IPhoto 6 is duplicating rolls of film on other iphoto libraries

Question

I am having a lot of issues with iPhoto 6..... I hope there is someone out there who can give me some guidance as I am really bewildered.
iPhoto 6 asks if I want duplicates added, but then proceeds to add the duplicates -- just ignoring my instructions. iPhoto 6 not only duplicated rolls of film on different iPhoto libraries, but it duplicated some photos within a roll -- not all of the photos on the roll, just a few. It is noticeable that the first and presumably the original has JPG after the title.... The second picture doesn't have JPG suffix, but says FORMAT is JPEG Image. Also the size is the same for the duplicate as the first one, but the KB or MB is less than the first one.
I had created new libraries (12) earlier when the number of photos on a library was thought to slow it down. Some of these libraries hadn't been opened for a while. I recently noticed that my Pictures folder was taking up too much space and I began an examination. When I opened some of the libraries, I'd get a message that the library needed to be rebuilt to improve performance, so I agreed. Then on several occasions, I was told that a certain number of photos had been "recovered" and would I like to import (over 500 and up to 1300 at a time). Well, I had no idea what they were of or why they were "recovered." I was hesitant to add that many more photos as they were already taking too much space, but I did.
I soon learned that all or most of these recovered pictures were already on another library. What a MESS! There is no title on the library once it is opened and there is no list of all the film rolls so that one can know where the duplicates are. So I have gone through all the libraries, put them in film rolls and typed up a rough index. Now I am trying to decide which ones to delete.
I have not been as pleased with iPhoto 6 as with its predecessors and certainly do not want to upgrade to iPhoto 8 until I have some assurance that this isn't going to happen again. The problem is on my eMac 10.4.11, but I also have a MacBook and a picture iPod.
Can anyone help me make sense out of this? I've like to know what caused it so that I don't have a repeat performance. Thanks for your help in advance.

Answer 1

Rita:
I suggest you use iPhoto Library Manager to manage the libraries. It puts the name of the library in the top frame of iPhoto so you know what library you're in. You can also merge libraries, telling it not to merge duplicates and I believe it will do a better job than iPhoto. You can test it out with a couple of smaller libraries.
Are you importing from a camera or from the Finder? I found that importing from the Finder would exclude duplicates while from a camera would not. I find it safer to upload from the camera to a folder on the Desktop and then into iPhoto much safer.
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto 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), 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. It's compatible with iPhoto 08 libraries and Leopard. 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.