadata to Original...   to push any keyword/etc added to versions back to the original images / sidecars.

If you want the adjusted versions that you created in Aperture, then you need to export all versions.   While some online tips suggest using 16 bit TIFF in ProPhoto color space in order to best support subsequent editing in Lightroom...  and that might make sense for any 5 star super special photos ... I have a hard time distinguishing the results from a full size high quality JPEG export which is of course way smaller.

Since exporting originals and exporting versions from Aperture are two separate steps, be sure to create / use the exact same folder structure for the export so that your versions will sit next to your originals and can then stack in lightroom.

Use smart folders in Aperture to filter any images that you want to export in special ways.

Good luck / cheers,

Karl

[john beardsworth]

Remember that Apple didn't help Adobe develop this import plugin. Adobe have had to try to figure out the internal structure of Aperture.

If going back to an older version of LR doesn't work, you can still migrate manually, the old method described here.