Best way to restore missing photos

My iPhoto library consists of about 8,000 photos in 150 events. I recently discovered that a number of photos are missing (perhaps several hundred). I'm not sure how, why or when they went missing, and they're scattered across various events so the problem isn't tied to any particular event(s). All I know is that they are in fact missing, and currently my library is set to be managed, not referenced. So at least I know that any future additions will be copied into the library. I also just rebuilt the library, so apart from the missing photos, everything appears to be intact.
I did find original copies of some of the missing photos on a DVD, so at least some of the missing photos can be replaced. It seems to me there are two ways to go about locating and replacing the missing photos in my library. First method is to attempt to rebuild the library again, and each time I am warned about a missing photo I can opt to find and replace it. The second method is to manually go through each event, double-click on each picture and if I get the warning, to find and replace the photo.
I can see pros and cons to each method. Bottom line is, I am probably not going to be able to replace all of the missing photos. I can live with that, and rest assured I will be much more diligent about managing my library and backing it up. But if I can't recover the photos, I don't want thumbnails that lead nowhere or other clutter messing up my library. That alone makes me think that the second method is the way to go (I assume that I can delete a thumbnail from iPhoto if the actual photo is missing and iPhoto will perform the necessary cleanup to the library).
Is there another way to go about this that I haven't considered, or any third party tools that may make the job easier? I'm really not looking forward to having to sift through 8,000 photos and double-click each one to see if it's actually there. But I want to nip this problem in the bud before I add any more photos, and before I upgrade to iPhoto '09. So I'll do whatever I have to do.
Thanks!
Message was edited by: plarkin

Neither is the way to go. If you're missing pics then that database is corrupted. Time for a new one.
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.
Then import the missing ones from back up.
Regards
TD

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