IPhoto can't find original photos after volume name change

I had to reformat my drive and do a fresh install of Mountain Lion. I was pleased that the Migration Assistant imported all the user accounts, apps, etc. from a Time Machine backup. Never could have done *that* with Windows...
However, in iPhoto, I *do not* copy pictures from my Pictures folder into the iPhoto library and iPhoto can't find them. I expect that this is because I changed the volume name when I reformatted the drive, which is embedded somewhere in the iPhoto package in my Pictures folder.
Does anyone know which iPhoto files I can edit or batch edit to change references from the old volume name to the new one? Is this information stored in text or XML files that I can edit or is it embedded in binary files? I thought I might be able to reimport the photos from the current volume and iPhoto would sort out the duplicates (not a great option if I get prompted for each one though...) but I wasn't sure if that would preserver events, faces, etc.
When I try to rebuild the iPhoto library, I get a dialog indicating each file cannot be found on the volume. While it provides an option to browse for the location, this isn't practical due to the 1000's of photos and movies on the drive.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

As OT says, the primary reason not to run a Referenced Library, and, most especially, not one where you have the Library on one Volume and the photos on another.
You're going to have this problem again and again any time you make a change to your hardware set up - including upgrading your machine and so on.
Going forward: Do you have Aperture? This has a command to Locate Referenced Masters which should help. Other than that, how are you at hacking SQL databases? That's what this guy did:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3216539?tstart=30
back up first...
Regards
TD

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IPhoto can't find original photos, but I can!

When I launch iPhoto, I get error messages telling me photos are missing, and asking if I want to "find original" or cancel. If I try to find the original, I can't navigate into the library file itself, even though a search in spotlight reveals the missing photo is inside the iPhoto library bundle itself.
So I hit 'cancel' but I have to do this dozens of times each time I launch iPhoto, which is a huge hassle.
The 'missing' photos show up as blank thumbnails with a dotted white line around them in the photo viewer. If I scroll around iPhoto's viewing pane, the same message appears constantly.
I have rebuilt the library, repaired disk permissions, and even tried reverting to an older library from backup. No dice.
I'm out of ideas, other than exporting all the photos and then creating a new library and reorganizing everything. Seems like a huge hassle for 9000 photos, though.
Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for the insights, Terence. I'm glad I didn't export then re-import.
I did try iPhoto Library Manager before posting here, but it told me it couldn't rebuild the database because it was corrupt! Yikes.
Okay, so I did what someone suggested on another thread, and tried to identify all the 80 or so photos that were supposedly 'missing'. I wrote down the name of every photo on a text edit doc.
Then I did something strange that seems to have worked: I went to Spotlight, and searched for one of the image names. I found it inside the iPhoto library. (I'm not sure why you can't navigate to photos from inside iPhoto, but you can from Spotlight - note, you can't find them in any other finder window, just Spotlight).
I dragged the culprit file to my desktop. Then, when the alert came up again, I used File > Reveal in Finder to navigate to the photo...interestingly, iPhoto then pointed to the original location of the missing file...I then dragged the photo from my desktop back into iPhoto's library via the Finder. Voila, the photo was re-linked.
But here's where it gets interesting. Somehow other photos got re-linked, too!
I quit the program, and the same problem reoccurred. So I took the steps again above, but this time I did something slightly different afterward.
I went to the TextEdit doc, and I found each and every photo, and dragged it into an album I'd created (I called it something like "Photos to Fix" or something). I then went to the Trash, and found some broken aliases in there, too. I emptied the Trash, after clicking 'cancel' on each error message. Then, I quit and restarted iPhoto several times. The problem is gone! I then moved the photos out of the "Photos to Fix" album, and the problem has not returned.
In short:
- Find a broken photo in iPhoto, note the name
- Navigate to the photo in Spotlight (not finder)
- Drag it out of the iPhoto Library and onto the desktop
- Go back to iPhoto
- Select "Reveal in Finder" on the broken thumbnail
- iPhoto will go to the location the photo USED to be
- Go back to Finder
- Drag the photo back into its old location
- Go back to iPhoto
- Move that photo, and any other problem photos, to a new album
- Empty Trash if there are any problem files there, too
- Restart iPhoto
- Problem solved
That's what worked for me, though I admit it is wonky and illogical. Maybe someone can shed light on why this worked.

Iphoto can't find original photo

Back when I was new to iPhoto I imported some high resolution photos and apparently renamed the folder where they were located in the Originals folder. I now know this is a big "no no". I've searched using Spotlight for the file name of one of the photos. The only results I get are for the small res file located in the Data folder. I can see the thumbnail of the photo in iPhoto but when I double click to edit it doesn't show anything. However, the photo info still says its 3 MB. I don't believe I deleted the high res photos - just renamed the folder. Is there any way to find the high res files on my computer? I've search the Originals folder and the Modified folder and can't find them.

I've search the Originals folder and the Modified folder and can't find them.
Well if there are not in either of those folders, then they are not in the Library.
Regards
TD

I can't find the photos after I have saved them from a text message, It says attachment saved, where do they go and how do I get there? Thanks

I can't find the photos after I have saved them from a text message, It says attachment saved, where do they go and how do I get there? Thanks

Here to help shed some additional light on this case, jdondr. I also own a Maxx. With your phone, if you access the Gallery, there should be a folder named: Messaging. If you look at the upper left hand corner, you should see a drop down box. Is it currently set to Albums?
NicandroN_VZW
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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 can not find several photos, shows icon, but not pic itself and I did not move anything

I have more then 12'000 photos on iPhoto. After the last update it shows me all pics in the small icons, but when I click on them, severals are not whown - a black background with a grey triangle opens and a "!" in the mid. I suppose this means that iPhoto can not find the data. I already looked into the database and the files are really not there. But I did NOT move them! What happened? What can I do? (I would highly appreciate if I would not have to check every single photo and reimport it again!!!) Thank you in advance for your help!

Restore from your back up.
Regards
TD

Can't find original files after uploading photos through iPhoto

I'm a recent "convert," and yesterday I uploaded some pictures directly through iPhoto for the first time. Then I tried to log onto Facebook to create a photo album and couldn't find the original photos in my "Pictures" file or anywhere else. I found I could access the "iPhoto Library" option but it distorted my photos by zooming in on the faces of people in the picture!
Where are my original files?

iPhoto used to place the photos in a standard directory "iPhoto Library" but this has now become a package, which hides access to the contents--just like in many applications--to keep you from rearranging them. You (or I) cannot directly access the contents but the "package" is just a specially marked directory. If you know a filename of one of the pictures or albums then you can search for that and it will find the file/photo. Then you have access to the directory and can go up, down, or over. It uses the same names in several of them.
The head shots you are seeing may be the "Faces" feature of the new iPhoto. They will be in a separate directory, as well as directories for original, modified, and others. Interesting, it did not find the photo names on the backup disk. Differing degrees of hiddenness? You can get there with Terminal. This is what I found in mine--notice the thumbnails used in album views:
2001 Dir.data Thumb64Segment.data
2002 Library.data ThumbJPGSegment.data
2003 Library.iPhoto face.db
2004 Library6.iPhoto face_blob.db
2005 Library6.iPhoto.bak iPhoto Selection
2006 Metadata Backup iPhoto.ipspot
AlbumData.xml Modified iPhotoAux.db
AlbumData2.xml Originals iPhotoLock.data
Auto Import Roll 249 iPhotoMain.db
Data Roll 251
Data.noindex ThemeCache
Your best bet is to select the photos you want and export them where you can have the JPEGs.
After import, I export so I can use shootShifter to adjust the names to be their exposure dates in yymmdd hrmise format. (You did set the camera's date.)
-Ken

TS2932 Does anyone know what to do when after importing photo's it says "Can't Find Original Photo"

Hey so I imported my photo's and such from my GoPro, but when I go to look at the photo's it says, original photo not found... Does anyone know how to fix or [find] this?

How did you import? Check the settings for "Store files" in the "Import Settings" window.
Have you set this to "Store files in the Aperture Library" or is it set to a different location? If you selected "In there original location", then Aperture is referencing the files on the external device you imported from and you need to connect it again to be able to access the image files. Always import managed with "Store files in the Aperture Library", if you want your image files safely stored inside the Aperure library.

Can't find original patch after making an alias

How to retrieve the original patch after making an alias. It seems lost in the backgroung of mainstage. Help! :-)

iPhoto used to place the photos in a standard directory "iPhoto Library" but this has now become a package, which hides access to the contents--just like in many applications--to keep you from rearranging them. You (or I) cannot directly access the contents but the "package" is just a specially marked directory. If you know a filename of one of the pictures or albums then you can search for that and it will find the file/photo. Then you have access to the directory and can go up, down, or over. It uses the same names in several of them.
The head shots you are seeing may be the "Faces" feature of the new iPhoto. They will be in a separate directory, as well as directories for original, modified, and others. Interesting, it did not find the photo names on the backup disk. Differing degrees of hiddenness? You can get there with Terminal. This is what I found in mine--notice the thumbnails used in album views:
2001 Dir.data Thumb64Segment.data
2002 Library.data ThumbJPGSegment.data
2003 Library.iPhoto face.db
2004 Library6.iPhoto face_blob.db
2005 Library6.iPhoto.bak iPhoto Selection
2006 Metadata Backup iPhoto.ipspot
AlbumData.xml Modified iPhotoAux.db
AlbumData2.xml Originals iPhotoLock.data
Auto Import Roll 249 iPhotoMain.db
Data Roll 251
Data.noindex ThemeCache
Your best bet is to select the photos you want and export them where you can have the JPEGs.
After import, I export so I can use shootShifter to adjust the names to be their exposure dates in yymmdd hrmise format. (You did set the camera's date.)
-Ken

Iphoto can't find my photos -- how can I force it to recognize them?

I initially used iPhoto in referenced mode, but after a few years, I switched to managed mode, and then I inquired about how to make my iPhoto library entirely managed. About 2 years ago, Larry HN suggested Alias herder. I finally got around to using it, and there are no more aliases in iPhoto Library/Masters. The problem is that once I removed the referenced photos from ~/Pictures, iPhoto is acting as if the original photos are lost -- even though they're right inside the iPhoto library.
Now I did some searching on these threads, and the advice to those who have iPhoto libraries that are entirely referenced is to start afresh. But I can't do this, because a good part of my library consists of imported photos that don't reside anywhere else. And there's no way to drag photos from one iPhoto library to another, is there? My library has over 12,000 photos.
Isn't there a way to get iPhoto to recognize the originals inside the iPhoto Library. I've tried rebuilding the iPhoto library, to no avail

This is split across two threads... might be best to consolidate onto one, no?
Library Manager doesn't recover one shot plus all the associated metadata, then next shot, plus all associated metadata..., it recovers the related data in difference stages, so the Faces Data may not be lost, but it may not be able to get to then stage of recovering that data before the crashes...
You could try create a new Library. Set it to be Managed. Then use Library Manager to copy over an Event to the new Library. Does that get all the data? Faces too?
If so, repeat and so on...

Iphoto can't find my photo

I've just imported photos from a vacation, and when I click on the photo now that it's been imported into my photo library, I get this error message. The image is there, but for some reason iPhoto thinks that it's only a thumbnail, and it can't find the source file. What gives? Steve would be rolling in his grave if he knew how screwed up Apple has become without him, just had to say that.
Help!!

As Larry mentioned do you have a managed or referenced library?
That error message is typical of a "referenced" library where the photos were imported from the camera and the camera disconnected from the Mac. So check to see how that particular iPhoto preference is set.
OT

Iphoto can't find my photos!

SO-
My pictures all show up as thumbnails but the ones that I have already gone through an edited, then seem to disappear so that the next time i go and click on the thumb nail a BIG exclamation point comes up instead of the photo- the photos are in my picture folder but for some reason won't show up in Iphoto- I have recently been trying to make a book but since the photos aren't there, when I click to drag them into the book only the exclamation point shows up.
How do I get Iphoto to recognize/ find my pictures.
I checked for updates already and my computer is up-to-date.
Do I ned to buy the new Ilife in order to get my Iphoto to work properly?
Please Help, i want to find my photos!

Vicoria
Welcome to the Apple user discussion forums
Do I ned to buy the new Ilife in order to get my Iphoto to work properly?
No - this had nothing to do with the version of iPhoto that you have - if fact you should NOT upgrade until you solve your library problem - upgrading a corrupted library makes it harder to solve
click on the thumb nail a BIG exclamation point comes up instead of the photo-
This is an indication that iPhoto has lost contact with the photo - it is often caused by user activity within the iPhoto library, moving, changing or deleting photos using the finder or an external program instead of using iPhoto to control the iPhoto library
but the ones that I have already gone through an edited, then seem to disappear so that the next time i go and click on the thumb nail
Exactly how are you "going through and editing" your photos?
How do I get Iphoto to recognize/ find my pictures.
Answer the above questions to help make sure this is the right path
Do you have a good current backup of yoru iPhoto Library?
If not then Probably the first step will be to rebuild yuor library -quit iPhoto, back up your iPhoto library and launch iPhoto while depressing the optin (alt) and command (apple) keys and use the resulting dialogue to rebuild your library
If that does not work then you can download iPhoto Library Manager - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ - and use it's rebuild function to attempt a rebuild - it will make a new library and leave your old one untouched so there is no risk
If none of these work then you will have to create a new library - quit iPhoto and drag your iPhoto library to the desktop then launch iPhoto and it will create a fresh, new library - go to the originals folder in the iPhoto library on your desktop and drag each folder onto iPhoto to recreate yur library without edits, albums or projects
Good luck
LN

IPhoto can't find original image

I'm trying to find the original photo b selecting File>Reveal in Finder. It works for some but others it doesn't.
I get a windoow that pops up and says "The operation can't be completed because the item can't be found"
Why does this happen and how can I fix it?

Go into the Pictures folder where your current library is and enter TM via the TM menu in the toolbar:
Navigate back in time to get the backup copy you think is good. When you restore it keep both versions so you won't lose any new photos.

Iphoto can´t find my photos, is creating a new library the only solution?

Ok, I am having a hard time understanding iPhoto and its libaries. There are two parts of my question;
1.
I imported all my photos which I had on an external hard drive. I then changed my mind and copied them to the harddrive, and also kept thm on the external as a backup.
Now iPhoto cant find any of the photos. The thumbnails are there, but every time I doubleclick on an image, an error message appears The volume for “x.jpg” cannot be found.
I have about 14.000 pictures, so to sit and "find photo" one by one would take a very long time...
Is there another way to make iPhoto find all the images again?
2.
I think I found one soulution to this, but Im not sure Im doing it right. What I did was that I downloaded "iPhoto library manager", created a new library, named it "No.2" and imported all the photos again into that library. This seems to be working fine. However, when I click the default library in Finder, it says that it takes up 9 GB of my harddrive. Can I delete this library? Or will it affect iPhoto since it is the default library?
I am completely new to Mac and still stuck in Windows-land. So if anyone can help me with this it is much appreciated!
/E

Hi,
thank you foryou quick reply!
Ok, so nothing will happen to the images if i trash the original library?
Also, i have another question you might have an answer to. When I open the No.2 library (I have imported all the images to here) every time a message appears "6 photos have been found in the iPhoto Library that were not imported" I click "Yes" every time, but no images are imported and the message appears every time I open iPhoto. Aslo, every time I click Yes, iPhoto creates an album called "recovered Photos 1" "2", "3" etc. What photos does this regard? Can I get rid of this message somehow?
/E

Can't Find Original photo that I have used in my iweb

Hi
I hope this is something with an easy answer. I have several photos in a website. I now need the originals of those photos for something else. I am think they're somewhere in iphoto, but I have gazillions of photos and trying to find the exact one (out of many similiar photos seems daunting)
so, is there a way in iweb that I can find the original name of the photo, or title and then I can look in iphoto with that extra piece of information and narrow the photos and put them in their own folder, so I can find them the next time I need them.
Thanks

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IPhoto can't find original photos after volume name change

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