IPhoto 8 wont' find iPhoto 6 library?

I just upgraded my mom's computer to Leopard and iLife 08.
I first imported all 4,000 of her photos but when it was done it did not import the albums. The albums are critical to her organization (she just flipped).
Since I have this all on a backup, I can do this over.
When I just moved the iPhoto library into the pictures folder, it asked me to 'find the library'. However, all the library files are grayed out (the ones from 6 that were in her old folder).
Is there a better way to import photos from 6 into 8 while retaining the album integrity?
For some reason it worked perfectly well when I upgraded my own MacBook Pro to Leopard, but I was using iPhoto 7.

And if I choose 'choose library', the iphoto 6 libraries that I dragged over are all grayed out.
Then the back up library is damaged and not a valid 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 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.
3. If neither of these work then you'll need 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 Rolls and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, modified versions, books, calendars etc.
Move the iPhoto Library to the desktop
Launch iPhoto. It will ask if you wish to create a new Library. Say Yes.
Go into the iPhoto Library on your desktop and find the Originals folder. From the Originals folder drag the individual Roll Folders 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 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.
Regards
TD

Similar Messages

IPhoto 8 wont import or recognize Library

Can you help ?
My iPhoto Library is stored on an external 500GB iomega and has been spot on until my nephew 'did something' while I was out. Iphoto now has no photos at all and I cant import the iPhoto Library even when open>alt>select library. I have tried open>alt+cmd to re-build, still no joy. The Library is 14GB so photos are still there but simply wont go back into iphoto. Re-installed version 8 but cant get any up-dates as version 9 is out now ! EAK !!
Oh dear, can anyone help ? I am going mad over this and getting pretty stressed
Thanks so much in advance
Motoeuro

Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
If you go Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and point it at the Library on the external disk, and iPhoto doesn't open it, then it suggests that iPhoto no longer sees that Library as valid.
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.
In the iPhoto Preferences -> Events Uncheck the box at 'Imported Items from the Finder'
Move the iPhoto Library to the desktop
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.
When you're sure all is well you can delete the iPhoto Library 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.
Regards
TD

I need to find the original library of my iPhotos

Hi Terence,
by mistake i clicked on the "create new" project when iphoto opened. ive lost all pictures and videos fo my childrfen over the past two years. i do have copies on an external hard disk so i didnt panic, however when i imported back these, i have the pictures but the videos who show each a different capacity, when opening it gives a duration of zero, and when played the playing bar rolls from the beigning to the end of the vdeo in a second. worst thing is that i realized then that the same is found on the copies ive made, so i havent any correct version of these videos. my only hope is to find the original library of my iphotos and redirect it to it, but i cant seem to find it, even under the following path: macintosh hd-users-(my name)- pictures-iphoto library- masters, i only find 2013 then 12 (december)...nothing before
these are the vidoes of my two young childfen and its horrifying to have lost these videos of them growing up, please help me
<Re-Titled By Host>

Try downloading Find Any File
http://apps.tempel.org/FindAnyFile/
this is a search app that looks in places the Spotlight doesn't. Set it to search the machine for folder names like
Originals
Previews
and see what it finds. It will find the current Library that you have, so you're looking for these ina different location.
If it finds nothing then you're into File Recovery software like File Salvage - you can download a free trial and it will scan the disk for you and tell you with might be recoverable. Actual recovery will require that you purchase the app. There may be many files with the same or similar names. Always recover the largest file size.
There are other such apps. Search on Macupdate or the App Store

Can't find iPhoto 4 Library

I'm trying to reduce the amount of storage space of my 2400 photos on my main drive. It's getting full.
I copied my Photo Library Folder (5 gb) to an external drive.
Then I deleted the original iPhoto Library Folder to free up some space. And saved a copy on DVD.
When I reopened iPhoto to find the new Library location, I did not see a window showing something was in progress.
Now in the iPhoto window, it says there are 2400 photos, but I can't see them. All I see are grey boxes. I've restarted and nothing has happened. The last roll says it has 2400 photos. It shows the Photo Library by year with the correct numbers. But I can't see any photos.
I restarted iPhoto twice to find new Library, but nothing has changed.
Where are they hiding?

V Beckmann: Open iPhoto while holding down the Shift and Option keys. When asked if you want to rebuild the library, click Yes, then click Save. This rebuilding process will use information in your existing iphoto Library folder to create a new iPhoto Library_1 folder. I'm not sure whether the new library folder will be in the Pictures folder on your internal drive, or on the external drive. Either way, when the rebuild is complete, iPhoto will open the new library, and will continue to use it as the default library unless/until you specify another one for it to use.
If the new library is in good working order, you can trash the older iPhoto Library folder that you put on the external drive, and that didn't work.
If the new one works and is already on the external drive, fine; just leave it there and keep using it.
If the new one is in your Pictures folder on your internal drive, copy it to the external drive the same way you did before, by dragging the iPhoto Library folder's icon there and waiting for the copying to finish. You will then need to use the Option-key startup to direct iPhoto to open that copy of the library, thereby making it the default for iPhoto to use from now on.
Note that once your default iPhoto Library is stored on an external drive and not on your internal drive, it is *not backed up* unless you have another copy of it stored somewhere else. You should never be without a backup of any data that is important to you, including your pictures.
EDIT: Why was your copied library defective in the first place? Probably because before copying it, you poked around inside the iPhoto Library folder on your internal drive and corrupted it by moving or deleting something. Then you copied the corrupt library to the external drive, and naturally the copy was also corrupt.
Message was edited by: eww

Iphoto can't find my photo library. What should I do?

Iphoto can't find my photo library. WHat should I do?

Tell it where is it - depress and hold the option key while launching iPhooto and use the select ibraray window to tell iPhtoo where you library is
LN

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.

Problem with opening iphoto 6 library in iphoto08

I just copied my old iphoto 6 library into my new macbook, picture folder. Then I opened iphoto08, but iphoto shows no pictures,even though the "new" library is 6,3 GB large...
Any ideas?
The only thing I ca think of is that my old iphoto library seems a bit "messy" when I open it...

Macbubel
What does "a bit messy" mean?
Some things to try:
Hold down the option (or alt) key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and point iPhoto at the library. If it finds a valid library then it will update and open it.
If it doesn't find a valid library: was iPhoto working normally on he old machine? Try copy it over again if it was - maybe a damaged copy.
Otherwise:
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 back.
3. If neither of these work then you'll need 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 Events and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, modified versions, books, calendars etc.
In the iPhoto Preferences -> Events Uncheck the box at 'Imported Items from the Finder'
Move the iPhoto Library to the desktop
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.
When you're sure all is well you can delete the iPhoto Library 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.
Regards
TD

Why don't my albums and book in iPhoto 5 appear in the iPhoto 6 library?

I deliberately upgraded to OX10.4.9 so that I could get iLife 6 with iPhoto 6. Everything seemed fine until I realized that the albums and book I made in iPhoto 5 (but the book was not yet published) were no longer there. I can't find it anywhere in the libraries for my current iPhoto 6, and Spotlight can't find it on the computer. I do have the original photos in the Originals list, but in order to make the book I had to sort and weed out the pictures. Then I made custom captions for the book's pages. I was hoping to publish the book using the upgraded iPhoto6. Now it looks as if I will have to go through the whole process again.
Maybe there is hope because I did a back-up of my whole system on an external hard drive before I loaded in Tiger and the new iLife. But I don't know how to get the photo book out of there and export it to the iPhoto6 library.
What is the best way to get the book back----or is it possible at all?
PowerMac G4 Mac OS X (10.4.9) 733MHz, 640MB of RAM

valtuff:
Welcome to the Apple Discussions. Did you let iPhoto 6 do the conversion of the iPhoto 5 library? Do you still have a copy of the iPhoto 5 library. If so try the following;
1 - move the current V6 library folder to the desktop.
2 - copy the V5 library into your Pictures folder.
3 - download and run BatChmod on the iPhoto Library folder with the settings shown here, putting your administrator login name, long or short, in the owner and group sections. You can either type in the path to the folder or just drag the folder into that field.
4 - make sure you've updated iPhoto to 6.0.6. To do that you'll need to apply the updaters in the following order:
a. run the 6.0.4 updater
b. download and run the 6.0.5 updater (will only run on 6.0.4)
c. download and run the 6.0.6 updater (will only run on 6.0.5)
d. run Disk Utility and repair disk permissions.
That should give you a converted library with the book and albums intact.
The book and albums would be virtual entities and you wouldn't find them in Spotlight. But if they didn't get converted you'll have to recreate them from scratch.
Hint: I use iPhoto Library Manager and create a separate iPhoto library for books. I put the photos I want in the book in an album and then copy that album to the book library with iPLM. If I need more photos I copy them in a new album as the book progresses. Once the book is done and ordered I copy the book library folder intact to a CD. Then at a time in the future if I want to order another book just like it, I can. I just copy that library folder to the desktop, open it with iPhoto and order. It preserves the original book as ordered.
Do you Twango?
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 written 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. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

Newly imported pictures not appearing in iPhoto '08 Library

So, while I was importing a whole slew of photos today, iPhoto became unresponsive (I think because of two RAW images I inadvertantly left on the camera). I had to force quit iPhoto and when I relaunched it, none of the photos imported show up in my library. They are available if I browse "All Images," but if I try to drag and drop any of them into the iPhoto Library it says they're already there.
Advice?

Never access photos that are managed by iPhoto in your All Images search. It's a good way to damage your Library.
Surefire fix: restore from back up.
Other than that:
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 <a href="http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/"><b><u>iPhoto Library Manager</b></u></a> 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.
In the iPhoto Preferences -> Events Uncheck the box at 'Imported Items from the Finder'
Move the iPhoto Library to the desktop
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.
When you're sure all is well you can delete the iPhoto Library 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.

Pictures in iPhoto 6 library flash and then disappear but leave a box

OSX 10.5.8 iPhoto 6
pictures in library flash and then disappear but leave an empty box

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 allowing it to overwrite the damaged file.
2. Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. (In early versions of Library Manager it's the File -> Rebuild command. In later versions it's under the Library menu.)
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.
3. If neither of these work then you'll need to create and populate a new library.
To create and populate a new *iPhoto 6* library:
Note this will give you a working library with the same Rolls and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, modified versions, books, calendars etc.
Move the iPhoto Library to the desktop
Launch iPhoto. It will ask if you wish to create a new Library. Say Yes.
Go into the iPhoto Library on your desktop and find the Originals folder. From the Originals folder drag the individual Roll Folders 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 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.

IPhoto 08 - Library Corrupt? Pictures start vanishing...

I have my iPhoto 08 library on a backup external drive that is connectd via FW800 to my G5 Tiger...my other machines are using Leopard now.
Recently something happened with my Macmini (Leopard OS) where iPhoto just froze stating it needed to rebuild thumbnail cache...After leaving it running for over 8 hours and seeing the progress bar was not moving I rebooted the Macmini and tried again...This didn't help and it did it again. I forced quit iPhoto and checked on my G5. iPhoto loaded fine so I rebooted all my machines and shut down my eternal drive.
When I rebooted and tested iPhoto on all machines it appeared to be working but with a new bonus feature...Photos are now vanishing when I scroll around or select different events. The photos are displayed for a quick second and then they are replaced by a grey/blank outline that has an "!" if you select them.
Have I lost all these photos now? I am afriad to launch iPhoto again for fear of more photos of my son vanishing.
I checked the iPhoto properties and the file size is still what it should be (around 32gb) I also see the originals and modified folders within the package contents do in fact have a lot of photos in them.
Any suggestions?

What happened when you rebooted the mini from the freeze was the database file for the library got damaged. Look inside the iPhoto LIbrary package and confirm that the Originals folder contains your image files. Unless you have a recent backup copy of the library or the library's database file, Library6.iPhoto, you'll have to start over with a new library and import the Originals folder from the old library as follows:
Creating a new library while preserving the Events from the original library.
Move the existing library folder to the desktop.
Open the library package like this.
Launch iPhoto and, when asked, select the option to create a new library.
Drag the Originals folder from the iPhoto Library on the desktop into the open iPhoto window.
This will create a new library with the same Events as the original library if you have the Finder checkbox unchecked in the Events preference pane.
In the future I suggest you try the tip at the end of my signature. You'll have to modify the Automator application to look for the library on the external HD. It's designed to look in the Pictures folder.
Do you Twango?
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.

Lost iphoto 6 library

I have iphoto 6.0.6 and just tried importing some photos off a CD copied from a friend's Mac running Leopard. A box appeared saying the photos were not compatible with my iphoto version and I should update it but there are no iphoto updates when I check for them.
Then a box appeared saying do I want to upgrade my photos to the newer version and (foolishly) I clicked it and it took several minutes to 'convert' my library.
Now when I open iphoto there is nothing in it and it says I should update iphoto; but still there are no updates available.
My pictures folder has a iphoto6.library file (white) but I cant open it.
What I want to do is reconvert my pictures back to their original format. I do not want to upgrade the rest of my computer to Leopard.
Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Here is a recap TD's advice
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 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 6 library:
Note this will give you a working library with the same Rolls and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, modified versions, books, calendars etc.
Move the iPhoto Library to the desktop
Launch iPhoto. It will ask if you wish to create a new Library. Say Yes.
Go into the iPhoto Library on your desktop and find the Originals folder. From the Originals folder drag the individual Roll Folders 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 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.
It appears that you may have misunderstood part of these instructions
When moving the iphoto6library file (a white icon with nothing apparently in it) onto the desktop and then back into iphoto a box comes up saying it's a unrecognized format. Whatever happened changed the format of the photos; they weren't corrupted.
There is nothing about moving the library6.iPhoto file and bringing it back into iPhoto - the library6.iPhoto file is a file within the iPhoto library that describes the iPhoto database and there is nothing you can (or should) do with it
To create a new iPhoto 6 library (Not to be confused with the library6.iPhoto file discussed above) you follow the instructions starting at 3.
Is there a system restore like in Windows to a previous date that might work?
Only if you have a backup to restore
I dont really want to buy ilife if I can avoid it but I will if its the only way to get my photos back (and yes I should have made a back up)
Purchasing a later version of iLife will not fix anything - your library is corrupted and you must fix that for things to work - there is nothing wrong with your iPhoto application
LN

IPhoto crash--library corrupt?

I am using an iMac 1.8 GHz Power PC G5 with Mac OS X 10.3.9
The Hard drive was replaced 2 years ago, and I recently upgraded my memory to 2 GB DDR SDRAM.
At the time of the crash I had the following applications open: Firefox, ShoeBox, MS Word, iPhoto, and Photoshop Elements v. 4. The computer froze up so I had to shut it down using the power bottom, the force quit was not working either. When I re-opened my iPhoto application after the crash approximately 6000 photos had disappeared from the application. Fortunately they are all backed up on an external hard drive, and 95% of them on CD or DVD. I tried to reload the photos and about 500 did reload into the application from the iPhoto library file in the finder window. However none of the reloaded files had their album tags. Then the next batch had corrupt files.
I do not know if I want to continue using iPhoto, but really loved the ease of the albums tags and ability to search via dates as well. In some of my research I have read to not touch the files in the library, but to access them through iPhoto. A friend sent me about 50 pages of material regarding iPhoto problems and solutions, but after wading through about 1/2 of it I tried the rebuild option and it keep only the photos that were still in the iPhoto application, but not the all the ones from the library.
Is there any way to rebuild iPhoto back to the about 8000 photos I had in it? It is wise to have that many photos in iPhoto? Will I be able to recover any of the album tags, or will I have to re-tag if I choose to go that route? Should I re-tag using Shoebox? Thanks in Advance!

Your database was damaged in the Crash.
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 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 6* library:
Note this will give you a working library with the same Rolls and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, modified versions, books, calendars etc.
Move the iPhoto Library to the desktop
Launch iPhoto. It will ask if you wish to create a new Library. Say Yes.
Go into the iPhoto Library on your desktop and find the Originals folder. From the Originals folder drag the individual Roll Folders 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 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.
Regards
TD

Aperture 3 import of iPhoto 5 library

Is it possible to import an iPhoto 5 library into Aperture 3?
When I do a file > import > iPhoto library it correctly brings up the file browser pointing to the location of my iPhoto 5 library. However the import button is disabled - so the only option is 'cancel'.
So I'm guessing that maybe it's not possible, however I can't find any definitive information as to what versions of iPhoto are supported. Any hints?
Further, if it turns out that Aperture 3 does not support import from iPhoto 5, any suggestions on how I might get around it?
Thanks.

Yeah that's fairly old. It might be you need to upgrade the iPhoto library to a more recent version (I'm guessing… 08 or 09… before import). I'm sure a KBase article would have specifics but I'm leaving that as an exercise for the reader.

IPhoto as Library and Adobe Elements Organizer as download client

I wanted to use Adobe Elements 9 Organizer as the download client as I can actually see image files saved and grouped by folders and iPhoto as library and creative authoring.
Will using iPhoto to create library from Pictures Folder (those saved by Elements Organizer) duplicate the photos that are already in that folder? I kind think that iPhoto will copy those photos into its own. I worry about duplicating the JPEG files in my Pictures Folder.
Thanks.

I'm with Larry when he says to pick one horse and ride it. This can get quite confusing very quickly.
To answer your specific question:
Will using iPhoto to create library from Pictures Folder (those saved by Elements Organizer) duplicate the photos that are already in that folder
By default, yes, but you can set iPhoto not to. But note: a: What Happens when you do - for instance, that various versions of the files will not be available except through iPhoto, which will confuse your proposed system, and b: The various caveats to running a Referenced Library.
*How to do it:*
Simply go to iPhoto Menu -> Preferences -> Advanced and uncheck 'Copy Files to the iPhoto Library on Import'.
*What Happens:*
Now iPhoto will not copy the files, but rather simply reference them on your HD. To do this it will create an alias in the Originals Folder that points to your file. It will still create a thumbnail and, if you modify the pics, a Modified version within the iPhoto Library Folder.
*Some things to consider:*
1. Importing and deleting pics are more complex procedures. You have to to put the files where they will be stored before importing them. When you delete them you'll need to remove the files from the HD yourself.
2. You cannot move or rename the files on your system or iPhoto will lose track of them on systems prior to 10.5 and iPhoto 08. Even with the later versions issues can still arise if you move the referenced files to new volumes or between volumes.
3. Most importantly, migrating to a new disk or computer can be much more complex.
4. Because iPhoto has no tools for managing Referenced Files, if, for some reason, the path to the photos changes then you could find yourself resolving aliases for +each photo in the Library+ one by one.
My own opinion:
I've yet to see a good reason to run iPhoto in referenced mode unless you're using two photo organiser
If disk space is an issue, you can run an entire iPhoto Library from an external disk:
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library as an entity 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.
If you're concerned about accessing the files, There are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto:
*For Users of 10.5 and later*
You can use any Open / Attach / Browse dialogue. On the left there's a Media heading, your pics can be accessed there. Command-Click for selecting multiple pics.
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
You can access the Library from the New Message Window in Mail:
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
*For users of 10.4 and later* ...
Many internet sites such as Flickr and SmugMug have plug-ins for accessing the iPhoto Library. If the site you want to use doesn’t then some, one or any of these will also work:
To upload to a site that does not have an iPhoto Export Plug-in the recommended way is to Select the Pic in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export and export the pic to the desktop, then upload from there. After the upload you can trash the pic on the desktop. It's only a copy and your original is safe in iPhoto.
This is also true for emailing with Web-based services. However, if you're using Gmail you can use iPhoto2GMail
If you use Apple's Mail, Entourage, AOL or Eudora you can email from within iPhoto.
If you use a Cocoa-based Browser such as Safari, you can drag the pics from the iPhoto Window to the Attach window in the browser.
*If you want to access the files with iPhoto not running*:
For users of 10.6 and later:
You can download a free Services component from MacOSXAutomation which will give you access to the iPhoto Library from your Services Menu. Using the Services Preference Pane you can even create a keyboard shortcut for it.
For Users of 10.4 and later:
Create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use this free utility Karelia iMedia Browser
Other options include:
1. *Drag and Drop*: Drag a photo from the iPhoto Window to the desktop, there iPhoto will make a full-sized copy of the pic.
2. *File -> Export*: Select the files in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export. The dialogue will give you various options, including altering the format, naming the files and changing the size. Again, producing a copy.
3. *Show File*: Right- (or Control-) Click on a pic and in the resulting dialogue choose 'Show File'. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected.
*An Alternative*
Set Elements as an External Editor in iPhoto: You can set Photoshop (or any image editor) as an external editor in iPhoto. (Preferences -> General -> Edit Photo: Choose from the Drop Down Menu.) This way, when you double click a pic to edit in iPhoto it will open automatically in Photoshop or your Image Editor, and when you save it it's sent back to iPhoto automatically. This is the only way that edits made in another application will be displayed in iPhoto.
Note that iPhoto sends a copy+ of the file to Photoshop, so when you save be sure to use the Save command, not Save As... If you use Save As then you're creating a new file and iPhoto has no way of knowing about this new file. iPhoto is preserving your original anyway.
Regards
TD

How do I transfer an iPhoto '09 library back to iPhoto '08

Got new MacBook pro with OSX 10.6 and iPhoto '09 - nice setup BUT my desktop is a G5 PPC single processor 2.56Ghz running 10.5.8 and iPhoto '08 -- now my laptop iPhoto library is not available to my desktop where all my other iPhoto libraries are:
Can I transfer iPhoto '09 library back to iPhoto '08 library somehow?
Or is there a way I can install iPohot '08 on the MacBook Pro?
Any way I can just update my PPC G5 to iPhoto '09 without having to buy and then trash Garageband, iWeb and iMovie which I do not use nor want?
Any answer or other suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks

Look in your Applications folder for the iPhoto application. Drag it back into the Dock. If it's not there and you can't find it on your HD you'll need to reinstall it from the disk it came on.
If you have iPhoto 8.1 on your HD try launching it with the Command+Option keys depressed so you can get the rebuild window with the options listed.
Click to view full size
Select the last three options and rebuild.
If you can't get to that point in iPhoto rebuild the library with iPhoto Library Manager as follows:
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
1 -Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
2 -Click on the Add Library button, navigate to your User/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
3 - 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
4 - In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
5 - 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 untouched for further attempts at fixing or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.

IPhoto 8 wont' find iPhoto 6 library?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for