Are deleted photos really gone?

i just started using iphoto. in the past i organized everything myself and used preview.
now that im using iphoto, its a lot easier to go through and delete old/ bad pictures, HOWEVER, after deleting a whole bunch of them, i went into the iphoto originals folder, and there there were, still on my computer.
i do not want to delete everything twice.
when i delete a picture off the iphoto interface, how do i know or how can i guarantee that the photo is really gone? yes i deleted it from the library and not just an album, so the pictures should have been gone for good.

waltzngmatlda
Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
To delete the pics, move them to the iPhoto trash and empty it, using the iPhoto -> Empty trash command.
The exception is if you have changed the default setting at iPhoto -> Preferences -> Advanced. 'Copy Files to the iPhoto Library Folder...' If you have changed this setting, then you will have to delete pics by hand.
Regards
TD

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Are deleted photos really deleted or is there some kind of back up file.

i deleted a photo i did not want to delete is there anyway to get it back

If you deleted it from the iPhone, it depends on if you had it copied to your computer. If you didn't, it's gone for good. If it's copied on your computer, all you need to do is sync it back over.

Are my photos completely gone if i went into disk utility and clicked erase, or can i recover them?

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main question is even though i clicked erase HD and my pictures aren't on when i re install the mac DVD can i still recover them somehow??

I'm assuming that you were booted from the Mac install disk or recovery partition when you clicked Erase? (It's impossible to erase a disk you're booted from, at least using Disk Utility).
Do you have a backup of your computer, perhaps using Time Machine?
If not, and you still want to recover your pictures, first, STOP. Do not re-install Mac OS X. Installing the system and applications will overwrite your hard drive and potentially permanently lose your deleted files.
The only way you can retrieve your files is by using data recovery software such as Data Rescue. No, it's not cheap, but you have to decide what your photos are worth to you. You would need to run it from another Mac, ideally, and connect to your Mac using target mode.
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Are my photos REALLY deleted?

I needed to make space on my jam packed hard drive so I backed up my iPhoto Library and started deleted photos that I don't need to carry around on the laptop.
But it seems that some of the images, or alias or some other versions of the photos might be on the computer way down deep where I'm not seeing them. They come up under the ALL Pictures...but they are not in my iPhoto Library.
How can I be sure that once I've deleted the photo from iPhoto that the file is gone completely from my computer? I'm convinced of this because I'm only showing 2 gig's left on my 60 gig hard drive. iPhoto says it has 7 gig of images, iTunes has 20 gigs and I don't have a lot of other files. Granted, applications take a lot of space too, but just in case I want to make sure what I've deleted has been actually removed from the computer.
Anyone have an idea of how to ensure this.
Also, is there a "clean sweep" kind of program for Mac? Is it necessary? My boyfriend has a PC laptop and from time-to-time runs this clean sweep program that deletes the random, unused, and partitioned files.
thanks in advance for the input.

Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
started deleted photos that I don't need to carry around on the laptop.
How did you go about doing this? The correct way is to drag the photos from either the Photos mode or the Events mode into the Trash bin in the left hand pane of iPhoto and then empty that Trash bin vis the iPhoto->Empty Trash menu option.
So unless you emptied the iPhoto trash the files will still be in iPhoto and on the HD.
There are applications that will go thru the HD and remove duplicate files. However, these will completely mess up an iPhoto library since there are at least two files with the same file name for every photo in the library. You don't want to do that.
If you have an external HD you could put your iPhoto on it and run it from there. A smaller library could be kept on the laptop with just the latest or most needed photos in it. If you needed to quickly change which library your were running or wanted to copy photos between libraries iPhoto Library Manager would be just what you would want. It makes changing libraries very easy and will let you copy albums or events between libraries while keeping keyword, titles and comments intact.
There is an application called WhatSize that will show you all of your files on your HD and sort by size you you know which are taking up the most space. That will let you determine which to delete if they are not needed. You can find it a VersionTracker.com.
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier) database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger or later), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 6 and 7 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. Just put the application in the Dock and click on it whenever you want to backup the dB file. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.
Note: There's now an Automator backup application for iPhoto 5 that will work with Tiger or Leopard.

Are my pictures really gone?

I was working in iPhoto editing pictures when my daughter came into the room and said I could do better with the editing software from my Olympus Camedia. We installed that software and she moved my pictures to albums in it. I did not know she linked it to iPhoto. I did not like the new editing so I threw the pictures in there away. When I went back to iPhoto I discovered that I can no longer open these files even though the tumbs are still there. The title, date, time, format, and size are all still displayed under info for these pics, but they just won't open. I have used FileSalvage and gotten some of them back from my hard drive and my camera, but I still have a few I can't open. Are these pictures really lost or is there a way I can search for them somewhere on my computer?
Thanks

Dear KK,
Don't panic...you probably can recover your photos.
First, when the photos were moved to the Olympus
software, were they moved from iPhoto or from the
Pictures folder? Were they removed from whichever
folder or copied to the Olympus album?
Look at Lori Diloretto's post regarding tampering
with iPhoto filing system. See if you can recover the
photos with her suggestions:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=3609
69&tstart=100
Also, have a look at this discussion regarding
recovering 'lost photos' :
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=3741
03&tstart=50
If you are not sure what to do after reading these,
or if you try these without success, please post back
Thanks Beverly for trying to help solve this problem. I tired the links you gave me and did as they said. This did not solve my problem, unfortunately.
The new library I created did not even have the thumbs of the missing pictures in it.
After importing into the new library a message came up.
Unreadable File: 128
The following files could not be imported (they may be an unrecognized file type or the files may not contain valid data)
I believe my daughter linked the camedia software to my iPhoto library folder in the finder. I know we did not open iPhoto and drag individual pictures to the camedia software. I have sent her an email and asked what exactly we did when creating the camedia library.
I'm very perplexed and am now fearing the worst, my pictures may be gone except for the thumbs in the library. I put the old library (with the Thumbs) back into my finder and trashed the new library.
Thanks again for the tips.
If anyone else has any suggestions I'm definitely open to them.
Thanks,
Kaye Kalman

Help! Are my pics really gone?

I use IPHOTO for all my pictures. I recently started backing them up onto an external hard drive. I still have 6800 pics on my IPHOTO program. I added 430 through my Nikon camera (as usual). The box came up that asked if I really wanted to delete the originials from the camera. I choose yes. All the pics loaded but at the end of the loading, the little color circle thing got stuck and the program stopped responding. I had to reboot my computer and.... the new 430 pictures are not in the library and NOT on my camera. Does anyone have suggestions as to where these pics could be??
Thanks!

Lindsey
Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
Go to your Pictures Folder and find the iPhoto Library there. Right (or Control -) Click on it and choose 'Show Package Contents'. A Finder window will pop open showing you the inside of the Library. Look (but don't move or change anything) and see if you can find the new pics. Using List View and sorting on Date will help.
If you find them there, post back with where in the Library Folder they are and we can try get things back to normal.
If they are not there, then an app like DATARESCUE will help recover them from your Camera Card.
Regards
TD

Files are deleted, not really

I listen to files especially podcasts, when I am done I delete the file. ITunes asks do I want to delete to the recycle bin I say yes and the file is gone from Itunes.
Yet I ck the folder in Itunes directory and the file is still there.
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I go in and delete them to save space but this is annoying and a time waster.
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so the exact story is this...
been having trouble keeping my itunes talking to my external drive where I want to keep all my media. What happens is that all tell it to look there, but once the computers restarted, it automatically then goes back to looking at the internal HD. so then I have to tell it to look at the external drive. This is an issue becasue every time this happens, it goes back through and updates, library, consolodates, etc...
so I got rid of what I had on the external drive and then followed the instructions EXACTLY that where on
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/moving-your-itunes-library-to -a-new-hard-drive
and ever since then everything that's post 3/18/2009 is still showing up in itunes, but itunes can't find the file to play.
Recycle bin is empty. But I've heard there's a way to undelete stuff (some kind of recovery). You also mentioned that there's a way to get the info back that's on the ipod... Well, alot of it IS on my ipod right now. How can I transfer info from ipod back onto the computer? just a simple sync?

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I would like to know that my deleted Notes, photos, messages, etc., are really gone when I delete them on my iphone. Where do deleted files go and when do they actually get erased?

I read somewhere that deleted files go into your device's database, and then get replaced by "new content." Does "new content" simply mean more deleted files? So, deleted files are deleted, but really they stay in your device's database and could be recovered by an iOS recovery tool via one's computer, but after more files are deleted, the original deleted files will be erased forever (due to lack of space in your device's database)? This is all assuming I didn't back anything up through itunes or icloud or any other program/app/storage utility.

Same way it works with any computer...when you delete something, the data isn't actually deleted, just the pointers to the data. As you use your device, the data gets overwritten, since the iOS views it as "free" space..
If you want the data truly gone, you need to erase your phone. Same way it works on any computer.

Deleting Photos in iPhoto and Finder

I just bought a MacBook Pro that will arrive Monday and I'm getting everything organized on my iMac so it will be easy to transfer everything, including my photo library. I'm using Adobe Bridge CS3 to look through photos and then using Finder to delete photos, which moved them to the trash on the dock. I have a lot of duplicates (I have a pretty happy shooting finger that has only slightly improved since I got my first dSLR 4 years ago). Today I opened up iPhoto and saw a whole folder/roll that I had previously deleted and trashed. The weird thing was I was able to open the photos in my external editor (Photoshop CS3)....I was expecting some kind of error that said it couldn't find the file, since I had deleted it, but that didn't happen. So, why am I still able to open deleted photos? It's like everything is saved twice, once within iPhoto and once within Finder, but that makes no sense. I've been deleting photos within the iPhoto/Pictures 'Originals' folder of Finder. Isn't that the 'master copy?' How/why are deleted photos still showing up in iPhoto?
At this point, I'm thinking it would be easier to manually move the folders I want to my new MBP, rather than dropping my whole iPhoto library at once. I really don't want to search through the iPhoto rolls and delete duplicates AGAIN. I guess the bigger question I have is, what is the most efficient way to organize photos? I'm not using keywords or anything at this point. A 'Roll' in iPhoto consists of a folder in Finder, and each import is its own roll. I'm debating iPhoto '09/Aperture 3/Lightroom for my new MBP. I guess I'm a little lost, and maybe once I get to use iPhoto '09 for a while, that will help me make a decision. I have somewhere on the order of 12,000 photos if that matters.
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I'm using Adobe Bridge CS3 to look through photos and then using Finder to delete photos, which moved them to the trash on the dock.
If you have done this you have destroyed your iPhoto library and will have to start over - you must NEVER make any changes of any sort to the content or structure of the iPhoto library using the finder or any program other than iPhoto - iPhoto is a relational database and making changes to its files from external sources will corrupt the library and case you to have to start over
It's like everything is saved twice, once within iPhoto and once within Finder,
Not unless you have changed the default setting for the advanced preference to "copy imported items to the iPhoto library" - which is strongly not recommended
Based on what you have done that is your only choice.
A 'Roll' in iPhoto consists of a folder in Finder, and each import is its own roll
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LN

HT204022 once I delete photos from my photo stream even though I used backup before I deleted them, are they gone permanently

how do you retreive photos from icloud backup?

The iCloud backup includes camera roll photos, not photo stream photos. If you want those backed up, save them to your camera roll before backing up (open you My Photo Stream album, tap Select, tap the photos, tap the share icon -- box with upward pointing arrow, then tap Save to Camera Roll).
Once you delete photo stream photos, they are permanently deleted.

Really deleting photos

Okay i have searched for this and i have not had any luck, and seem to be the only one having this problem.
how do i really delet photos from iPhoto? i have selected them, and hit delete, then emptied the trash, and everything seems deleted.
But then i will open another ilife app, iWeb for instance, and hit the media button. All the photos that i have deleted still appear there, and are completly usable.
This leads me to believe that deleting photos from iphoto is not actually getting rid of them. Any ideas on how to completly get rid of these photos from my computer?
thanks

ryan:
Welcome to the Apple Discussions. Have you checked your Originals and Modified folders to see if those files are still there?
If not then try quitting iPhoto and the other iApps and the open iWeb or iDVD and see if they are still there? I just tried to duplicate your problem and was able to partially. After deleting a photo in iPhotos I check my iDVD project (it was open at the time of the deletion) and got a blank white thumbnail with the file name of the photo I deleted. After restarting both applications it was cleared out.
If they are still in one of those folders then make sure they are not visible anywhere in iPhoto (put the file name in the search box at the bottom). They should be gone.
Do you Twango?
You might check in your Originals and Modified folders for the file.

HT201317 The pictures in my photostream folder on my computer are being deleted when the pictures are deleted from photostream on individual devices. The photos on the computer were supposed to be permanent. Can I stop photostream from deleting from my

The original photstream instructions, and the current photostream information page on the apple website, say that photos on your pc or mac computer that have been synced by photostream are permanent but the latest updatge seems to have changed that so when items are deleted from any device they are deleted from all devices, including images that have gotten older and have rolled out of photostream on my iphone. I trusted photostream to save these images on my computer and now they appear to be gone. Can I turn off the option of deleting photostream images from my computer or do I need to copy these images to another folder to save them from being deleted when they are deleted from the device.

MikeMurdock wrote:
ok so i can't figure this out because i keep being told different things by everybody.
so say I take a picture with my phone. that picture is now located in my camera roll and uploads to my iclouds photostream, which I can then view on my computer. now my question is this: is the photos in my stream, on my comp permanent, allowing me to then delete them from my phones camera roll?
No
Photostream keeps them for 30 days.

Are the photos in the file 'iphoto library' duplicates of whats already in the finder? Also what would happen if i were to delete it?

So i found this iphoto library file and its a solid 10gb large, yet i still have all my photos seperate in my finder. I need to free up some space and i was wondering if i could delete this file without losing all my photos.

Really important question:
Are you running a Managed or a Referenced Library?
A Managed Library, is the default setting, and iPhoto copies files into the iPhoto Library when Importing. The files are then stored in the Library package
A Referenced Library is when iPhoto is NOT copying the files into the iPhoto Library when importing because you made a change at iPhoto -> Preferences -> Advanced. (You unchecked the option to copy files into the Library on import) The files are then stored where ever you put them and not in the Library package. In this scenario you are responsible for the File Management.

Are deleted photos really gone?

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