HELP! Import iPhoto 4 pics from external drive into iPhoto 5

Question

I had computer issues so cleared my hard drive which was with iPhoto 4
Moved the entire iPhoto Library to my external.
When they updated my software they used the 5 version.
Now I am having issues getting iPhoto 5 to recognize my data.
I have tried various way indicated... but each one presents with a different problem.
* If I pull them directly from the External drive to the Photo finder window - then when I open iPhoto i get the spinning wheel for HOURS (quit after 12).
* If I drag them directly to Iphoto (either the entire folder OR year by year)
They do show up in iPhoto, however, in iPhoto ALL dates are the date I pulled the iPhoto Library onto my External drive. Also, when in iPhoto there are film roles, however, the events are mixed up.
I have tried this about 10 times, all different ways, my latest is now it imports them in DUPLICATE (and I had deleted teh thumb files prior to import)
My question:
How do I pull my iPhoto 4 library into iPhoto 5 and KEEP proper fiilm roles to include 1) Correct pictures in each 2) correct dates and 3) preserve the role titles 4) not duplicated
HELP!!!
THANKS!

Answer 1

Here are some instructions from Apple in iPhoto Help that explain how to switch from your normal iphoto library (on your internal drive) to your older iphoto library (on your external drive:
"You can switch from the photo library you're currently working on to another one you've already created.
1.Quit iPhoto.
2.Rename your current iPhoto Library folder in the Finder or move it to a new location on your hard disk, and then open iPhoto.
3. Tip: If you don't want to rename or move your current iPhoto Library folder, hold down the Option key while opening iPhoto.
4. Click Find Library.
5. Choose the library you want to display.
6. Click Open.
The library appears in the iPhoto viewing area."
If you succeed in doing this, you can thus direct your iphoto 5 program to open the iphoto 4 library on your external. If this succeeds, iphoto 5 will automatically convert that library to iphoto 5. Then you can burn your external drive iphoto 5 library to CD or DVD using the "burn" function from within iphoto. It is best if you can fit everything on one CD or DVD, but if not, you can burn by album, or by roll, or even by date. Make sure you burn this disk (or these disks) from within iphoto 5. Then, following the above instructions again, revert back to your internal drive iphoto 5 library. Then, while iphoto is running, insert those CDs/DVDs you burned from within iphoto earlier and when you do, each will appear inside iphoto along with your other albums. Each CD or DVD, as you insert it, will look like another album. You can then import those into your existing internal drive library. Unless you hhave many thousands of photos, this should not take a long time.
By the way, if ALL your photos are in that external drive iphoto library, you can first quit iphoto and then you can drag it over and replace your internal drive iPhoto Library with the external drive iPhoto Library. Then iPhoto 5 will convert the older library automatically when it starts up.
Before doing any of these things, I suggest backing up all your photos to something safe as if there is some corruption in your original library, it could get mangled in a way that makes it unusable and then you'll need that backup.
I have actually done what I have descriibed above. We have an older iMac G3 with iPhoto 4. We got my daughter a new iMac G5 which came with iPhoto 5. I copied over her iPhoto Library from the iMac G3 which had been running iPhoto 4, and when she started iPhoto 5 for the first time on the new iMac, it converted everything in the old iPhoto Library (created under iPhoto 4) to iPhoto 5.
You would only need the CDs/DVDs if you have two libraries you want to merge, one being an iPhoto 4 Library, and the other being an iPhoto 5 Library.
There is a guy named "Old Toad" who sometimes comments in this forum. He probably has a better way of doing this.