I am getting a lot of exclamation points in my iPhoto

I am getting all of my photos to show up as thumbnails but then as exclamation points once I try to click on them, rendering them usless?! I tried "reparing" files but that did not work. I refuse to believe that one of the only things that people keep from one comp to another (photos and music) is actually not working. Please somebody tell me it isn't so because I love the mac I bought yesterday but this is really frustrating me ... to say the least. Help!

Marko,
if I understand you correctly, you moved your iPhoto library from one mac to another?
How did you migrate your iPhoto library?
Is your user account name the same as your previous name on the other mac?
Is the hard drive on your new mac called the same as on your old mac?
And where on your old mac did you keep the iPhoto library? In your "Pictures" folder or in a "Shared" folder?
I tried "reparing" files but that did not work.
What kind of "repairing" did you try? repair permissions?
The problem with the exclamation marks can be caused by several things:
You might have permission problems after migrating the library - if you are not the owner of the photos in the library you may not be allowed to access them.
iPhoto may not be able to find the the original photo files, if the access path is now different (different name of harddrive, different user account name)
You may have transferred the iPhoto library to your new mac, but not the original image files. This can happen, if you accidentally imported your iPhoto images with the option "copy items into the iPhoto Library" disabled. Then you need to transfer the original image files as well, and put them into the exactly same location as on your old mac.
Or if you are shooting raw, you may have a problem with missing raw support.
So, to be able to help, we will need to know more about your iPhoto library and how you migrated. Did you use Time Machine?
Regards
Léonie

Similar Messages

I was reviewing my list of songs in my library "on my I-Pod". I noticed that a few of the songs on the list have an Exclamation Point in front of the track, and the track won't play. How do I get rid of the Exclamation Point so that the track will play.

I was reviewing my list of songs in my library "on my I-Pod". I noticed that a few of those tracks on the list have an Exclamation Point in front of the track and will not play. How do I get rid of the Exclamation Point so that the track will play.

Hello enrique a.
Instead of trying to re-invent the wheel on this one, take a look at an article such as this one to help you take care of these exclamations. Basically, it means iTunes is unable to locate the file on your computer anymore.
http://ipod.about.com/od/itunesproblems/qt/Fixing-The-Itunes-Exclamation-Point.h tm
B-rock

How do i get rid of the exclamation points by my songs

I transferred my music on to a new computer from a zip drive. Some of my songs play fine, but others have an exclamation point next to them and say the file can't be found. What do I do?

Select a broken song, press Ctrl+I to get info, click No when iTunes asks you locate the file, then look at the location on the summary tab. It will begin file://localhost/. Where is the file really?
I'd expect broken songs to be listed as file://localhost/<some path>/<Artist>/<Album>/## <Name>.<Ext> and the real location to be <different path>\<Artist>\<Album>\## <Name>.<Ext>. Sometimes it is just a matter of manipulating the physical location to match iTunes records, or tweaking a settings file if one path includes a folder called Music before <Artist> but the other doesn't. If that won't work I have a script called FindTracks that can be pointed at the folder with the media and used to reconnect the tracks as long as they are in some vague semblance of order.
tt2

Lots of exclamation points

I recently updated iTunes to 7.6. On my user name my iTunes works fine. My wifes iTunes shows all exclamation points. I figured out how to tell iTunes where each file was but it got monotonous. How do get her music back without finding each file one by one? Thanks for your time.

Her library ITL file got corrupted somehow.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93732
If she doesn't have a backup, you could
1) drag yours over into her user folder.
2) Or she can create a new library by holding down the shift key when she starts iTUnes. Then File > Add Folder to Library and import all the music files that way.
Both methods will lose all her ratings, playcounts, etc.

Doubleclicking on my thumnails gives me an exclamation point! (in iphoto)

After i open my iphoto program and upload my photos, I've just noticed that any photo older than 2010 now gives me an exclamation point when I doulble click the photo to view . I'm running 8.1.2 on my 10.5.8. Have I lost the photos? (I'm still trying to find my backup dvds)

Thanks for the help! I have discovered that I have several libraries in several diferent stages of "saved". When I move my main iphoto library to the desktop, I have my choice of five iphoto libraries. I'm not sure how I did this, but I will try to decipher where ALL my pictures ended up.

Help. Had to move iTunes Library...lots of exclamation points

I keep my iTunes library on an external HD. I had to switch to a new external, I copied the whole iTunes Music folder to the new one, went to preferences>advanced and pointed iTunes at the new library. I tried to play a song, or sync my iPod and iTunes says it can't find any of the songs. I really do not want to manually point iTunes to each song in my library. They are all there, iTunes just doesn't find them. They were and remain organized by iTunes.
How do I fix this? Thanks.

Yeah, it's different in iTunes 9.
It's now *Organize Library*.
I never deleted it from the old location, so it is still there. I opened iTunes holding Option and pointed it to the old location.
You indicated you moved the \iTunes music\ folder, not the \iTunes\ folder.
Holding Option is for when you have moved or created a new \iTunes\ folder.
You can move the entire \Music\iTunes\ folder to the external then hold Option and select Choose library and select the *iTunes library file* (not the .xml) in the \iTunes\ folder you moved.

HT1386 I have exclamation points next to all of my iTunes songs. How do I get rid of them?

I started this yesterday, but I lost my converstations. I'm not that computer savy. Please help! I cannot get rid of those exclamation points, and I can't play the music through my computer OR sync with my iPod Touch. Help!!!! I have Windows Vista. And my iTunes is up-to-date on the latest version! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The ! means that iTunes can't find the music file. Try here to find the files.
iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads

When i try to enlarge a photo why is it i get an exclamation point? it's not on ever photo. only some.

when i try to enlarge a photo why is it i get a black screen with an exclamation point? it's not every photo but it is many.

The exclamation point means that iPhoto has broken the link to the original file. Make a temporary, backup copy (if you don't already have a backup copy) of the library and apply the two fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
Select the options identified in the screenshot.
Fix #2
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
Click on the Add Library button, navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the File ➙ Rebuild Library menu option
In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
Click on the Create button.
Note: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments but not books, calendars or slideshows. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
OT

Correcting exclamation points

Is there a program to purchase & download that will fix all the exclamation points, I have probably a hundred of them. I have check my music file and the tunes are still in the file. I have run the organize library function but still have a lot of exclamation points
Thanks
Dan

If they are there to be found then yes, my script can normally reconnect misfiled tracks. Download & usage instructions are also on the main scripts page at http://samsoft.org.uk/iTunes/scripts.asp and the scripts should work with iTunes 11.1 for Windows... If you have a Mac they won't be of much use.
Select a broken track and press CTRL+I CMD+I to Get Info, say no when asked to locate the file, then look at the Where entry on the Summary tab. The location will begin file://localhost/. Note this down, and the true location of the same file. With both paths I may be able to suggest a way to manipulate the folders to correct things. or explain in further details how to use the script.
tt2
Message was edited by: turingtest2

When I click on a photo I see a yield sign with an exclamation point in it.

When I'm in an event I can see all my photos for that event, but when I open one of the photos I get an exclamation point in a yield sign shaped ICON. Is the photo damaged ? How do I repair this condition and how do I avoid it next time. Not all my photos have this problem, but the ones that do look like they are from the same import set. I know at one time they were OK.
Ward

Ward,
what is your iPhoto version?
The exclamation point shows that iPhoto has lost the connection between the thumbnails of your photos and the edited versions or original image files. You need to rebuild the iPhoto library and to reconnect the versions to the original image files. Try first, if the built-in first aid tools will help (launch iPhoto with the key combination ⌥⌘ held down to bring up the first-aid panel and try to rebuild the database.
iPhoto 6 and later: Rebuilding the iPhoto library
If that does not help, use iPhoto Library Manager: see Old Toad's Post here (Fix 2):
Re: iphoto crashed
Be sure to backup the iPhoto library before trying any rebuild options!
Regards
Léonie

HT203175 I don't know whether these articles apply or not. Here's what I seeing in my iTunes program. When I open iTunes, I see little exclamation points next to EVERY song that has been downloaded. Therefore, I can't play them from my computer or dwnl

Can somebody help me get rid of these exclamation points so that I can download all my songs to my iPod? Please? I don't know why they appeared, as I did have the songs working before and they were on my iPod. But, I didn't want ALL of them on there and I didn't know I could "select" which songs to send to the iPod. However, it's been a few months since I messed with it. But, yesterday, when I went to select my songs, I noticed all these excalamation points on everything that was there. Help, please! Again, I can't play them from my computer AND they won't download to my iPod!
Thanks,

This happens if the file is no longer where iTunes expects to find it. Possible causes are that you or some third party tool has moved, renamed or deleted the file, or that the drive it lives on has had a change of drive letter. It is also possible that iTunes has changed from expecting the files to be in the pre-iTunes 9 layout to post-iTunes 9 layout,or vice-versa, and so is looking in slightly the wrong place.
Select a track with an exclamation mark, use Ctrl-I to get info, then cancel when asked to try to locate the track. Look on the summary tab for the location that iTunes thinks the file should be. Now take a look around your hard drive(s). Hopefully you can locate the track in question. If a section of your library has simply been moved, or a drive letter has changed, it should be possible to reverse the actions.
Alternatively, as long as you can find a location holding the missing files, then you should be able to use my FindTracks script to reconnect them to iTunes.
tt2

Folder+Exclamation point, Disk mode, and "Serious system error" in Windows

Hey there,
A couple days ago, I made the mistake of running with my 4th gen 40gb iPod. After playing for a while, it froze; whatever, it's done this before, and come back. This time, I keep getting the folder and exclamation point icon. Following the FAQ on the support part of the site, I put it into disk mode.
Here's where the frustrating part beings: When I open iTunes and plug in my iPod (either via USB or Firewire), one of two things happens:
In the first instance, iTunes tells me the iPod is corrupt. I click "Restore" and after a while, it tells me that either the necessary data cannot be found, or that an error (1418) has occurred. The farthest I have ever gotten was a progress meter and "Restoring iPod", shortly followed by an error.
In the second, and decidedly more frustrating, after waiting a couple minutes for iTunes to recognize my iPod (my computer does instantaneously), my computer shuts off. Upon restarting, I get a system message from Windows telling me that a serious error has occurred.
I went to an Apple store today and handed one of the workers there my iPod. When HE turned it on, everything seemed to be working...I brought it home, tried to play a song, and found myself back at square one.
Can I restore this thing? I can get it into disk mode, my computer just won't cooperate. Will reformatting my computer help? I am using Windows XP.
Thanks,
Ted

Hi Martha,
Try to do with slightly differnt, open the Disk Utility, go to tab of PARTITION, and do a delete. Then go back to the tab ERASE and click erase with the option format of MAC extended journal. Once it has being complete, open the iPod updater and click RESTORE.

Exclamation Point for Songs on External Hard Drive

This should be pretty straight-forward, but I've been searching for the past two hours and haven't found anything to solve this issue.
I have my entire music library (35,000+ songs/320 GB) on an external hard drive. I plugged my iPod into my PC to charge it and didn't have the external hard drive connected and the message *"Some of the items in the iTunes library, including [song name], were not copied to the iPod [ipod name] because they could not be found"* and every song that was in my playlist shows the dreaded "!" exclamation point next to it.
I've disconnected the iPod, connected the external hard drive, and reconnected the iPod only to get the same results.
How do I get iTunes to remap all the exclamation point songs without:
1. Consolidating my entire library to my PCs hard drive (which doesn't have enough storage)?
2. Manually re-mapping hundreds/thousands of songs?
3. Deleting and re-adding every song in my library (takes 4-6 hours)?
Some additional details (just in case):
Windows XP
iTunes 9.1.1.12
3rd Generation 4GB Nano
There has to be a simple way to address this. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the replies and the detailed information. I appreciate the assistance but remapping the drive letter won't help. My iTunes library is still completely visible and per the XML file, the library location (not the physical music file location) is on the C: drive, which is correct. For whatever reason, when iTunes couldn't find the hundreds/thousands of songs that were on my playlist it changed the file path of just those files to file://localhost/E: from the original file path (which was F:/music/...). The external HD is still mapped to F:.
Any file that wasn't on my playlist is fine. What I need to know is how to get iTunes to find those hundreds/thousands of songs that were on my playlist and get rid of the exclamation point. This should be a pretty cut and dried case:
1. iTunes recognizes all the file paths of all the songs on the external HD
2. I plug in my iPod without the hard drive plugged in
3. All the songs on my playlist (and only the songs on my playlist) are now flagged with an exclamation point and won't open unless I physically browse for them.
4. All other songs not on my playlist still play/synch without issue.
This is a simple situation...does anybody have a simple solution? I can't be the only person out there that is encountering this.
Thanks in advance!

Thumbnails fine, full size pic yields exclamation point

Thumbnails look fine, but when I double click to expand, the screen shows a giant exclamation mark on a black background instead of the picture. Any idea what this is about? I have a bunch of these pictures, mostly scanned in from old photos and moved around a lot as I created albums and slideshows.
Thanks.

I have a bunch of these pictures, mostly scanned in from old photos and moved around a lot as I created albums and slideshows.
How were they moved around? adding to an album or slideshow does not move anything - it simply creates a link to the photo. Did you use the finder to move photos inside of the iPhoto library?
basically the exclamation point indicates that iPhoto has lost the connection between the thumbnail and the original photo. If you have moved the originals using the finder or other programs excepting iPhoto then you will have to start over with a new library (unless you can put the library back exactly like it was)
If you have not used the finder inside of the iPhoto library then rebuild the library - backup and depress the option and command keys and launch iPhoto and rebuild from the last automatic database backup.
If that does not work use iPhoto Library Manager - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ - to rebuild - this creates a totally new library so if you are not happy with the results you can simply go back to the original library
LN

Exclamation point over thumbnail in iPhoto

When I click on a thumbnail to enlarge it, an exclamation point appears over it blacking the photo out. These are photos I have made and imported to iPhoto. How can I get rid of the exclamation point to edit the photos? Thanks for your help.

No, I do not remember doing anything in Finder having to do with iPhoto or photos.
I did try the re-build as you suggested but nothing was changed - I continue to get the ! when I click on a photo.
I do have another iPhoto Library in which I am working and clicking on a photo in that library enlarges it. (I the library I want to use with iPhoto Library Manager.)
So, I think I'll just trash the library that is giving me problems and build on the Library that is working. I have the original photos on disk and it will only take time to do the imports.
Thanks, TD, for your help.
Vernon

I am getting a lot of exclamation points in my iPhoto

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for