HT1338 Lost all of my 4950 pics! My daughter said they were in the wrong file and threw them in the trash. It shows all thumbnails for photos but nothing? We can't seem to retrieve them? Anyone know how? THX

Question

I'm not sure what to post in?  So here goes.  I'm a photographer and had 4950 pics edited and store on my mac.  My daughter was setting up photo shop and she took iphoto and put it in the trash by accident.  We tried retrieving it and nothing!  It shows that all of the pics all still in iphoto and the thumbnails are there but no pics?  Anyone know how to put these back?  It took me over a year to edit these!  I'm really freaking out!  HELP PLEASE!!!!!   THX

Answer 1

First locate the file with the name: iPhoto Library
Search on your Mac for it if need be using the Find command in the File menu.
When you find this file, hold down the control key and click on it, select Show Package Contents.
Look for a folder called Originals or Masters. That folder has the original photos.
The folder called Previews has the edited photos.
If your iPhoto database is damaged, you might in the worst case have to manually re-import these photos into a new library, but that's only a last resort. Don't move or change anything in the iPhoto Library for now.
If you found this iPhoto Library file, then you still have your actual photos. Now don't touch those photos or move anything. Close up the iPhoto Library window. Put the iPhoto Library back in your Pictures folder. Run iPhoto and hold down the option key. Select that iPhoto Library when requested to select the iPhoto Library. If that doesn't work, select "other" and navigate to that iPhoto Library and select it.
Let follks here know which of the above steps worked and which (if any) did not.