I've lost ALL my iPhoto library pictures

I've tried to recover them using the "Hold down option and command while opening iPhoto" routine but it is still empty.
I Backup daily.
I had closed down my computer by holding down the Start button when using iPhoto and iWeb as I had got stuck with the "spinning wheel of death". This was after getting the "upgrade thumbnails " message.

EBay used to be able to grab pictures from the iPhoto folder but the upload window Browse button can't see the files.
And this may be the cause of the database corruption. In simple terms, you should access your pictures via the iPhoto Window - end of story.
Here's how iPhoto works.
In reads a file in the iPhoto Library Folder called the library6.iphoto file. That files tracks things like picture titles, albums, smart albums etc., pretty much everything except the actual photos. The photos are in the Original (and Modified) Folders, the thumbnails in the Data folder.
The library6.iphoto file tracks the relationship between the thumbnail and the file it represents.
So you begin to see how important this file is.
If it gets damaged you see the sort of problems that you are having. What damages the file? If there's a crash while it's been written to, or some HD corruption, or even changes made in the iPhoto Library Folder via other means than iPhoto.
So, to solutions:
1. Try and preserve the library - your albums etc. Hence, my suggestion that you copy the db file (library6.iphoto) into the iPhoto Library Folder to replace the one that's damaged. Net result, everything back to normal.
However, as you had begun adding files to the damaged library, that was no longer possible, Think of it this way. Suppose you have a Petrol car, and you inadvertantly put diesel into the tank. What's the solution? Clean out the tank? Or just put more Petrol into it on top of the diesel?
In this situation, I suggest that your iPhoto Library Folder is now useless. It has a damaged db file and duplicated images and is, in short, a mess.
So, my next suggestion is that - because you back up daily - to restore your entire iPhoto Library Folder from the back up. What does that achieve? It brings things back to the point before all this happens.
However, I don't use Back Up. So I can't give you instructions on how to restore with it. So I sent you to the Back Up forum.
Many people back up as a sort of virtuous activity. I've backed up, so my data is safe. However, backing up is a two part process: Creating the back up and then restoring the data in the event that you need to replace lost or damaged data. As things stand, you run your application every day, but are you sure it's actually backing anything up? If your photos are important to you, then I truly suggest that you investigate this element of backing up.
I still think you need to replace that iPhoto Library Folder.
Regards
TD

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IPhoto 11: lost all photos., iPhoto 11: lost all photos.

Hi,
I've lost all my iPhoto library. I've read all the similar posts and have rebuilt thumbnails, repaired and rebuilt database and still nothing. It looks like the photos are completely gone from my macbook air, but I don't know how this could have happened. DOes anyone have any further steps after the ones taken above?
Many thanks!

Download and run Find Any File to search for a file names "Library6.iPhoto". FAF can search areas that Spotlight cant, like invisible folders, etc. If there is a second library on your hard drive FAF will find it.
OT

Please help!! Ive suddenly lost my entire iPhoto library..says it doesn't exist although I can see the photos all in grey-but also the menu is in grey, can't do anything

Please can anyone help! Ive suddenly lost my entire iPhoto library while I wss cleaning up…sometimes I can find them, they're there but all in grey and so is the menu for iPhoto…so I can't open or do anything…

There are 9 different versions of iPhoto and they run on 9 different versions of the Operating System. The tricks and tips for dealing with issues vary depending on the version of iPhoto and the version of the OS. So to get help you need to give as much information as you can. Include things like:
- What version of iPhoto.
- What version of the Operating System.
- Details. As full a description of the problem as you can. For example, if you have a problem with exporting, then explain by describing how you are trying to export, and so on.
- History: Is this going on long? Has anything been installed or deleted? - Are there error messages?
- What steps have you tried already to solve the issue.
- Anything unusual about your set up? Or how you use iPhoto?
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I have lost all my iPhoto events after upgrading to Photos Version 1.0 (209.52.0)

I have lost all my iPhoto events. Or, am I missing something here?
I just upgraded to the new Photos from iPhoto on my iMac. The new Photos app imported and reorganized my photos by date and mixed all of my previous well organized iPhoto events into a jumbled lot.
How can I re-sort these photos back into an Event type of organization?
I think I had several thousand events.

Moments are the new Events. All of your events in iPhoto are not Moments in Photo and were also brought over as an album. Open the sidebar with the Option+Command+S key combination and look in the folder titled "iPhoto Events".
There's a way to simulate events in Photos.
When the library was first migrated there was a folder created titled iPhoto Events and all migrated iPhoto Events are represented by an album in the folder.
When new photos are imported into the Photos library go to the Last Import smart album, select all the photos and use the File ➙ New Album menu option or use the key combination Command+N. Name it as desired. It will appear just above the iPhoto Events folder where you can drag it into the folder
When you click on the iPhoto Events folder you'll get a simulated iPhoto Events window.

I have lost my entire IPhoto Library and albums

IMac OS X V 10.6.8
I have lost my entire IPhoto Library and albums.
How do I restore?

Your only other option is to stop using your Mac as soon as possible to minimize precious data being overwritten to, purchase a high quality, fast external hard drive, preferably a FIreWire external hard drive such as these
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/eSATA_FW800_FW400_USB
using an OS X Snow Leopard install disc, format this external drive as a Mac OS extended (journaled) formatted hard drive with a GUID partition scheme and then, using a install disc of OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, install a fresh copy of OS X Snow Leopard and boot your Mac to that external hard drive by using the Startup Disc icon in the OS X System Preferences Panel to boot your Mac to the external hard drive. Once your Mac is booted and running from this hard drive, then use the OS X Software Update feature to update that version of OS X Snow Leopard to OS X 10.6.8.
Then, you need to do a web search for a Data recovery software such as Prosoft Engineering's Data Rescue and purchase, download, install and use this software to perform data recovery of your iMac's internal hard drive following the proper instructions on how to use the software. to recover the data.
Be advised that any images you recover will no longer be in a format that IPhoto will read and most like will just be a folder with just the images alone without any more linkage to the IPhoto library, but I am not completely sure about this as I always have redundant backups of my entire system.
If this seems all too complicated and complex to you, you need to stop using your Mac ASAP and either contact an Apple Store or Apple Authorised reseller/service/repair center to find out how much it will cost for them to recover your data and bring your Mac in for a more professional data recovery.
I still strongly advise you purchase a high quality, large storage, fast, external hard drive to use for future data backups to prevent such a catastrophic data loss from happening, again.
Every computer user SHOULD have, at least, one external backup drive and having redundant backup drives is even better.

I installed PS CS 6 and now all my iPhoto 11 pictures are missing.

I installed PS CS 6 last night and now all my iPhoto 11 pictures are missing from the library. I had 45,000 plus pictures and some of them were not backed up. I have tried holding the command and alt keys down while starting iPhoto several times but no luck. Does anyone have any idea how I can recover these photos?

Don't see how installing CS 6 could do this.
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 Library Manager it's the FIle -> Rebuild command)
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

Lost my complete iphoto library!!

Hi,
I have lost my complete iphoto library. I have just upgraded to OS X 10.8.2 from 10.5 and I did not back up previous to losing it. Is there anything tha I can do to retrieve it?

There are no guarantees.
You download the app and it will scan the disk for recoverable files. It will tell you what it thinks it can recover. Only then do you purchase, if you think it's worthwhile.
Given that the OS was upgraded from 10.5 to 10.8 there was a lot of writing to the disk in the process and the chancs of your deleted photos been overwritten is high.
Regards
TD

Hi, I've just downloaded Aperture 3.2 and transfered all my iPhoto Library but now when I use the Aperture program it runs at the slowest speed possible and is almost impossible to work with. It is constantly processing why is this?

Hi, I've just downloaded Aperture 3.2 and transfered all my iPhoto Library but now when I use the Aperture program it runs at the slowest speed possible and is almost impossible to work with. It is constantly processing why is this?

You can click on the text that says 'processing' in the main windows and it will open (toggle) the Activity Window, (can also be accessed via the Window menu -> Show Activity.
It will tell you what Aperture is doing with more precision and perhaps even how many photos it still needs to process. It is generally best to wait until all that processing is done before you start working with the photos (well it is best to first turn of options what you dont want to use, perhaps Faces or Previews and then let it process the new photos).

Trying to download my pictures from vacation and my phone automatically reset to origional setting and I lost all my contacts and pictures. Is there any way to restore my phone back to today's date.

I just lost all my contacts and pictures from vacation trying to download them to my computer because my phone reset to my origional sitting. Is there a way to reset my phone back to today date or recover my pictures?

In short. No, you cannot unsync. If you had a back up from your old iPhone you cand restore from a back up.
In iTunes go to Edit > Preferences > Devices > and select the latest back up.
Before you synced your phone did you have it set up with the PhotoStream or iCloud? The pictures would be saved there. Or if you had them sync to a file on your computer.

Iphoto library pictures all fuzzy

All was fine until I upgraded to iOS4.0. The pictures that are synchronized with iphoto library (one folder of about 1000 pictures) are all fuzzy and out of focus. The pictures (some of the same picture) still on the camera roll are fine in the iphone but all the archived pictures are too fuzzy to use.

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Lost link between iPhoto library and iPhoto.app

While learning how to use Photoshop Elements 4.0 and Bridge, I made the choice to "browse" in Bridge. When I next started iPhoto 6.06, my link to the Library was lost. I have worked with AppleCare support, done every exercise short of creating a new library and losing my organization. With 20,000 + photos I would like to avoid that exercise. I do have backups but am trying to figure out if I can solve this any other way. All my files are still in iPhoto Library, and I can see the organization of my albums in Bridge. With some exercises, I get the message: "Unreadable files: 1. The following file could not be imported: '/Users/john/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Library.iPhoto.'"
If I delete Adobe Photoshop Elements and Bridge from the hard drive, will this help? I promise I did not do anything within iPhoto Library in Finder!
Thanks so much!
iMac Mac OS X (10.4.9) iPhoto 6.06
iMac Mac OS X (10.4.9) iPhoto 6.06
iMac Mac OS X (10.4.9) iPhoto 6.06

cdkayak
Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
There's absolutely no harm in using PSE with iPhoto, it's Bridge that's a killer. So that's what you chuck from your machine. Set up PSE as an external editor in the iPhoto Preferences. That way you can double click a pic in iPhoto and it will open automatically in PSE, save it PSE and have it come back into iPhoto seamlessly.
What's likely happened here is that you have (or Bridge has) made changes in the iPhoto Library Folder which has broken the link between iPhoto and the library files.
Some things to try:
Hold down the option (or alt) key and launch iPhoto. Choose Locate, and point iPhoto at the iPhoto Library Folder.
What Back Ups do you have? If there's an up-to-date one, then try copying the library6.iphoto file from it to the iPhoto Library Folder allowing it to overwrite the confused one.
That said, if these don't work, your options will only be to create and populate a new library: To create and populate a new library:
Note this will give you a working library with the same film rolls and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, books, calendars etc.
Move the iPhoto Library Folder to the desktop
Launch iPhoto. It will ask if you wish to create a new Library. Say Yes.
Go into the iPhoto Library Folder on your desktop and find the Originals folder. From the Originals folder drag the individual rolls to the iPhoto Window and it will recreate them in the new library.
When you're sure all is well you can delete the iPhoto Library Folder on your desktop.
In the future, in addition to your usual back up routine, you might like to make a copy of the library6.iPhoto file whenever you have made changes to the library as protection against database corruption.
Finally, the message
"Unreadable files: 1. The following file could not be imported: '/Users/john/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Library.iPhoto.'"
is because iPhoto will not import a picture that's in the active iPhoto Library Folder - a sensible precaution against duplication.
Regards
TD

Lost, or inaccessible, iphoto library

I've seen many posts about lost iphoto libraries, without understanding if their problems/solutions are related to my own. Basic info: Using iPhoto '09 v8.1.1 (419), had ~200 photos in the iphoto library, then loaded 7 photos into an album called "EBay Photos", created for that task. Since then, that album, with its 7 photos, is all that can be seen. I can see, in users/new user/pictures/iphoto library that it occupies 13.1 MB, and that the 'kind' is iphoto library. If I double click on that entry, I get the info about the iphoto version, mentioned above. If control click on the iphoto icon I get a window asking "What photo library do you want to use?", with the only choice being iPhoto Library (default).
The size listed above, 13.1 MB, seems big for only 7 photos, but maybe about right for ~200. So, I think maybe the 'real' library is out there, but just inaccessible. Any suggestions?

You can't rid yourself of the Ebay album until you can access the iPhoto Window, I'm afraid. Let the Library Manager do its thing.
I feel that the writers of iPhone, who are protecting us from harming our photo collections by preventing deletions, are protecting us to death!
Well, assuming you mean iPhoto, if that's what they were doing, then probably. However, folks damaging their library by mucking around with it was a cost to Apple, because many times some one did it, it wold result in a call to Support. And Support is a cost not a profit centre in any organisation. So, they ain't protecting you from you, they're protecting the bottom line from you.
Not that it's a great protection: Go to your Pictures Folder and find the iPhoto Library there. Right (or Control-) Click on the icon and select 'Show Package Contents'. A finder window will open with the Library exposed.
Standard Warning: Don't change anything in the iPhoto Library Folder via the Finder or any other application. iPhoto depends on the structure as well as the contents of this folder. Moving things, renaming things or otherwise making changes will prevent iPhoto from working and could even cause you to damage or lose your photos.
Now even that access won't solve the Ebay Album issue, as you will see there is no folder for that Album. Albums are entries in the database, and that's why you'll need to get to the iPhoto Window to rid yourself of it.
Regards
TD

Lost photos from iphoto library

I backed up my iphoto library from my old macbook to an external hard drive and now imported it to my new imac. When I open iphoto all thumbnails show up, but when I click on a photo a black picture with an exclamation mark shows up. Some photos open fine, most won't.
I tried rebuilding iphoto with iphoto's own rebuild and with iphoto library manager, both with same results: only 2000 of my 9000 photos showed up!
I did have a problem when first time trying to move files from the external hard drive - Lacie 1tb usb- once it was unplugged without first being ejected, and also it made my computer crash few times and I had to reboot the imac. I suspect this had something to do with the lost photos.
Is there a way to get these photos back?

Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
The photos should still be in the library package file.
You may need to start over with a new Library:
Try these in order - from best option on down...
1. Do you have an up-to-date back up? If so, try copy the library6.iphoto file from the back up to the iPhoto Library (Right Click -> Show Package Contents) allowing it to overwrite the damaged file.
2. Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. This will create a new library based on data in the albumdata.xml file. Not everything will be brought over - no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your albums and keywords 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.
3. If neither of these work then you'll need to create and populate a new library.
To create and populate a new *iPhoto 08* library:
Note this will give you a working library with the same Events and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, modified versions, books, calendars etc.
Move the iPhoto Library to the desktop
In the iPhoto Preferences -> Events Uncheck the box at 'Imported Items from the Finder'
Launch iPhoto. It will ask if you wish to create a new Library. Say Yes.
Go into the iPhoto Library (Right Click -> Show Package Contents) on your desktop and find the Originals folder. From the Originals folder drag the individual Event Folders to the iPhoto Window and it will recreate them in the new library.
Regards
TD
When you're sure all is well you can delete the iPhoto Library on your desktop.

How do I transfer all my iPhoto library to an external drive without losing the organising

My iMac's internal drive is almost full - mainly with 25,000 photos accumulated over the last 10 years. These are carefully sorted into Events, Smart Albums, etc., and given titles, ratings, etc.
As my iMac is becoming rather 'clunky' with little space left, I want to transfer most or all of my iPhoto library onto a newly purchased 1TB external hard drive to be used just for photos / movies.
I already have another external hard drive linked to Time Machine backing up everything on the iMac.
I followed Apple's support team's instruction to create iPhoto on the new external hard drive (My Passport) - and then drag and drop the existing iPhoto library onto it from the Master file.
It's successfully copied all 25,000 photos into the new iPhoto library on My Passport, but I'm dismayed to find that all the original events, titles, etc. are now all shuffled up and haphazard, with all titles, grading, etc. apparently gone.
Fortunately I haven't yet started to delete the photos on the original Iphoto library on my internal hard drive .................. but surely there's a way to 'back up' my iPhoto library without losing all the hard work I've put into the organising & editing ............isn't there ???
What am I doing wrong?

I followed Apple's support team's instruction to create iPhoto on the new external hard drive (My Passport) - and then drag and drop the existing iPhoto library onto it from the Master file.
Don't know who told you that but it would be difficult to be more wrong.
Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
Regards
TD

IPhoto library/Pictures folder on mac

I started using iPhoto a few months ago. Before iPhoto I saved my photos to my pictures file in my hard drive. Can I just select all and import them into iPhoto and then delete them? Will iPhoto make a copy like iTunes does when you import items?

The default is that "copy items to iPhoto Library" is checked - any thing you imported while it was unchecked is referenced (pointed to by an alias) instead of being included in the iPhoto library so for those photos if you try to look at the original photo and the media holding the original is not available (the thumbnail is in the iPhoto library) you will get a message asking for the media
Larry Nebel

I've lost ALL my iPhoto library pictures

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