Can't open IPhoto after importing one photo

Question

I get this message: You have made changes to your photo library using a newer version of iPhoto. Please quit and use the latest version of iPhoto.
This is after I uploaded one photo which a friend had sent me over the internet. I tried rebuilding my library. That did nothing. If I delete the picture will it fix it?
This is really annoying. I've uploaded other peoples photos before and this has never happened.
Any help appreciated

Answer 1

Unfortunately, most of the suggestions you've seen apply to newer versions of iPhoto (iPhoto 4 has "smart" albums, but I don't think it has "events"), and won't be especially meaningful with the earlier versions that are the subject of this particular forum.
There are two possible causes for the symptoms you've described... One possibility is that you've got a newer iPhoto version library folder somewhere on your computer (usually it's a mounted iPhoto CD that someone sent you, created with a newer version of iPhoto -- to fix, just eject the CD before running iPhoto). It's unlikely that downloading a photo is responsible.
The second (and most likely culprit) is a corrupted photo database (as TD has suggested). Normally, iPhoto is perfectly capable of rebuilding the database without the need for any 3rd-party software (which uses the same rebuild process, anyway). Sometimes the corruption is in that XML file that TD referred to, and when that happens, the rebuilt database will still be unusable.
Assuming you still have the original iPhoto Library folder that you started with (it's in your Pictures folder and is named "iPhoto Library"). Open your Pictures folder in a Finder window and discard any iPhoto Library folders that end in a number (those are the unsuccessful rebuild attempts) -- leave the rest of your Pictures folder alone. Now, before you empty the trash to recover that disk space, move your original iPhoto Library folder temporarily to the desktop.
Now start iPhoto. You should see a dialog offering to either locate an existing photo library, or create a new one -- you want to create a new one. When iPhoto shows you an empty photo collection, quit iPhoto. Then, in a Finder window, drag your original iPhoto Library folder from your desktop, and drop it inside the newly created iPhoto Library folder in your Pictures folder -- you're not replacing the new folder, rather, you're making a deposit (if you're prompted to replace, you've missed the drop -- try again). You can also drag that downloaded photo to the iPhoto Library folder, too -- but only this one time.
Finally, start iPhoto while holding the shift+option keys. Don't release them until you're prompted to confirm the intent to rebuild. Click "Yes", then click "Save".
Once you've confirmed that iPhoto is working normally and all your photos have been restored (you'll probably have to recreate any keywords, album associations, etc.), you can drag your original iPhoto Library folder from Pictures to the trash (keeping the numbered iPhoto Library folder this time).
Message was edited by: Brie Fly