Can't open iPhoto library after hard drive crash

My daughter's MacBook hard drive crashed rather catastrophically. I managed to clone the damaged drive to an external drive before it died completely. On the clone, her iPhoto library appears intact, but when I double click on it, and click the options to update the photos and thumbnails for the current version of iPhoto (I think she was using '08, and I'm on '09) I'm left with an empty iPhoto. When I open the package contents of the iPhoto Library, I can see the original files, but can't get them to open, even in Photoshop.
Any ideas out there? I have an older version of her Library on backup, but it's the more recent photos she's desperate to get back.

The 'Originals' are all around 3 - 3.6 megs each.
Well that sounds like at least there is data there. Try download a trial of Graphic Coverter . I've seen that open some hopeless cases.
Regards
TD

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Restoring iPhoto library after hard-drive crash

I lost my entire hard drive on my iMac and had to physically replace it. I recovered all my files from Carbonite, but didn't notice until it was too late that there were errors restoring my iPhoto library. When I open iPhoto '11, the iPhoto library doesn't show any of the 43,000 photos (that includes thumbnails, "faces" files, etc. that were on my old library).
If I search my "Macintosh HD" drive for all ".jpg" files, I can see them all. They are all in a file path that is "Pictures/iPhotoLibrary/Masters."
But when I open iPhoto and select "import to library" and then search for the photos or the Masters folder, it doesn't see it. When I try to do a work-around by selecting the files individually and telling the computer to use iPhoto to open them, it says that I can't open the files because they're already part of the library.
I can't seem to find a solution to this exact question. Any ideas out there?

You can try 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.
But if this fails you'll need to accept that your back up is faulty and you'll need to make a new Library and start over from scratch.
Regards
TD

Reestablishing iPhoto Library after Hard-drive crash

After replacing the HD on this 1 yr old machine, restoring photos from iDisk and an external back-up drive I was able only to view my photos as thumbnails. Clicking on these or otherwise trying to access the "original" image resulted in the lovely gray box. I've tried rebuilding the data (OPTION+COMMAND), and am now not even able to view the thumbnails. Before I toss all, reinstall iPhoto and try this again does anyone have a better solution??
Thanks.
v

vonilee
Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
It's unlikely that re-installing the app will help here, the problem is with the library. Before you restored, you had to back up? What did you back up and how did you do it?
If you backed up the iPhoto Library Folder as a single unit, simply put it in the Pictures Folder and all should be well.
If not, or if you've moved any parts of the iPhoto Library Folder around, what you need to find is your Originals folder. Inside this are your roll folders with your original pics. If you have these you can rebuild your library.
So what did you back up?
Regards
TD

Can't open iPhoto library after upgrade

I upgraded iphoto after install OSX Mavericks recently but I can't open iphoto library with the newer version.
(It says "Your photo library will not be readable by previous versions of iPhoto after the upgrade. The upgrade process for very large libraries may take an hour or more to complete.") So I want to know if I select to upgrade, my photos will be lost or not. Do I need to back up before?

Of course you need to back up first. You should always have a back up before you upgrade or update anything.
Most Simple Back Up:
Drag the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to another Disk. This will make a copy on that disk.
Slightly more complex: Use an app that will do incremental back ups. This is a very good way to work. The first time you run the back up the app will make a complete copy of the Library. Thereafter it will update the back up with the changes you have made. That makes subsequent back ups much faster. Many of these apps also have scheduling capabilities: So set it up and it will do the back up automatically.
Example of such apps: Chronosync - but there are many others. Search on MacUpdate or the App Store
Then click upgrade.

Restore saved iPhoto library after hard drive repair

My hard drive crashed and Apple were kind enough to repair it although it happened 1 week after the extended warranty expired. I was able to save the hard drive files to an external drive just before it died, but now when I try and import the iPhoto library back into the newly repaired computer one of 2 things happen: The photos begin to transfer and then the application (iPhoto) unexpectedly quits, or, the blue bar at the bottom says Working and nothing happens for as long as 10 minutes.
I would really appreciate some help as I no longer have covered support. One of the photo text files may be corrupted. How do I identify the problem file?
Thanks very much,
Colin Sieff

That's because importing from another iPhoto Library folder isn't the way to restore an iPhoto Library. I'm surprised you were able to do it without a bunch of warning dialogs.
If you still have the original iPhoto Library folder intact, the thing to do is restore it as I've described earlier. If you have sufficient disk space, quit iPhoto and drag the existing iPhoto Library folder from Pictures to the desktop. Then drag your backup iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, and the only thing left to do is to start iPhoto. If all's well, move the desktop copy of the iPhoto Library folder to the trash, then empty the trash.

Recovering backed up iPhoto contents after hard drive crash

Our hard drive crashed two weeks ago, but we had used apple's Backup program, to back up everything on our external hard drive. Now we have the new hard drive installed, and I tried to recover our iPhoto library. When I opened up iPhoto for the first time, it said that I needed to upgrade, so I did. Now, I can see all of my original albums listed, but when all that appears in the right window is a square with a dotted line along it. When I double click that frame, I get a black box with an exclamation point in in.
In trying to restore things, I dragged the folders from my house icon on the external hard drive, into the new house icon. For example, I dragged our Pictures file into the new house icon, and apparently replaced the one that was there.
Please help. It will be tragic if we can't recover our photos.

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.
Regards
TD

Rebuilding library after hard drive crash AND sound quality of iPod files?

Hi all,
I had a hard drive crash and hadn't done a back-up in awhile. My iPod was up-to-date though. I used third-party software to grab the music off the iPod. So now I a good portion of my library back up to another hard drive AND the entire library pulled off my iPod. Should I just direct iTunes to the files I pulled off the iPod or direct it to the backup and add the missing files from my iPod files? Clear as mud?
Also what will be the sound quality of the files I pulled from the iPod?

If you copied the files from the iPod to a folder on your computer then open iTunes and go to File>Add Folder to library and add the songs back into iTunes (or simply drag the folder from it's location to the iTunes Source pane, - the long pane on the left. They should sound fine since they are simply copies of the originals. Before you add them check your iTunes preferences, go to Edit>Preferences>Advanced and make sure the boc "Copt files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library" is checked.

Replacing library after hard drive crash

My hard drive crashed and I had no back up. I'm trying to create a new library on my iPod. I can download songs into a new library in iTunes but it won't let met download it to my iPod. The old library remains on my iPod and can only be played on the iPod not in iTunes (the library is grayed out in iTunes). How do I delete the old library off the iPod and then download the new library onto the iPod without losing everything?

WHen you connect the ipod are you getting any messages? Usually in these cases you get a message and need to hit NO because if you hit YES it wipes the ipod clean.
Or are you connecting the ipod while holding shift and ctrl keys?

Any way to get music from ipod back into library after hard drive crash?

I just survived and am recovering from a hard drive crash. For some reason, on my backup, I only retained about 500 of my 2500 songs in my library. All of my music is intact on the ipod however. Is there any way at all to resolve this issue and get the music from the ipod into the libary, or in the alternative, any way to back up the stuff on the ipod? Thanks.

Connect your iPod to your computer. If it is set to update automatically you'll get a message that it is linked to a different library and asking if you want to link to this one and replace all your songs etc, press "Cancel". Pressing "Erase and Sync" will irretrievably remove all the songs from your iPod. When your iPod appears in the iTunes source list change the update setting to manual, that will let you use our iPod without the risk of accidentally erasing it. Check the "manually manage music and videos" box in Summary then press the Apply button. Also when using most of the utilities listed below your iPod needs to be enabled for disc use, changing to manual update will do this by default: Managing content manually on iPod and iPhone
Once you are safely connected there are a few things you can do to restore your iTunes from the iPod. If you have any iTunes Music Store purchases the transfer of purchased content from the iPod to authorised computers was introduced with iTunes 7. You'll find details in this article: Copying iTunes Store purchases from your iPod or iPhone to a computer
The transfer of content from sources such as songs imported from CD is designed by default to be one way from iTunes to iPod. However there are a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve the music files and playlists from your iPod. You'll find that they have varying degrees of functionality and some will transfer movies, videos, photos, podcasts and games as well. Have a look at the web pages and documentation, this is just a small selection of what's available, they are generally quite straightforward. You can read reviews and comparisons of some of them here:
Wired News - Rescue Your Stranded Tunes
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TuneJack Windows Only (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iPod2PC Windows Only
iDump Windows Only
SharePod Windows Only
iPodRip Mac & Windows
YamiPod Mac and Windows
Music Rescue Mac & Windows
Floola Mac & Windows
iGadget Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iRepo Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iPod Access Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
TouchCopy Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible - Windows version only)
There's also a manual method of copying songs from your iPod to a Mac or PC. The procedure is a bit involved and won't recover playlists but if you're interested it's available on page 2 at this link: Copying Content from your iPod to your Computer - The Definitive Guide
Whichever of these retrieval methods you choose, keep your iPod in manual mode until you have reloaded your iTunes and you are happy with your playlists etc then it will be safe to return it auto-sync. I would also advise that you get yourself an external hard drive and back your stuff up, relying on an iPod as your sole backup is not a good idea and external drives are comparatively inexpensive these days, you can get loads of storage for a reasonable outlay.

Can't open iPhoto Library after 7.1.5 update

Hello.
I accidently updated my system while my iPhoto library was in a different folder. Now iphoto doesnt recognize it as my library, even though it still has the standard iPhoto library icon. I have iPhoto choose my library file, which is 900 mb, but it says it has zero photos!
I tried d/l'ing 7.1.4, but when I run the .pkg, it says a newer version of the software is installed, then quits. No duh!
HELP Please :/
Ron

Ron:
First, to make sure you're opening the correct library launch iPhoto with the Option key depressed and, when asked, select Choose Library, navigate to your library, select and open it and then close.
Make a temporary backup copy of the library and run the three fixes below in order as needed:
1 - launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys depressed and follow the instructions to rebuild the library. Select all options.
2 - rebuild the library using iPhoto Library Manager as follows:
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
1 -Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
2 -Click on the Add Library button, navigate to your User/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
3 - Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the File->Rebuild Library menu option
4 - In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
5 - Click on the Create button.
Note: It may take some time to create the new library if you have a lot of photos.
3 - start over with a new library and import the Originals folder from your original library as follows:
Creating a new library while preserving the Events from the original library.
Move the existing library folder to the desktop.
Open the library package like this.
Launch iPhoto and, when asked, select the option to create a new library.
Drag the Originals folder from the iPhoto Library on the desktop into the open iPhoto window.
This will create a new library with the same Events as the original library if you have the Finder checkbox unchecked in the Events preference pane.
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.

Can't open iphoto library after software update

Hello, I recently updated to iPhoto 2.0.1 and now can't open my photo library. Here's the error msg i receive when i open the app: "You can't open your current photo library using this version of iPhoto. You have made changes to your photo library using a newer version of iPhoto. Please quit and use the latest version of iphoto."
I only have 1 version of iphoto on my hd.
Thanks!!
Molly

I only assumed the trouble stemmed from an auto software update. But when you say "a photo CD recently acquired" do you mean any CD with photos on it? I get a few of those a week in my line of work and have never had a problem before. Could a CD of images have corrupted my application?
Also, I just got a new HD onto which all of my data was transferred, could this have precipitated the problem?
This indeed is the something I was not telling you.
Do let me know Brie Fly.
Thank you.

Problems restoring IPhoto Library after hard disk crash

I had a terminal hard disk crash a couple of months ago. The drive was replaced and new (well older) OS was installed. I have since updated to the current versions of the OS and Iphoto to iPhoto'09. My Documents and Pictures folders had been backed-up separately using Apple's Backup 3. My Documents folder was restored flawlessly, but I have been unable to restore my Pictures folder.
I spent some time with MobleMe support and we were unable to resolve the problem. My iPhoto library was backed-up on 2 occasions: the first was a FullBackup and the second an IncrementalBackup. When I run restore I get the following message:
"Begin restore at 2008-12-02 20:06:45 -0330 An internal application error has occurred. The disk archive could not be attached. End restore at 2008-12-02 20:06:49 -0330"
The MobleMe assistant thought it may have something to do with my user name changing when the new OS was installed. We played with this for a while but got no joy.
MobleMe next suggested that I do a manual restore:
"At this point, it sounds like you will need to try to manually restore it. These errors, such as "An internal application error has occurred. The disk archive could not be attached," can occur if one of the increments in a backup has become damaged and cannot be opened. Here are instructions for manually restoring files:"
Using these instructions they provided I have been able to access most of my photos, but I have not rebuilt my iPhoto Library yet. I have read most of the related posts on this form and there are some helpful tips. The problem I have is that I'm not certain how to bring the pictures back into iPhoto while maintaining some of the organization. My photos are spread across 7 IncrementalBackup files (packages?). Within each of these packages there is an Originals folder. Within the original folders there are several subfolders, and some of these subfolders occur across 2 or more of the Incrementalbackup packages. For example Originals:2005 subfolder occurs in 6 of the 7 backup files.
Finally my questions:
1) I'm still hopeful that I might be able to restore from the backup.
2) If not, I need to know how to recompile the the Originals subfolder system so I can maintain some the the organization, and then how I reipmort back into iPhoto'09
Thanks
Scott

Scott
That Library is gone. What you need to do now is start over with a new Library.
There is no way to restore your Albums, keywords, modified versions, books, calendars etc. This is a completely new beginning.
Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Create Library' .
From each of the Originals folders in each of the Back Up packages drag the folders of images to the iPhoto Window. Iphoto will import them and make Event folders from them. It will ask you do you want to import duplicates. Say no.
Only import from the Originals folders. Otherwise you will get massive duplication.
Regards
TD

Retrieving content for iTunes library after hard drive crash

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's encountered this situation, but i couldn't find a decent answer anywhere. My HDD crashed, but i recovered all my documents, together with all iTunes documented files (including songs). I didn't lose any data. The problem is that iTunes can't just read copy pasted files (to avoid the spread of bought iTunes songs/apps). How can i get all those songs back in there?
1) I've still got everything on my iPod, but my iPod won't even be recognised with the name i've given it. Synchronising my iPod is out of the question...
2) I've got screenshots of files i found in the back-up document files
http://s720.photobucket.com/albums/ww201/Ollii/Computer%20Info%20Screens/
3) I can upload every song back again, but that takes ages. And I would like to have my apps back too
Thank you in advance

I built a new computer and I copied and pasted the entire itunes file that was in my music for XP to the music file in win 7. After it was done I downloaded itunes agreed to all the fun stuff and it found everything when i opened it. To play the purchased music I need to sign in to my account. After that everything worked great with no problems and it was like it never moved. As for your apps I still live in the stone age with an 80G ipod and an apple TV. So good luck with that but I do not see a problem with that as well. For any purchase from apple you have a total of 5 computers to use with you account. So I hope you were able to unauth. the old hard drive. If not you have to rest you count which can only be done 1X a year.

Keeping song data in iTunes library after hard drive crash

I have an iPhone 3GS that I used to sync with iTunes on my Windows PC. Then the hard drive on that PC crashed, but fortunately I had made a backup of my entire iTunes library on an external drive. Now I have a new Windows PC that I want to transfer my music to so I can sync it with the iPhone as before.
However, since the crash I have continued to listen to music on my iPhone, so the play counts, song ratings etc in the backup copy of my library will be out of date. I thought that simply copying the backup library onto my new PC would allow my iPhone to sync with it as if nothing happened (so that the iPhone would update the song data on iTunes on my computer), but when I ticked the box to sync music, it warned me that it was going to do an "erase and sync". As I understand it, that means it scrubs the music off my iPhone together with its data, and then replaces it with the rebuilt library.
Is it possible to persuade the iPhone to recognise the rebuilt library as the one it is allowed to sync to (without erasing its own library first)? Or even just copy the iPhone's song data to the computer (with or without the song files themselves) and then restore from that once the iPhone has done its erase & sync?
Thanks in advance.

Wonderful! The iPhone recognised its own library and synced happily, updating the iTunes metadata as I wanted.
Rebuilding the library took a bit longer because the backup wasn't consolidated and the library didn't know where to find some of my music, but it was sorted with a bit of file jiggling. Now the two devices are getting on like best friends. Many thanks for your help.

Restoring iTunes library after hard drive crash

The hard drive on my Macbook pro (mid-2009) crashed. I took it to the genius bar for a diagnostic. The drive was physically fine so they wiped it and reinstalled Mavericks, which is now running 10.9.4. I am restoring user files from Time Machine individually to keep things clean. Hooray!
I'm now running iTunes 10.3.1. Years ago, I placed the iTunes library in Users>Shared on the hard drive, so my wife could access the files when she logged in. We don't need to do that now, so today I dragged all the music files from Time Machine to the "Music" section on the iTunes window.
They seem to have installed and indexed fine, but I lost some of the original data--like date added and numbers of plays--which would be nice to have. (Then all now read as installed today with zero plays.) My playlists are all gone as well; I'd like to have them back.
Is there any way to restore the music so those things stay intact, by basically making my library the way it was?
I considered dragging the entire set of folders over from the Shared section of Time Machine, but was afraid the music would not index, and the folder structure and nomenclature was different (for example, it had iTunes Music instead of iTunes media and there were a couple other anomalies). I imagine this is because the Shared library was set up under a different version of iTunes.
I hope this doesn't further complicate things but my user name was changed at the genius bar (from what it was prior to crash); they added my last name to my user name. I didn't notice till I got home. So far I have had no trouble accessing the files I have dragged in (Numbers, Word, etc), but don't know if the permissions on the music files might be affected.
All help greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Answers to all your questions are in the links below:
What are the iTunes library files? - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660
More on iTunes library files and what they do - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes#Media_management
What are all those iTunes files? - http://www.macworld.com/article/139974/2009/04/itunes_files.html
Where are my iTunes files located? - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391
iTunes 9 [and later]: Understanding iTunes Media Organization - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3847 - plus supplemental information about organizing to new structure https://discussions.apple.com/message/26404702#26404702
Image of folder structure and explanation of different iTunes versions (turingtest2 post) - https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-7392 and making an iTunes library portable.
06/2014 ChrisCA post: Restore iTunes library from Time Machine backup - https://discussions.apple.com/message/26104480#26104480

Can't open iPhoto library after hard drive crash

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