HELP! i lost my iphoto library!

i tried to open my iphoto library just now but apparently i dont have it... its an alias. or somthing... i know how to use computers excet when they stuff up so this has me stumped... i looked in the trash and it wasnt there. the alias wont open, it asks me to find the original. i have no ideea what that means.
if anyone has any idea what is going on. please help me. i need my photos!!!
thanks
Mary Elizabeth

An alias of a file is an icon that looks like the original and will point to the original. If you click on the alias, the original should open. However, I don't know if that applies to the iPhoto Library.
Did you mean that you were trying to open iPhoto? The iPhoto Library is the storage file for all your photos. iPhoto is the application to use to view and edit your photos. See this: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=165521
Do you know if your photos are still on your computer? By default, they are stored in the Pictures folder. Open that, and see if you have the library there, and if there are photos in it. DON'T CHANGE OR RENAME OR MOVE ANYTHING--just see if your photos are there.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=165521
In iPhoto 5's iPhoto Library, you should see something like this:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61262
If you see that the files are there, you can rebuild your library and see if that will recover the photos for you. Follow these steps to rebuild your library:
QUIT IPHOTO FIRST
Relaunch while holding down the key combination Command+Option. See this for tips: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107947
Post back if any of this is not clear, or if you are still having problems.

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Obvious question I know, but do you have a back up?
There is no way to recover an intact iPhoto Library once it's deleted. The best you can hop for is togged bak the photos. Try a app like File Salvage - you can download a free trial and it will scan the disk for you and tell you with might be recoverable. Actual recovery will require that you purchase the app. There may be many files with the same or similar names. Always recover the largest file size.
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Simple and fast solution: restore from your back up.
Other than that:
Option 1
Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Choose to Repair Database. If that doesn't help, then try again, this time using Rebuild Database.
If that fails:
Option 2
Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. (In early versions of Library Manager it's the File -> Rebuild command. In later versions it's under the Library menu.)
This will create an entirely new library. It will then copy (or try to) your photos and all the associated metadata and versions to this new Library, and arrange it as close as it can to what you had in the damaged Library. It does this based on information it finds in the iPhoto sharing mechanism - but that means that things not shared won't be there, so no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your events, albums and keywords, faces and places 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.
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I lost my iPhoto Library! Can someone help me find it?

Yesterday, I tried to open iPhoto and received a message stating that my iPhoto Library could not be found and asked if would I like to find it. Yes, I would really like to find it but haven't a clue about how to do so. I hadn't used iPhoto in a week or two and hadn't made any changes, so what happened and how can I find all my photos? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Your iPhoto Library should be in your Pictures folder.
Hold down the option (or alt) key and launch iPhoto. Click on Locate, and navigate to the Pics folder and select the iPhoto Library Folder there.
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I have lost my iphoto library, it is now just a white package icon

If someone could suggest the best course of action for me I would be very grateful . I have lost my photos like many here. I had backups etc, carbon clone and Time machine,For some reason my ilibrary seemed to be opening from my external drive and I just could not understand this. When I switched off the external I had no iphoto library any more.
Becoming increasingly confused I also detected, using mackeeper, that there were various trojans in my external.
Rightly or wrongly, I started to think these two problems might be related and set about clreaning first the internal and then the extrernal. The process of searching and deleting the harddrive (3TB) and my internal drive trying to clean all the mess up was taking so long that I eventually decided to delete some of the backup files in Time machine beacuse there was at least 2TB of backup
Anyway, after all that I cannot find my photo library at all. I have a white iphoto library now located in the FINDER within the PICTURES area that is said to have 14 GB. It is liisted as a package. I do not understand what that means. But it cannot be opened in any way.
Should I now start a new iphoto library in iphoto and try and import this package. As I have already mentioned, I would be grateful for any help, as all I have now are thousands of deleted photos that were in the trash..
Thankyou
Message was edited by: clbobman

Stop wasting your time with anti-virus junk.
What should I now use as a virus program? Are these programs not necessary on the MAC?
... My mission is to find a simple virus protection and start all over again.
... I just want something simple.
Your chosen anti-virus solution is likely to have caused the problem to begin with. OS X already includes everything it needs to protect itself from viruses and malware. Keep it updated with software updates from Apple. It doesn't get any simpler than that.
A much better question is "how should I protect my Mac":
Never install any product that claims to "speed up", "clean up", "optimize", or "accelerate" your Mac. Without exception, they will do the opposite.
Never install pirated or "cracked" software, software obtained from dubious websites, or other questionable sources. Illegally obtained software is almost certain to contain malware.
Don’t supply your password in response to a popup window requesting it, unless you know what it is and the reason your credentials are required.
Don’t open email attachments from email addresses that you do not recognize, or click links contained in an email:
Most of these are scams that direct you to fraudulent sites that attempt to convince you to disclose personal information.
Such "phishing" attempts are the 21st century equivalent of a social exploit that has existed since the dawn of civilization. Don’t fall for it.
Apple will never ask you to reveal personal information in an email. If you receive an unexpected email from Apple saying your account will be closed unless you take immediate action, just ignore it. If your iTunes or App Store account becomes disabled for valid reasons, you will know when you try to buy something or log in to this support site, and are unable to.
Don’t install browser extensions unless you understand their purpose. Go to the Safari menu > Preferences > Extensions. If you see any extensions that you do not recognize or understand, simply click the Uninstall button and they will be gone.
Don’t install Java unless you are certain that you need it:
Java, a non-Apple product, is a potential vector for malware. If you are required to use Java, be mindful of that possibility.
Disable Java in Safari > Preferences > Security.
Despite its name JavaScript is unrelated to Java. No malware can infect your Mac through JavaScript. It’s OK to leave it enabled.
Block browser popups: Safari menu > Preferences > Security > and check "Block popup windows":
Popup windows are useful and required for some websites, but popups have devolved to become a common means to deliver targeted advertising that you probably do not want.
Popups themselves cannot infect your Mac, but many contain resource-hungry code that will slow down Internet browsing.
If you ever see a popup indicating it detected registry errors, that your Mac is infected with some ick, or that you won some prize, it is 100% fraudulent. Ignore it.
Ignore hyperventilating popular media outlets that thrive by promoting fear and discord with entertainment products arrogantly presented as "news". Learn what real threats actually exist and how to arm yourself against them:
The most serious threat to your data security is phishing. To date, most of these attempts have been pathetic and are easily recognized, but that is likely to change in the future as criminals become more clever.
OS X viruses do not exist, but intentionally malicious or poorly written code, created by either nefarious or inept individuals, is nothing new.
Never install something without first knowing what it is, what it does, how it works, and how to get rid of it when you don’t want it any more.
If you elect to use "anti-virus" software, familiarize yourself with its limitations and potential to cause adverse effects, and apply the principle immediately preceding this one.
Most such utilities will only slow down and destabilize your Mac while they look for viruses that do not exist, conveying no benefit whatsoever - other than to make you "feel good" about security, when you should actually be exercising sound judgment, derived from accurate knowledge, based on verifiable facts.
Do install updates from Apple as they become available. No one knows more about Macs and how to protect them than the company that builds them.
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Help! To get more space on my laptop, I copied some photos to a backup hard drive, following the instructions in iPhoto help: "Copy the iPhoto Library folder on your hard disk to another disk." I then deleted many of the photos from my laptop.
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Welcome to the Apple Discussions. It sounds as if you copied the Data folder only which contains the thumbnail files. If you don't have a backup or the entire library or the original files I'm afraid you're out of luck. You could try recovering them from the HD (if you haven't used it much since deleting the image files) with SubrosaSoft FileSalvage. It will let your run it in demo mode to see what files, if any, can be recovered before you have to purchase it.
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Lost my iPhoto library using iboostup.

somehow i managed to put my whole iphoto library in the trash then did a quick clean using iboostup now have lost all photos, work and family. Is there any way i can undo the quick clean and recover my photos. any help would be greatly appreciated.

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More information on Time Machine recovery (click Restoring Data from Time Machine Backups):
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
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About a week ago I go to my into Iphoto and see nothing, thinking maybe the default library got changed I went right to the location of the library and opened it from there, and no photos where found. I opened up the library data and it looks like all the photos are there so I don't panic knowing that they are still on my external hard drive. Restart hope for the best, nothing. Rebuild the library, nothing. Bought Iphoto Manager didn't help. Upgraded Iphoto (wish I didn't) didn't help.
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When I try to to import the library or any photos in that library via drap and drop it tells me they are already there and can't be imported.
Here is my specs
Mac 10.6.8
2.4 Intel Core Duo
4GB SDRAM
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What version of iPhoto do you have now?
Upgrading the app will rarely fix a damaged Library.
DId you get any error messages withiPhoto Library Manager ?
Never import one Library to another - all the versions get treated as a individual images so you get massive duplication, you loe all your organisation, keywords etc etc etc
Regards
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A week ago I installed iLife 5. I have had no problems until today. Last night I was working in iPhoto, and had no problems. Now....I open iPhoto, all of my albums are there....BUT ALL OF MY PHOTOS ARE GONE....OMG...what has happened. The scary thing about this is...I remember a similar thing happened to me several years ago, when I did an upgrade from another version of iPhoto.
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Foxall:
Welcome to the Apple Discussions. Look in your User/Pictures folder and see if there isn't a folder titled "iPhoto Library". If it's there then launch iPhoto with the Option key depressed and when asked, navigate to the Pictures folder and select that folder. It should open. If you have library issues like a damaged database file or whatever it may not open fully or not show all the photos. If it does open and everything is there we're done. If not, but it does open, then close iPhoto and relaunch it with the Command+Option keys depressed and follow the instructions to rebuild the library. Select all of the options. You may get some duplicates but those can be culled out after you're up and running again. If that fails post back and we can go from there.

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HI,
Try repairing disk permissions.
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Fix #2
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Help removing a corrupt Iphoto library

Hi All
I am posting this here as i don't think its a iPhoto specific issue, rather a corrupt file issue
I was hoping some one can provide wisdom in removing a corrupt iPhoto Library
The file suggests it is 500Gig in size, and no matter what i try i can't delete it
What i have tried
Deleting it through the trash can - system just hangs
Deleting using OmniDiskSweeper, using this app it suggests the file size is 11Gig, but when you ask it to trash it again just hangs
Running disk verify and repair to see if that would resolve the problem
Repair the file by holding down Command and Option while opening in iPhoto - it brought up an error message and would not let me proceed
I have even tried deleting using Terminal with no success, however in saying that i am a beginner using this launguage
At the moment my Mac thinks its occupying 50% of my hard drive space, i know it not that size, but i am at my wits end
I would be grateful if any one could help me solve this problem
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Trash Can’t Empty – Big Files
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Trash – Empty When File is Locked or in Use
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Any ideas????

Thanks....yes found iphoto in launcher....all good now...

Help with messed up iPhoto Library

I fear that I have made a horrendous mistake. I purchased a new Macbook Pro and used the Migration tool. I didn't see where the iPhoto Library transferred over. I found my iPhoto Library on the old Macbook and drug it into Dropbox since it would sync with the new computer. When I opened iPhoto on the new computer all of the events were messed up. None of them are named correctly. A lot of them say they have photos in them but the photos show up as a gray triangle with an exclamation point.
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What is your iPhoto version that created the iPhoto Library?
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HELP! i lost my iphoto library!

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