Clean up my iphoto files.

How do I know which files I should keep with I photo. When I open my iphoto library, I get folders numbered that are empty and then I get some with data and others with thumbnails. Is it necessary to keep all of those in my library.
I find it extremely difficult with iphoto to retrieve a picture and send it as mail. Everytime I do so, I get to my folders and have to search endlessly!
Any quick solutions?
Talking also about clean up... What should I empty on my mac to clean up my hardddrive. I am afraid to delete things that I will need to make the system work.
Thanks again

You shouldn't mess with or manipulate anything within your iPhoto library at the Finder level.
Copied from iPhoto Help:
IMPORTANT: There is also an "iPhoto Library" folder located in the Pictures folder in your home folder, outside the iPhoto application. If you move, delete, rename, or otherwise touch files or folders within this folder, you may be unable to see your pictures in the iPhoto application.
I find it extremely difficult with iphoto to retrieve a picture and
send it as mail. Everytime I do so, I get to my folders and have
to search endlessly! Any quick solutions?
Which iPhoto version are you using and have you created Albums to group your favorite photos by subject, date, or theme?
The following was also copied from iPhoto Help:
A photo album in iPhoto is just like one you create with paper and print photos: It's a collection of photos you select from your library and arrange in the order you want.
You can make as many albums as you like using any images from your photo library. You can also include the same photo in several albums without making multiple copies of it.
To further organize your library, you can group several albums into a single folder, such as several years of birthday albums or albums chronicling the camping trips you've taken.
Talking also about clean up... What should I empty on my mac
to clean up my hardddrive. I am afraid to delete things that I will
need to make the system work.
Check Freeing space on your Mac OS X startup disk.

Similar Messages

Cleaning and organizing iphoto folder in HD

hi,
I was wondering if there is something I can do (or delete without eliminaing important or required files) to clean up and reduce unnecessary usage of my HD capacity.
Currently in my iphoto folder is the following:
albumdata.xml
Data (folder)
dir.data
iphoto.ipspot
iphotolock.data
library.data
library.iphoto
library6.iphoto
modified (folder)
originals (folder)
Thumb32Segment.data
Thumb64Segment.data
ThumbJPGSegment.data
any information would be of great assistance. Perhaps there are hidden files that I can delete that are stored in other parts of my computer ie. if it is deleted is the deleted file still stored somewhere else ?
thank you in advance for any advice
-y
Mac OS X (10.4.9)

iPhoto is a database application (not a file browser) with limited version control. It's fundamental philosophy is to always keep your original, imported file in its original condition. If you edit a file, it always changes a copy of your photo. Each of the 3 folders contains a different, yet necessary, version of your photos.
Originals: holds your full-sized, original imported files. These are kept safe and remain unchanged, no matter what you do. This gives you the option to "Revert to Original" if you wish to discard your edits. Movie clips you import into iPhoto are stored here, too.
Modified: holds any edited version of your files, including photos rotated by a digicam's auto rotate feature. Also in this folder is a jpeg image matching the first frame of any movie clip in your iPhoto library. This jpeg allows the film clip to be represented when you view your library. If you shoot in camera RAW, the RAW file goes into Originals and a jpeg is created in the Modified folder.
Data: holds the thumbnail version of every file in your library. These are necessary for displaying your photos quickly. You see the thumbnails until you move the size slider up to a certain point, when iPhoto grabs the full-size version for you. The thumbnail always reflects the most current version of the photo, whether it resides inside the Originals folder or in the Modified folder.
DO NOT try to "clean up" your iPhoto Library folder from within the Finder. This is a recipe for disaster. Any changes you make will cause the link between your file and the iPhoto database to be lost. At worst, you can corrupt the database and have to start over with a fresh library (and re-import all your photos).
Anything you need to do to organize your photos can and should be done from within iPhoto itself. You can even set it up to allow you to edit in another application, like Photoshop Elements. If hard drive space is an issue, then you can move the entire library folder to an external hard drive and use it from there. The only catch is that the drive must be mounted to use iPhoto. It's very easy to do, so post back if you'd like instructions.
The one file you've listed that might be unnecessary is the library.data file. That one is left over from your previous version of iPhoto, and is not used by version 6. Look at it's Last Modified date. If it's old you can pull it out to your desktop. Launch iPhoto and test it. If all is well you can delete that one file.

I have lion on my iMac and iPhoto file is missing

I have lion on my iMac and my question is on where my photos are stored. Under pictures I do not have a folder titled iPhoto as I should.
Under Pictures I do have iPhoto Libary Recovered Photos, as well as, Photo Booth, I chat icons, Adobe,Alaska (photo file i made i photo) iPhoto slideshow, iPhoto Booth, windows PC which contains lots photos, and several jpgs . This is a mes
This Is my first mac and the mac store transfered my photos ( a very large amount on photos) they had a lot of problems in the transfer, In attempt to clean this up they mistakes may have been made
I would appreciate Help in cleaning up this iPhoto file

OK, so just that I understand the situation. You bought a Mac with 10.6, and it was updated to 10.7. Can you explain at what stage the Mac store transferred your photos, and from where? When you upgrade from (for example) 10.6 to 10.7, it shouldn't require ANY moving of photos.
Do you still have the iPhoto application, at least? (Check in the Applications folder).
Try searching on your drive (using Spotlight, at the top right of the screen) for "iPhoto Library". You could also check your Time Machine - go into the TM interface (Enter Time Machine from the menu icon, don't just open your external drive) and look in the Pictures folder at several points in the past. See if you can identify when it was present, and when it disappeared from that location.
Matt

Cleaning up my iPhoto Library

   I am having difficulty cleaning up my iPhoto Library before I switch to Aperture. In particular:
    1. How do I process the multitude of monthly photostream events (i.e. "October 2013 Photostream") so that I can maintain the original photos in events that better describe them, e.g moving family photos to an event called "Family" (which I will later divide into appropriate "albums"?
     2. It appears that I have many duplicates in my library. Am I safe in using a program such as "Duplicate Annihilator" to remove the duplicates to "Trash"?
TIA

You may have a damaged database file. To rebuild the library launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys depressed and follow the instructions. Select the first three options. It will be recreated when you next launch iPhoto and you'll have to reset the preferences as you had them before.
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. 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.≤br>
Note: There now an Automator backup application for iPhoto 5 that will work with Tiger or Leopard.

Back Up iPhoto Files on CD or DVD- Correct Procedure

Can you post here or point me to the recommended Procedure for backing up iphoto files on external drive to disk (CD or DVD)? I have read many bits and pieces through various postings, but didn't see one procedure that contains all the steps.
My external hard disk crashed, along with my iphoto libraries. I do have a back up copies of my iphoto files, so I will be restoring most of the photos. However, among these disks I have one CD backup copy I did that doesn't seem to work. Not sure what I did wrong with that one.
Please advise specifically which file folders to copy (or drag? or import?) and any special settings. Also, if you could add a procedure for incremental back ups. I have read the recommendation to copy the iphoto6.library folder regularly Should I save this on the disk with the photo files or on a separate disk labeled with the same date and library name. Also, I'd like to hear your advise for handling incremental backups for new rolls added.
Finally, if I purchase SuperDuper or DejaVu, will these applications better serve me in other ways and accomplish the same goal? I do use Backup, but I am concerned that it has too many limitations.
As soon as I get my HD back, I plan to put the iphoto libraries back on the external drive and want to get a clean procedure going, after this scare.
I am learning lots from this experience...

Hello, Sue,
Sorry about your drive crash! Nice that you did back up your photos, though.
Are you using the external drive as a backup to your computer's drive for iPhoto?
Or, are you using the external drive as the primary location for your iPhoto Library(ies)? If you are using the external as the primary location, then you will need another external drive as a backup, or burn the photos to CDs or DVDs.
Re: your previously burned CD--I am not sure why it does not work for you, but, there are two methods of burning photos to disks:
1. Burning from WITHIN iPhoto Burn from iPhoto--this method creates a disk that appears in the Source Pane of iPhoto when the disk is inserted into the computer's drive. It will keep your photos and albums looking as they did in iPhoto, but you need to be in iPhoto to access the photos. They do not need to be reimported. This is a good method for storage and easy access. You can delete these photos from your current library and just pop in the disk when you want them.
2. Burning from FINDER Burn from Finder--this method stores the photos for you, and can be accessed by any computer. When the disk mounts, you will have to reimport these photos into iPhoto to work with them. They will not be in albums, unless you specifically export them from iPhoto giving them the album name. (Post back if you want to do this; more instructions). This is a good method for backing up and having access to the photos on any computer that can read a disk.
I think it is a good idea to have both a backup external drive and the photos burned to disks. I have most of my photos burned to disks via method 2 just to preserve the photos. These are my old scanned-in snapshots, and I am not so worried about losing them on a drive because I have the negatives and the actual prints. (It would take a while to locate the negatives, but the prints are all in photo albums and labeled!).
I also have created iMovies and burned to DVDs, all the photos and videos of our family for a 17-year time period. (I have about 10 year's worth more to do to 2006, and probably a couple more encompassing photos from 1890s-1970s).
So, I will eventually have three backups: my external drive, the movie-DVDs, and DVD disks of the photos; in addition to the prints.
Some purists and worriers think that for the long-term archiving, we should be printing out our digital photos onto acidfree paper and placing them carefully in albums designed to preserve the photos. They think that DVDs can become damaged or obsolete and that the only way to really keep a photo is via paper prints.
Specifically, you will want to back up the entire iPhotoLibrary folder from Finder. This is the folder that by default is located in your 'Pictures' folder. Initially, you just drag the entire folder over to the external drive. (By the way, be sure that your external drive is Mac-formatted. Most are preformatted for PCs, so check).
When it has finished copying, you have backed up your library.
If you import more photos, you need to back up again. It is easiest just to drag the whole folder over again.
Some of us like to break up our library into several libraries. I have about ten or so, broken by dates. Since I have scanned in all my old photos, and edited most of them, I don't need to back up those libraries until I do some more editing. The current year's library I back up after almost every photo import. I back up the whole library--not incrementally.
Old Toad recommends making a backup copy of that Library6.iPhoto database file:
+For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto 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.+
If you do create multiple libraries, you will need to backup this database file for EACH of them. I created a Library6.iPhoto backup folder, and I made a subfolder for each of them with that library's name on it and put the corresponding Library6.iPhoto file into its subfolder, carefully noticing which library I am backing up.
Just remember, the three rules of computer data:
1. Backup
2. Backup
3. Backup
And, my favorite, "There are two types of computer users: those who have lost data, and those who will." Having been both.....lost some papers my daughter wrote when an external failed.....I am now more cautious.

Software to clean duplicate and unnecessary files

Hello
I was looking for a safe app or software that can clean extra and unnecessary files off of my imac - has anyone tried anything that they trust will work?
I am not well enough versed to just start deleting files - and would probably delete something that was needed
any help would be greatly appreciated
sbmop

Here are some general tips to keep your Mac's hard drive trim and slim as possible
You should never, EVER let a computer hard drive get completely full, EVER!
With Macs and OS X, you shouldn't let the hard drive get below 15 GBs or less of free data space.
If it does, it's time for some hard drive housecleaning.
Follow some of my tips for cleaning out, deleting and archiving data from your Mac's internal hard drive.
Have you emptied your Mac's Trash icon in the Dock?
If you use iPhoto or Aperture, both have its own trash that needs to be emptied, also.
If you store images in other locations other than iPhoto, then you will have to weed through these to determine what to archive and what to delete.
If you are an iMovie/ Final Cut user, both apps have their own individual Trash location that needs to be emptied, too!
If you use Apple Mail app, Apple Mail also has its own trash area that needs to be emptied, too!
Delete any old or no longer needed emails and/or archive to disc, flash drives or external hard drive, older emails you want to save.
Look through your other Mailboxes and other Mail categories to see If there is other mail you can archive and/or delete.
STAY AWAY FROM DELETING ANY FILES FROM OS X SYSTEM FOLDER!
Look through your Documents folder and delete any type of old useless type files like "Read Me" type files.
Again, archive to disc, flash drives, ext. hard drives or delete any old documents you no longer use or immediately need.
Look in your Applications folder, if you have applications you haven't used in a long time, if the app doesn't have a dedicated uninstaller, then you can simply drag it into the OS X Trash icon. IF the application has an uninstaller app, then use it to completely delete the app from your Mac.
To find other large files, download an app called Omni Disk Sweeper.
http://www.omnigroup.com/more
Also, Find Any File
http://apps.tempel.org/FindAnyFile/
Download an app called OnyX for your version of OS X.
http://www.titanium.free.fr/downloadonyx.php
When you install and launch it, let it do its initial automatic tests, then go to the cleaning and maintenance tabs and run the maintenance tabs that let OnyX clean out all web browser cache files, web browser histories, system cache files, delete old error log files.
Typically, iTunes and iPhoto libraries are the biggest users of HD space.
move these files/data off of your internal drive to the external hard drive and deleted off of the internal hard drive.
If you have any other large folders of personal data or projects, these should be archived or moved, also, to the optical discs, flash drives or external hard drive and then either archived to disc and/or deleted off your internal hard drive.
Moving iTunes library
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449
Moving iPhoto library
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2506
Moving iMovie projects folder
http://support.apple.com/kb/ph2289
Good Luck!

Corrupeted iPhoto files

I corrupted all my iPhotos when I inadvertently labeled the files in the iphoto Libaray folder in Pictures folder. (I thought I was updating files on a memory stick). Now, no photos appear in iPhoto. I deleted alot of the empty frames in iPhoto and started to delete the files in the Library and then I replied to another topic 'unreadable files" in panic.
Peter responded -suggested I start a new topic. Also, suggested that I don't delete any more.
So now,
The deleted files are in trash which I can pull onto my desk top.
How do I retrieve the photos?
or is starting over the best thing to do? ( all originals were on a CD and then edited in iPhoto)
If I start over will the Library be a mess because some of the photos will have been duplicated?
If I add new photos to edit, will I further mess up the LIbrary?
Apple suggested that I create a file on my desktop and put all the existing files in the Libaray including those in the trash to clean up the iPhoto library.
Does that sound ok? Do I just leave the file on my desktop?
Thanks
bkaycookie

Start a new library
I manage 7 different libraries myslef with the help of iPhoto buddy. (that is for later)
Create an empty folder on the desktop (call it say Salvaged). Drag out all the pics from the trash into the Salvaged empty folder.
So start a new library, and you can "drag over" the iPhoto window the folder (Salvaged) from the desktop that contains all the pictures. You will have to re-create any albums that were created in the other library. You are starting from scratch.
If the folder from the trash did not contain all the pics that you can think of, you can also put the originals from CD with a drag over motion in the same manner that you did with the "Salvaged" folder.
No worry about duplicates....The beauty here is when iPhoto is ready to import the pic from the CD, it will compare with the existing library, and find the duplicates, and ask you: "iphoto found a duplicate into your library! Would you like to import again or Not? There will be a check box to select do not import all duplicates. So this way you will import only pics from the CD that were not already in the new Library!
BTW do you know how to create a new library???
With iPhoto app OFF, just change the name of the library; as simple as adding a number to the end. ("iphoto library" becomes "iphoto library1"). Then click on iPhoto application. And it will not be able to find the library (because you just changed the name) and you will get a dialog box "1-do you want to look for it, 2- do you want to create a NEW one..... and click on the latter choice #2. And voila you have a 2nd library that will be named by default" iPhoto library". And you will still have the iPlibrary2 (the screwed up one- you may need to go into the iPlibrary2 for some reason or another -you could delete ip2 later when all is back to normal.)
Before I used iPhoto buddy mentionned above, this is how I switched between my 7 libraries. It was tedious to change the libraries name all the time , and keep track of what library I previously opened... etc...
But you get the drift I hope.....
BTW you heard this before..... STAY OUT of the iPhotolibrary. DO NOT move anything around or out of the iPlibrary. It is just like if I moved your tv remote from where you usually put it and did not tell you. You would be looking forever..... spinning your wheels.... just like the spinning beach ball!
if you have to delete anything do it from within iPhoto applications.
and if you want to delete duplicates, or originals (after doing rotations, or editing ) you need to use iPhoto Diet.
anyway hope this helps!
michel

How do I access my iPhoto files with the Mac version of Lightroom 3?

I dowloaded Lighthouse 3 to my Macbook Pro and I can not
access my iPhoto files.

http://lightroomkillertips.com/2010/video-moving-from-iphoto-to-lightroom-3/

Can't open iphoto file to edit in Elements 10 even though external editor is set

Right clicking on iphoto file, selecting "edit in external editor" resullts in spinning beach ball. Each attempt at opening a file initiates a reopening of Elements even though it is already opened.

Can you open images normally in Photoshop Elements? I would recommend including this information as well as which verson of iPhoto and Mac OS you are using to the Photoshop Elements forum. It might also possibly be a problem with iPhoto but the users in the Photoshop Elements forum should better be able to determine where the problem lies.

How can I transfer iPhoto files from one admin user to another on the same Mac?

i created a new admin user on my computer, so now my husband has one and so do i. how can i transfer our iphoto files from his admin user to mine as a shared file? i was able to do this with itunes easily but i am not able to do it with iphoto.

You want to share the Library?
For iPhoto 09 (version 8.0.2) and later:
What you mean by 'share'.
If you want the other user to be able to see the pics, but not add to, change or alter your library, then enable Sharing in your iPhoto (Preferences -> Sharing), leave iPhoto running and use Fast User Switching to open the other account. In that account, enable 'Look For Shared Libraries'. Your Library will appear in the other source pane.
Any user can drag a pic from the Shared Library to their own in the iPhoto Window.
Remember iPhoto must be running in both accounts for this to work.
If you want the other user to have the same access to the library as you: to be able to add, edit, organise, keyword etc.
Quit iPhoto in both accounts. Move the Library to the Users / Shared Folder
(You can also use an external HD set to ignore permissions, a Disk Image or even partition your Hard Disk.)
In each account in turn: Double click on the Library to open it. (You may be asked to repair the Library Permissions.) From that point on, this will be the default library location. Both accounts will have full access to the library, in fact, both accounts will 'own' it.
However, there is a catch with this system and it is a significant one. iPhoto is not a multi-user app., it does not have the code to negotiate two users simultaneously writing to the database, and trying will cause db corruption. So only one user at a time, and back up, back up back up.

How do I move my iPhoto files to an external harddrive?

Hi there
I only recently moved to Apple from Windows and am struggling to move my iPhoto files to an external harddrive, despite there being some quite old discussions on this on these discussion boards.
My late 2013 32GB Macbook Pro Retina is currently at full capacity because I have imported to iPhoto all of my photos from my past few months of travel. I have recently acquired a 1TB external harddrive which I have successfully partitioned, and I have backed up my Macbook Pro's harddrive using Time Machine to one partition.
I want to move my iPhoto library to the other partition to free up space on the local hard drive, but am needing some assistance.
My questions are:
1. How can I locate all of my iPhotos that I can see in iPhoto but nowhere else? I thought there would be some place I could find them and drag and drop onto the external hard drive.
2. How do I go about moving the photos so they are only on the external hard drive? Do I have to move to the hard drive first and then delete?
Any assistance would be appreciated.
Thanks
Alex

To move your iPhoto Library to an external drive is simple and straightforward:
Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
1. How can I locate all of my iPhotos that I can see in iPhoto but nowhere else? I thought there would be some place I could find them and drag and drop onto the external hard drive.
The point of iPhoto is that it replaces the File Manager for everything to do with your photos.
For help accessing your photos in iPhoto see this user tip:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4491

How can I clean all the junk files from my iMac so that it can run faster?

How can I clean all the junk files from my iMac so that it can run faster? Its been slowing down ever since I started using it.

Before doing anything, we might be able to help with your iMac issues here.
Please download, install and run Etrecheck.
http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck
Copy/paste its report here in another reply thread so that we have a complete profile of your Mac's hardware and installed software.

Why can't I see my iPhoto files in iMovie?

[DISCLAIMER: My question is short, but my details are not. This is going to be a LONG read, but I wanted to make sure I provided all you helpful people with as much information as I could so that I could receive the best possible solution. So your patience and assistance is greatly appreciated!]
In iMovie [version 4.0.1], when I click on the Photo button to import pictures into my project from iPhoto, the following error message appears: "No photos were found. To use this feature, you must first create a photo library using iPhoto version 2.0 or later."
However... I AM using iPhoto [version 4.0.3]... with a HUGE Library containing 2000+ images and several created albums. These features work just fine within the confines of that program. They just aren't integrating with iMovie correctly. So... why can't I see my iPhoto files in iMovie?!!?!
FIRST ATTEMPT:
When I checked iMovie help, all it said was "You must open iPhoto at least one time on your computer to be able to access your iPhoto library from iMovie." I've obviously done this, having used the program plenty. Didn't work.
SECOND ATTEMPT:
When I checked this forum, the closest thread I could find that was similar to my problem suggested deleting the iMovie preferences file [com.apple.imovie3.plist]. It was later added that deleting the iPhoto preferences file [com.apple.iphoto.plist] as well had solved the problem immediately for that user. Tried it. Didn't work.
THIRD ATTEMPT:
When I checked the Apple Info site, their main solution was to try recreating the AlbumData.xml file which is used to populate the photo listing. Now this file can usually be found in the iPhoto library folder and I know how to recreate it. But THIS is where I think my main problem lies.
Unlike most users, my iPhoto Library is actually located on an external hard drive under "my hard drive name"/Pictures/iPhoto Library. When I checked this folder for the AlbumData.xml file , it simply did not exist. So as a test, I created a new iPhoto Library also on my external hard drive but the AlbumData.xml file was not created with it. I opened up iMovie just to see if it was able to browse the iPhoto library properly. But it still didn't work.
However, when I created a test iPhoto Library directly onto my Mac's hard drive, the AlbumData.xml file was indeed created with it. And when I opened up iMovie again... lo and behold, the iPhoto library finally appeared. It worked. But unfortunately, this solution still doesn't help me at all!
Thing is, I don't have enough space on my Mac's direct hard drive to move my entire iPhoto Library there (where it works). That's why I am using an external hard drive to store (more space). So is there ANY way I can keep my iPhoto Library located on my external hard drive and have the library, albums and files recognized in the other iLife applications like iMovie???
I feel I've tried everything, folks Could someone please please help me?!!?!
[my specs are listed below if that helps any]
Thanks in advance,
a very disgruntled wizkid :\
PowerBook G4 12" [1GHz, 256MB, 40GB] Mac OS X (10.3.9) GeForce FX Go5200 32MB, Matshita DVD-R UJ-816, Maxtor External Hard Drive [250GB, Firewire & USB 2.0]

My main concern at this point is that the AlbumData.xml file is unable to create itself onto the External HD. When I view the file [that I created from my test iPhoto Library on my Mac's HD] in finder, it appears to be a Final Cut Pro type of extension. Is something wrong with my External Hard Drive in that regard? Is it just incapable of storing those file types??? Hmmm...
As for the alias solution... instead of alias-ing the "Pictures" folder like you have, I've already tried creating an alias of the "iPhoto Library" folder on my External HD and placing it within the "Pictures" folder on my Mac. But when I tried to "Find Library" upon launching iPhoto, the prompt box would not allow me to choose the "iPhoto Library" alias I had created. So I couldn't open it.
To be honest, I'm not exactly sure how to create an alias correctly... or perhaps I should try alias-ing the actual "Pictures" folder (like you have) rather than just the "iPhoto Library" folder, but I don't know how to do that correctly either.
FYI... I am mounting my External HD before I launch iPhoto.
Also, I have also tried dragging the AlbumData.xml file that I created from the test iPhoto Library into my active iPhoto Library folder residing on my External HD. It would appear to be in the folder, but as soon as I clicked somewhere else in finder and than back into the folder, it would disappear. Not sure how to "point to it" either.
Karl, think maybe you could provide some hints on how to properly alias something or "point" to the AlbumData.xml file? I'd try it myself, but I don't wanna screw anything up by accident.
PS. As stated in the post above, there's a possibility my External HD is no longer Mac OS formatted... at which point I throw my hands up into the air and scream!
thanks for the tips thus far... everyone's so nice and helpful... I love it!
-the kid
PowerBook G4 12" [1GHz, 256MB, 40GB] Mac OS X (10.3.9) GeForce FX Go5200 32MB, Matshita DVD-R UJ-816, Maxtor External Hard Drive [250GB, Firewire & USB 2.0]

What are the iphoto files I need to restore iphoto library deleted from drive

A few days ago my hard drive started making noises and I was getting all sorts of errors. I even got errors trying to do a time machine backup with the final error being "backup failed".
Earlier last week I imported a couple hundred photos of my kids from Christmas to present which also included our vacation last month. I deleted the photos from my camera after the import. Then foolishly, I didn't think to do any time machine backups between then and the time my hard drive started making noise.
I bought a new SSD drive. I could still access the bad drive so I moved my pictures directory from the bad drive to the new drive. It took nearly two hours. It appeared to have moved everything, but it did not move the iphoto library. The pictures directory is gone from the old hard drive.
I purchased FileSalvage and recoved thousands of deleted jpg files from my old drive, but none appear to be the pictures I lost.
It appears that FileSalvage will recover specific file types. There doesn't seem to be a way to just tell it to recover the deleted "pictures" directory or recover "iphoto library".
If I was able to specify specific file names to restore, what files would I even need to specify? I have iphoto 11.
I came across an article about iphoto library files from iphoto 6 and previous versions which explained the following iphoto files: library.iphoto6, albumdata.xml, Thumb32Segment.data, Thumb64Segment.data, ThumbJPGSegment.data, etcxxxxx.
mmm
Does iphoto 11 use similar file names? I'm not concerned with keeping my iphoto database in tact. I just want my pictures.
Maybe I'm asking the wrong question. Any advice on how to get my pictures back would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!!
MH

Simply, you can't recover the iPhoto Library. What you need to do is try recover the Photos that were in it. These will be saved as jpeg files* and that's what you need to search for. Recovering all the other files will do no good. You won't be alble to reconstruct the Library. Your aim is to get the Photos and then start over.
The search may find many files of the same name, try to recover the largest files - they are most likely to be your originals.
Regards
TD
*Assuming you're not shooting Raw. If you are shooting Raw then you'll know the suffix for your camera. If none of that makes sense then you're not shooting Raw

Hard drive fails when importing to iPhoto or copying old iPhoto files

I am running a 2012 MBP (2.6 i7, 10GB ram). Just installed two new drives:
- 250GB SSD that has only the OS and apps.
- 1TB HGST drive formatted GUID Mac OS Extended Journaled (installed in the cdrw drive space-I had a previous drive working there with no issue)
My iPhoto library contains over 57K+ photos and is 348GB in size.
I copied about 500GB of data to the HGST drive and then started to copy my iPhoto library to the drive from my Time Machine folder (I could not figure out how to get Time Machine to restore just my photos to the HGST drive). After awhile I got an error saying the drive had unmounted and to not do that in the future. The first time I was able to remount it and try again. The second time the drive came unreadable and would not repair. So I reformatted and started over. After another failed attempt, I decided to try to copy the files form Time Machine to a different, external drive. That worked fine.
Then, I attempted to copy the iPhoto library from that external drive to the HGST drive and it failed again.
Finally I decided to just take all of the Originals out of the iPhoto file and put them in a different directory. Then I created a new library on the newly reformatted HGST drive. I then attempted to import the photos to the new iPhoto library. It seemed to be going fine. I left for 40 minutes, returned and the drive was again dismounted and not recognized at all in Disk Utility )I think it will reappear once I restart.
I am able to get the iPhoto library to come up on the old external drive. It wants to rebuild the thumbnails when I start it. It does that, but not all of the thumbnails show up. I ran the repair utility and rebuilt the database. I have not tried the last rebuild option on it yet. I am hoping someone has a clue as to what might be the issue (my best guess is a/some bad images that are toasting the library. But before I spend countless more hours searching for bad images by importing in batches (which could turn into days of trial and error if it keeps munching my drive.
The part that gets me is that I can import my music (iTunes and Logic files) of 400GB or so without a hitch. I am concerned that repeated crashing of the drive might cause errors (I am not that hardware savvy to know...)
Any help is GREATLY appreciated! Thank you.

I agree Terrance. However, I was able to copy other large batches of other files (my music for example) without any issues. The issue only showed up when copying iPhoto's library and/or the photos themselves. This was repeated 3 times; I copied all my other files to the drive then it unmounted on iPhoto. And, as I said, again when I started with a fresh reformat and just iPhoto. That does not seem like hardware to me if it is only happening with one set of files.
I have managed to get the iPhoto library to work on my other external drive. It wanted a rebuild twice and a thumbnail rebuild once. I am now attempting to copy it over to the new HGST internal drive.
Anyone have a suggestion for alternatives to iPhoto? I have aperture, maybe I will try that. But from what I understand, it just shares the same library as iPhoto.

Clean up my iphoto files.

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