Iphoto 6 : library structure

Greetings ;
I'm new to mac. I've been reading thru the various posts and haven't found a matching situation at least described this way.
i've done what i now know what not to do by somehow through finder altering something in the IPhoto Library.
This is a finder view of the 2006 library structure:
Iphoto 6 Library
Data (this i understand to be thumbnails)
2006
rolls 1 - 13 exist (each populated)
Originals
2006
rolls 1 - 13 exist (each populated)
Iphoto 6 was used to import photos from Canon.
The photos were viewable from within Iphoto 6.
Now they are not.
While in Iphoto 6
Library - has some photos in it
Early Photos (no photos)
2003 (no photos)
2004 (no photos)
2005 (some photos)
2006 (no photos)
Last 14 Months (changed via preferences)
Last 12 Months
Trash
The good thing is Rolls 1 thru 13 (data and original) contain all the images per each download via iPhoto 6 (even tho they are repeats as i was experiencing download problems with my camera and repeated the download about 8 times hence rolls 6 - 13 are partial duplicates of each other.
i created a duplicate of the iPhoto Library in the desktop for now.
by the various posts i attempted the command option iphoto rebuild and selected the all options - it completed ok but the rolls 1-13 in the HD file structure are not corresponding while in IPhoto app.
While in iPhoto app:
i see no rolls and the 2006 year is completely empty.
likewise the 2005 year and the library have some pictures in them but there is no corresponding 2005 or library in the finder view of both the data and the original.
The Finder view of the structure only shows 2006 (rolls 1 -13) for both data and original.
Further : I'm not positive of the sequence here as i'm new to mac and did what i thought was ok but now know otherwise. I created albums and copied/moved (not sure) photos from the library to the albums then moved/ copied from the library to the iPhoto trash (most of which are still there).
I can only tell you where things are now and not exactly how they got this way.
So...
1) So How do I sync up the 13 rolls viewable in finder with something that makes sense while in iPhoto ?
2) What did the rebuild do for me as I hoped it would solve the 13 roll phenomenon?
The per import from camera creating a new roll within iPhoto as I now understand is the way it operates is where i'd like to get back to so I can at least start from ground zero.
Thanks for the assistance.
wb

restuart:
Isn't the cache folder titled "iPod Photo Cache"? It has to do with adding photos to an iPod. Even if you don't sync photos to an ipod there'll be that folder if you've ever connected an iPod.
The Data folder contains the thumbnail files for each photo.
Regarding the year folder with the old structure, I believe it's like our appendix, no longer needed. I had a 2005 folder with just photo in it. I moved it to the desktop and opened iPhoto, went to the roll that had that picture in and it was there and useable. I've since trashed that 2005 folder. Give it a try. and see if there's any problems with removing it. Make a backup of the library folder beforehand just in case.
There is some sort of bug with the roll dates. When you import an old folder of files it uses one of the modified dates instead of the captured date on many of the rolls. I haven't figured out how it determines which date on which photo to use. It's easy to change the date of the roll so it is located in the proper chronological position among the other rolls.
The current folder structure is a result of many requests to get iPhoto in line with other more professional image management applications. iPhoto's new capability of being able to use alias files instead of copying the entire file into it's new folder system allows it to be able to use soruce image files that are on another HD/CD /DVD and if the source files are not mounted iPhoto can still see the thumbnails, make and manipulate albums but cannot edit or work with books, slideshow or calendars. Once the photos come back on line iPhoto can use them again. This way users can develop their own folder/cataloging system and iPhoto will construct it's library in accordance with it.

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    Message was edited by: Terence Devlin

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    In iPhoto Library, there are a series of Folders with year dates from 1998-2005 -- but no 2006.
    I see that my 2006 photos are found in two different subfolders: "Modified" and "Originals" and "Data" (each of which contain subfolders with years 1998-2006).
    Finally, within the main iPhoto Library folder there are the following files: AlbumData.xml, iPhoto.ipsopt, i PhotoLock.data, Library.data, Library.iPhoto, Library6.iphoto (and several Thumb...segment.data files.
    So, can someone tell me, assuming I have no need to revert to any origial (unmodified) files, which of these files/folders do I actually need to repopulate iPhoto once I reinstall the OS on the new drive?
    Thanks to anyone who has actually read to the bottom of this!

    Argelius:
    If you want to backup your iPhoto library so you can reinstall it on a new HD then copy the entire iPhoto Library folder intact. Then copy it back to the Pictures folder once you've installed a system on the new HD. It's got to be the entire, unchanged iPhoto Library folder.
    If you remove any folders containing image files from the library, like in the Modified folder, you'll get blank spaces in the library when you try to use them. It's not worth the small savings in space to try to mess with it. If you're worried about the modified versions, do a Revert to Original and then backup the iPhoto Library folder to your external HD.

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