How to get iPhoto back in order after recall? Is rebuilding your photo-library dangerous?

I recently had my iMac recalled, and when I got it back, about a quarter of my 62,000 photos only show the thumbnail vies. When I try to enter them to edit them, I get a black exclamtion point within a white circle and no access. I called support and did the 6 steps to rebuild. No results so far.
My back-up is questionable beucase as the comupter hard-drive was dying, it stopping backing up the exteral hard-drive 4 months prior to the actual recall when they replaced my hard-drive.
SO . . . I spent 20 hours putting every **** photo on DVD's before the recall to make sure I didn't lose them. Now I can reload the photos from the DVD's and the photos are all there and normal. However it is time consuming.
THE QUESTION IS - SHOULD I DO THE MAJOR REBUILD WITH APPLE SUPPORT, OR CONTINUE TO RELOAD FROM MY DVD'S?

Thanks OT,
I did the list of repairs APPLE support gave me, but I do not believe it included thte Option+Command launch. Is that a full rebuild that risking losing my organization (books, slideshows, etc)?
I do have two external hard drives which I alternate every few months in case of fire, and which are connected (one at a time) with time machine. Apparently during the internal hard drive failure I missed that the external backups stopped working, and the faulty hard drive would not let me back up when I tried before the recall. NOW my backup works, but it is backing up the faulty data! If I use the old back up I lose 4 months of data, if I use the new I have the fautly data. I think I am back to reloading with the DVD's I made. By the way, I made them becuase I had a computer AND it's external hard drive fail beyond repair 4 years ago. At that time I was able to rebuild my photo library from discs becuase I had made a CD or DVD of every project as I downloaded it from the camera. Heres to backing yourself up in multiply ways!
Oh my.

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I cannot open iphoto- the message I am getting says Shut down and restart your computer, and then open iPhoto again. If the problem persists, try rebuilding your photo library. To do this, quit iPhoto, and then reopen it while keeping the Option and Comma

i cannot open iphoto- the message I am getting says Shut down and restart your computer, and then open iPhoto again. If the problem persists, try rebuilding your photo library. To do this, quit iPhoto, and then reopen it while keeping the Option and Command-
I tries and it doesnt work!!

What version of iPhoto? Assuming 09 or later:
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.
Regards
TD

I can not open iPhoto. this is the messageShut down and restart your computer, and then open iPhoto again. If the problem persists, try rebuilding your photo library. To do this, quit iPhoto, and then reopen it while keeping the Option and Command ki get.

Shut down and restart your computer, and then open iPhoto again. If the problem persists, try rebuilding your photo library. To do this, quit iPhoto, and then reopen it while keeping the Option and Command keys pressed. You can also try restoring your photo library from a backup.

Before anyone can help, they need information to work with. Basic stuff:
- What version of iPhoto.
- What version of the Operating System.
- Details. What were you doing when the problem arose?
- Did it ever work properly?
- Are there error messages?
- What steps have you tried already to solve the issue.
Anything else you can think of that might allow someone else to understand your issue.
With this kind of information somebody can develop a starting point for troubleshooting the issue.
Posts that consist of "iPhoto doesn't work. Help" or "iPhoto won't print" or "Suddenly I have no photos!!!!!!!!!!" mean that any helper is simply guessing. With information, s/he may be able to get your issue resolved sooner.

IPhoto: An error occurred while trying to save your photo library.

"An error occurred while trying to save your photo library.
Some recent changes may be lost. Make sure your hard disk has enough space and that iPhoto is able to access the iPhoto Library."
Basically, the same issues as this thread:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1588998&tstart=0
I have tried the BatchMod with no luck. If it matters, this is on an external hard drive and I am the only user on this computer. Looking at the info of the library file, I have read/write/execute permissions and my group has read permissions only. I thought BatchMod would change these permissions but it doesn't seem to work.
Actually, I restarted my computer and it works now. But I am still worried it might happen again. Has anyone else encountered this problem?
Thanks.

Welcome to the Apple Discussions. If it's working now it could have been a one time hiccup. Do you backup your library on a regular basis? If not you definitely should.
If the library gets damaged/corrupted you won't lose your photos but can lose all of your organizational effort that you put into the library. If the external HD crashes then you will lose all.
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 versions) 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. There are versions that are compatible with iPhoto 5, 6, 7 and 8 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: The new rebuild option in iPhoto 09 (v. 8.0.2), Rebuild the iPhoto Library Database from automatic backup" makes this tip obsolete.

Why does iPhoto give me this error when opening it " Your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable"

Good Day. I have been trying to open my iPhoto and i keeps giving me the following error message " Your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable " Then it suggests I push the Option and Command button at time of opening iPhoto and the 4 options given do not work as well. My operating system is OS X Vers 10.8.5. Not sure the iPhoto application as it won't open for me to tell.
Pls help . Im afraid of losing all my pics.

Make a back up now. If you have any vaule in Your photos always have a back up.
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. Examples of such apps: Chronosync or DejaVu . But are many others. Search on MacUpdate
In Library Manager the Rebuild command is under the File menu. There's also an excellent Help available.
Regards
TD

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I dragged and dropped the Iphoto library to the pictures folder and now the library appears in BOTH pictures and applications. (The Iphoto library icon in the Pictures folder has the little curved arrow indicating a link.) Should I have copied and pasted?
When I open Iphoto, it goes to one of the recent pictures in the library and the regular menu appears on the left (events, etc.). But I can't advance to different pictures within in the folder. I hit "edit" and none of the editing functions come up. I right-click on the photo to bring up the usual options like edit in external editor and nothing happens. As I said in my first e-mail, it links but has no functionality.
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HT1338 Need help with iphoto/get this messageShut down and restart your computer, and then open iPhoto again. If the problem persists, try rebuilding your photo library. To do this, quit iPhoto, and then reopen it while keeping the Option and Command keys

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Have you tried rebuilding as the message suggests? Otherwise you need to remember that we can't see your machine and so haven't a clue what you're asking.

Shut down and restart your computer, and then open iPhoto again. If the problem persists, try rebuilding your photo library. To do this, quit iPhoto, and then reopen it while keeping the Option and Command keys pressed. You can also try restoring your pho

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ok so i have a fresh computer, i just finished installing itunes 8.0
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How to get iPhoto back in order after recall? Is rebuilding your photo-library dangerous?

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