Iphoto corrupting photo files

My photos are not corrupted on my compact flash card...the card reader is not corrupting them...but when I import them to iphoto...it corrupts about 20-30 of my photos from the shoot...this doesn't happen when I download them to anyone else's computer, either...I was wondering if anyone knew what I could do to make this problem go away?...

Could you give a little more detail on what you mean by "corrupt". iPhoto won't accept them, they look wrong or what. It would help us to determine what might be going on.
bd

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URGENT - Corrupt photo file

Can anyone help with the following error message :
Unable to Assemble Book
There is a problem with the photo with the file name "DSC_0090.JPG" The full resolution version of this photo either cannot be located or is corrupt. Please replace the photo or delete it from you book.
My problem is that this photo is not even in my book and I have tried to delete it and reload another copy but am still getting this annoying message.

Finally I could order the photo book. I figured out, that you cant't open these "corrupt" files in iPhoto: you get a big "?" on black background when you open these pictures in iPhoto (e.g. Events). But I could open without problems the "corrupt" files in the iPhoto library (in Apple Finder). So what I did is: "repair" these "corrupt" photos by reimporting these files into iPhoto (got doubles) and then deleted the "corrupt" ones from iPhoto. After doing the same within the photo book, everything worked fine.
The question remains: how did I get these "corrupt" photos in iPhoto? The process of rebuilding the iPhoto databases (press alt-cmd at start of iPhoto) somehow did not work.

Frustration - Iphoto corrupting image files during import (?)

To begin with, I'm a recent convert from Windows to the Mac. I'm running a mac mini at home, and a Macbook with Boot Camp at work (in addition to my desktop pc). All of my software is up to date...
I take alot of pictures with my digital camera (canon powershot). Saturday I took about 300 pictures, took the SD card out of the camera, put it into my Sandisk card reader, imported the pictures into iphoto and everything worked great. I chose to not delete the pictures after the import as I wanted to bring the card into work and upload the pictures on my pc.
The next day (Sunday) I took another 70 or so pictures. I was able to view all of the pictures on my camera that I had taken over the past two days.
I go to do an import , taking the exact same procedures that I took on Saturday (and that I always do). The first thing it does is identifies that there are duplicate pictures. I choose the option of "don't import duplicates" and apply this to all of the other duplicate pictures.
At the end of the import, I got an error message saying that some of the files were corrupt. Now, there were pictures from Saturday that were still on there (and readable/viewable). However, every picture that I took on Sunday was "unreadable" and did not show up in iphoto. I put the card back into the camera, and now I can't view the pictures (they show as "corrupted data".
I then pulled the SD card details up in Finder, and the "corrupt" files still show sizes of 2.4mb to 2.8mb, consistant with the good pictures. It shows the file's "Kind" as JPG Image... I double clicked on them and Preview comes up saying something to the extent that the file is corrupt,
I've taken the Sandisk card reader, plugged it into my Macbook (using iphoto in osx) and was able to view one or two of the pictures from Sunday.
Once I got to work this morning, I plugged the sd card into my Windows machine and it too says the files are corrupt. It shows them being on the card, it shows the file sizes, but I can't open the pictures in anything...
If this was a one time deal, I'd be thinking it may be something I've done to cause the problem. However, this is the third instance I've "lost" all of my photos because of them becoming corrupt during an import into iphoto. There definately appears to be a pattern.
I have somewhere around 8,000 pictures inside iphoto that I've taken and had no problems with. I mention this to illustrate that I'm not doing anything differently than I've done before. I have another 14,000 on my old Dell that I need to move over, but I'm questioning if I should do that now.
Does anyone have any ideas on what the problem might be? Is anyone else experiencing (present or past tense) this problem? Where I'm new to the mac, I understand that I might be doing something wrong. However, I've imported photos to the software (what seems like) hundreds of times, the same way each time. This makes me want to rule out user error...
One other question, I'm saving the "corrupt files" with the hope that there's a software program which will "fix" the files. Do you happen to know of such a piece of software? I'm hoping that I can get them fixed at some point.
Where I'm taking pictures of my kids, its extremely frustrating to find out that the pictures (memories) I was hoping to make prints of are now "gone". Its almost like rolling the dice when doing a photo import any more. Most all of the time it takes, but every now and then the pics are lost...
I'm hoping to identify the problem (either user error, procedure or software issue) and fix it as I really like the mac.
Any help/suggestions you might have for me would greatly be appreciated!
Mac Mini Mac OS X (10.4.10) Also running Macbook 10.4.10

The Chainsaw
Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
First: the corrupt files: download Graphic Coverter, a shareware which is often successful where other software isn't. But first, if the Mac will let you, copy the files off the card to the Mac.
I'm in this board a while now, and I can't recall an issue of iPhoto corrupting images on import. After all, it's just a simple file copy, at heart. I would be more inclined to suspect the card. DO you have more than one? Does the problem also occur with the other cards?
Try use Image Capture to download the pics to the Mac first, then import them, see does that help. Image Capture is in your Applications folder.
Regards
TD

Corrupted photo files in received emails

Wonder if anyone is having a similar problem.
My wife and I each have a Gmail account. The setup is that mail goes to an iPhone and a MacBook Air for me and an iPhone, an iPad and a MacBook Pro for my wife.
When we receive some emails with photo attachments (the sender's email account is irrelevant, as it happens across various platforms) and open them in either the iPhone or iPad, the photo file is often corrupted. However, when we open the same email file in either laptop, the photo is fine. In addition, if we go to the email stored in the Gmail server (All Mail), the attachment is not corrupted. I can access the email in the Gmail serve, find the photo file to be OK, forward it and end up with the same result - OK on the laptop, corrupted on the iPhone.
We have talked with the Apple help desk at a couple of stores and they feel that the issue may be caused by different servers being used by Google - i.e., one for mobile devices and one for non-mobile. Neither help desk person had come across this issue.
The thesis put forth after posting this issue in a Gmail forum is that the mobile device client is the problem, since the computer based clients work fine and display the files in the messages correctly.Therefore, the mobile client concerned either isn't downloading properly or it can't display correctly.
Anyone else having this issue?

The guys at the Apple store claim they have never seen the problem

Corrupted photo files in emails in iPhone and iPad

Wonder if anyone is having a similar problem.
My wife and I each have a Gmail account. The setup is that mail goes to an iPhone and a MacBook Air for me and an iPhone, an iPad and a MacBook Pro for my wife.
When we receive some emails with photo attachments (the sender's email account is irrelevant, as it happens across various platforms) and open them in either the iPhone or iPad, the photo file is often corrupted. However, when we open the same email file in either laptop, the photo is fine. In addition, if we go to the email stored in the Gmail server (All Mail), the attachment is not corrupted. I can access the email in the Gmail serve, find the photo file to be OK, forward it and end up with the same result - OK on the laptop, corrupted on the iPhone.
We have talked with the Apple help desk at a couple of stores and they feel that the issue may be caused by different servers being used by Google - i.e., one for mobile devices and one for non-mobile. Neither help desk person had come across this issue.
The thesis put forth after posting this issue in a Gmail forum is that the mobile device client is the problem, since the computer based clients work fine and display the files in the messages correctly.Therefore, the mobile client concerned either isn't downloading properly or it can't display correctly.
Anyone else having this issue?

iPhone. Sorry.

Iphoto corrupting photos from iPhone?

Some others have mentioned similar problems: anyone find a good solution?
Running iphoto 08, when uploading photos from iphone 4s about 1 in 4 get corrupted: lines or washed out colors and many videos fail to import.
It seems hit or miss: does not always happen.
Is Apple aware of this?
Getting sort of old.
What is a better program than iphoto?

As a Test:
Hold down the option (or alt) key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Create Library'
Import a few pics into this new, blank library. Is the Problem repeated there?
Post back with the result.

Deleting photos in iPhoto leaves photo file on disk

I've imported photos from my camera's SD card by dragging and dropping the image files into an album in iPhoto on my MacBook. I've browsed through the photos and deleted the one's I don't want but have found that the file still exists on the hard drive in a directory in My Pictures. The option (in iPhoto settings/preferences) to copy the image file when importing into iPhoto is not checked.
I would reasonably expect that when I delete a photo from within iPhoto that the image file on disk would also be deleted? Every other photo browser/organiser application I've used before does just that or at least prompts you to confirm whether you also want to delete the file from disk.
I'm sure I must be missing something - surely iPhoto can't be that dumb an application?

The option (in iPhoto settings/preferences) to copy the image file when importing into iPhoto is not checked.
When you made that choice you opted to take responsibility for file management. In effect, you said to to iPhoto that you will decide what files are placed where and when they will be placed there. You also take responsibility for what files will be removed from there and when that will happen. iPhoto will never touch files that it does not manage. So nothing dumb, just iPhoto responding to your choices.
It's one of the many reasons that running the Library in this mode is a bit pointless. You make more work for yourself with exactly zero benefit.
For more on iPhoto and file management see this User Tip:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6361

I have a corrupt Photo file, that makes Aperture stop working properly.

I recently imported some of my old photos from a CD to the Aperture Library. Every time I open that project or try to work with any of those photos Aperture will stop working. (in a very aggressive way)
The viewer wont update.!
It wont make any change or save anything.!
I have to quit and restart Aperture to have it working again, I don't know what is wrong.
Any Idea?
Maybe new aperture .5 will fix this??
TKS
G5 quad Mac OS X (10.4.7) big ram

Another option would be to quit Aperture, remove the project from the Library using the Finder, reopen Aperture (the troublesome project will now be greyed out), throw the troublesome project out, and finally reimport the images back into Aperture. The only problem is you now have to re-do any adjustments etc. for that project. If he project has other images you do not want to re-do you could try just removing the problem import group, go back into aperture and then throw those images out, quit (you may have to force quit) Aperture and then restart Aperture. I did the above on a test Aperture library, but as usual you have to be carefull. Do not do any of this without first duplicating the troublesome library.

Corruption of Photo files

I have recently updated my iphoto6 and imported a few pictures from my Canon Rebel X.
After doing so i discovered that iPhoto would open, but then freeze and not respond. Reading a variety of forums it would appear that this is because i have corrupt photo files.
The problem is that not only are a few of the most recently imported files been corrupted, but also a number of ones from previous rolls i had imported. These files do not open in either iphoto or Preview. When i attempt to do so from the Finder folder i get the an error message stating "Couldn’t open the file. It may be corrupt or a file format that Preview doesn’t recognize."
I unfortunately didn't back up these photos. Is there any way i can recover these corrupt files?
All my photos have also disappeared from my iphoto library but i am not worried about that as i can just rebuild the library.

did you ever figure out how to do this because i'm having the same problem.

Compare quality and features between aperture3 and iPhoto 11 photo books

Are photo books created in either aperture3 or iPhoto 11 the same or does one software program produce a better end result?

I only discovered my problem AFTER I had uploaded my book for printing. i went back and tried to create a PDF to save and discovered my problem. It had looked fine on the screen and I never received any sort of error message during the upload. I contacted Apple and they looked at what had been uploaded and saw that it was corrupted like my PDF so they canceled the order. I then went thru the process of rebooting in safe mode and tried a preview before uploading the second time. I called Apple again and they said the uploaded file appeared to be fine this time -- I have not received the book yet, but I am hoping it looks alright after printing. I experimented last night with making a duplicate of the original book project, then changed the template on the duplicate to Large instead of XL (everything else was the same as far as template style and color), then I ran a preview of that duplicate -- there were no corrupted files in the preview. It appears to me that the problem is not with corrupted photo files in my library but has to do with the size selection -- no XL books. When converting from Large to XL, the photos and their pkacement were exactly as the original but the size and location of all the Text alterations I had made to the original had been changed in the duplicate and would require editing again. This was the only difference in the two. Until Apple resolves this issue with another update, I suggest you either create only Large books and avoid XL -OR- boot in "safe mode" to send the XL book to print. I hope Apple corrects this issue soon because the XL books really are beautiful and it seems ridiculous to have to reboot everytime you want to purchase a book. Hope this helps.

How do I recover the original jpg photo files from my computer? They are embedded in the iPhoto Library and I cannot see the actual file.

I am trying to locate the original jpg or photo files that I uploaded from my camera. I know that the photos are there, because they show up in my iPhoto Library. Where can I go to find the original file ex: DSCN1242.jpg or OLM4564.jpg ?

Select the photo in iPhoto and use the command "File > Export" and set the "Kind" in the Export panel to "Original". That will write a copy of the original to a folder you can access in the Finder.
The command "File > Reveal in Finder" will show you the original inside the iPhoto Library, but you must not access the files this way. If you access them from other apps using the Finder, you will corrupt your library.
See Terence Devlin's user Tips:
iPhoto and File Management
How to Access Files in iPhoto
To what purpose do you need to find the files? Is there a problem and iPhoto giving an error message about missing originals?

IPhoto '08- can't see photo files for back up

I had upgraded to iLife '08. I usually back up current photo files to an external drive by going in iPhoto folder in users, select the new photos by folder and drag into my back up drive. Now I click on the iPhoto '08 icon and it acts like an application and opens iPhoto. Are the files now invisible? I don't think I like that! Am I to forced to export for back up?

There are three ways (at least) to get files from the iPhoto Window.
1. Drag and Drop: Drag a photo from the iPhoto Window to the desktop, there iPhoto will make a full-sized copy of the pic.
2. File -> Export: Select the files in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export. The dialogue will give you various options, including altering the format, naming the files and changing the size. Again, producing a copy.
3. Show File: Right- (or Control-) Click on a pic and in the resulting dialogue choose 'Show File'. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected.
To upload to MySpace or any site that does not have an iPhoto Export Plug-in the recommended way is to Select the Pic in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export and export the pic to the desktop, then upload from there. After the upload you can trash the pic on the desktop. It's only a copy and your original is safe in iPhoto.
This is also true for emailing with Web-based services. If you're using Gmail you can use THIS
If you use Apple's Mail, Entourage, AOL or Eudora you can email from within iPhoto.
The change was made to the format of the iPhoto library because many users were inadvertently corrupting their library by browsing through it with other software or making changes in it themselves. If you're willing to risk database corruption, you can restore the older functionality simply by right clicking on the iPhoto Library and choosing 'Show Package Contents'. Then simply make an alias to the folders you require and put that alias on the desktop or where ever you want it. Be aware though, that this is a hack and not supported by Apple.
Perhaps your best bet, though, is to use a Back Up utility such as DejaVu or Chronosync which can do incremental back ups and can parse the iPhoto Package File.
Regards
TD

ScanCafe jpeg photo file unrecognized format in iPhoto, not Preview

I just received 3 DVDs of 1700 image files from ScanCafe. Unfortunately, almost every photo file, in JPEG format, fails to import (about 30 of 630 on the first DVD). Of 25 folders of photos on the first DVD, 2 folders did transfer. I get a pop up after the files(s) try to import saying "the following files could not be imported. The file is in an unrecognized format." It then lists the files if I tried to import a folder or a selection of several within a folder, or the single file if I tried doing one at a time.
The files have long names such as: 00050_p_r13afjqhgrj0119.jpg. This one didn't import. This one did though: bn_r13afjqhgrj1653.jpg
Importantly, all photos will open if double clicked in Preview.
I've tried dragging single photos or folders into iPhoto. I've tried using the import to Library command, selecting both single photos or folders.
Within a folder that didn't tranfer, I found one or two photos that would transfer.
I tried using a different DVD from Scan Cafe from this order on a different Mac with the same software versions (10.9.2, iPhoto 9.5.1), and got the same error.
I tried downloading the photo files directly from ScanCafe, and I get the same unrecognized format error. These photo files also will open in Preview.
I researched this on the internet and found nothing, then talked to ScanCafe and they didn't know what to do besides send another set of disks (at that point I had not tried downloading the photos directly from them, and this obviously won't fix the problem).
So, the files must not be totally corrupt as Preview opens all of the photos.
Thanks for your consideration and recommendations.
Justin

Try the following on one or two image files:
1 - download and unzip Convert to JPG and Embed sRGB.zip
2 - drag the selected image files onto the app.
3 - try to import the converted files into iPhoto.
OT

IPhoto 6 corrupted photos

Here I am back 2 yrs later with the same problem that has never been solved and is only worse now. i photo continues to corrupt photos and they become only available as little thumbnails. Trying to rebuild is impossible because of individual Alert msg. that orig item cannot be found. This becomes daunting because there are probably 1200 to 1500 lost. Trying to create and populate a new library takes immense patience too because there are over 500 rolls some with only one photo in them. 2/3's of original photos are on DVD but many aren't. I use Super Duper to an external hard drive and have found out that the backup has just replicated the latest corruption every time I backup "newer files". I should mention that if I ever search via spotlight or search window in iphoto6 for a photo that has been corrupted that once it starts it makes me go through individually searching for every photo and won't let me out until I finally have to shut down the hard drive. TD was helping me b4. Anybody have any new ideas? Thanks

I'm sorry but you're not explaining how iPhoto is corrupting photos. What you're describing is how the database file is damaged and it's too long to fix?
The solution to the problem is one of the problem regardless of the time it takes:
Try these in order - from best option on down...
1. Do you have an up-to-date back up? If so, try copy the library6.iphoto file from the back up to the iPhoto Library allowing it to overwrite the damaged file.
2. Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. This will create a new library based on data in the albumdata.xml file. Not everything will be brought over - no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your albums and keywords back.
Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one.
3. If neither of these work then you'll need to create and populate a new library.
To create and populate a new *iPhoto 6* library:
Note this will give you a working library with the same Rolls and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, modified versions, books, calendars etc.
Move the iPhoto Library to the desktop
Launch iPhoto. It will ask if you wish to create a new Library. Say Yes.
Go into the iPhoto Library on your desktop and find the Originals folder. From the Originals folder drag the individual Roll Folders to the iPhoto Window and it will recreate them in the new library.
When you're sure all is well you can delete the iPhoto Library on your desktop.
In the future, in addition to your usual back up routine, you might like to make a copy of the library6.iPhoto file whenever you have made changes to the library as protection against database corruption.
Regards
TD

I can't access my iPhoto or Photos libraries with Elements 11. Elements say it can't open those files?

I am using Elements 11 on a Mac. I cannot access any of the pictures in my iPhoto or Photo libraries. Elements says it cannot open those files. There must be a way, but I can't find it. I'd appreciate a solution. Thanks.
Friarahs

No, you should never poke around in the iphoto library from outside iphoto. That's the fast track to corrupting it and losing all your pics. If you want to use iphoto with PSE you can either set PSE as your external editor and send the photos from iphoto or do it the way you have to do it with Photos (no choice with Photos):
How to use an external editor with Photos for OS X | iMore

Iphoto corrupting photo files

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