How to fix iPhoto's "unreadable file" problem?

Joined
Mar 11, 2015
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Points
1
The iPhoto on my Macbook Pro has been giving me a popup saying:

Unreadable Files: 2
The following file could not be imported. The file is in an unrecognized format
/Users/jc/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Auto Import/49E3D4BE5199078BED9B655F6B4F49C9/ev_20120510_031532a_01a3-1.wmv
/Users/jc/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Auto Import/49E3D4BE5199078BED9B655F6B4F49C9/ev_20120510_031532a_01a3.wmv

Does anyone have any idea how to deal with this? I think it's complaining about some video files that I (accidentally ;-) made on my Canon EOS T21 camera, though those gibberish file names don't look like any file names I can find on the camera. I suppose it's possible that iMovie could handle them, but I don't find any clues explaining how to do that. In any case, is there a way to tell iPhoto to just ignore them? The OK button just closes the popup window, which then pops up again later.

(I just stumbled across mac-forums.com, and made an account, but my first couple of attempts to post seem to have been rejected without any error messages. Let's see if this attempt works ... And why does it complain that my answer to the random question was incorrect, when it didn't even show me any question the last time? ;-)
 
Last edited:

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
A "wmv" file is a "Windows Media File". You would either need to convert them or use the procedure given here in order to view them on your Mac.
 
OP
J
Joined
Mar 11, 2015
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Points
1
A "wmv" file is a "Windows Media File". You would either need to convert them or use the procedure given here in order to view them on your Mac.

I have two of the apps mentioned there, Flip4Mac and VLC, and that doesn't solve the problem. Note that I didn't ask how to view the files on another app. I asked how to get iPhoto to stop producing a popup every few minutes complaining about them. Having Flip4Mac and VLC installed doesn't stop iPhoto's complaints, which interfere with using iPhoto.
 

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
The way to fix the unreadable file pop up problem is to delete those two Windows Media Files that you accidentally made with your camera. I'm not sure where they would be located on your Mac. They may be hanging up in your last import, so check there first. If you can't find them, use your Spotlight search.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top