IPhoto has stopped accepting new and old photos.

Question

I have a 15" Macbook Pro thats about a year old running the newest version OS-X Tiger (10.4 I think it is).
With:
2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2 GB 667 MGz DDR2 SDRAM
Ok, my problem came to me tonight when I tried to organize my iPhoto library. Through the Macintosh HD>Pictures>iPhoto Library>Originals>2008>...I started renaming folders and moving .jpg's of various images into folders that would make more sense and be easier for myself to find. So rather than the folder Roll 45 I would rename it to something that would reflect the contents of the folder such as drawings, kayaking, etc.
The problem originally came about when there was a series of photos I had, every time I tried to view them instead of the picture I would get a question mark. And once I renamed all the folders and put the pictures where I wanted them, none of them started working (all showed up as question marks). All the photos under the 2007 folder still work.
So I think this has something to do with me renaming and moving everything, meaning the computer is looking for a folder that no longer has that name or has been deleted.
To try and solve this I moved all the photos in iPhoto that weren't working to the iPhoto trash, then emptied it. Then tried to re-import all the photos in their newly organized folders. And thats when I get an error that says exactly this: "The following files could not be imported (they may be an unrecognized file type or the files may not contain valid data)" then it gives me a list of all the files and their path that I tried to import.
I even tried this with new photos and it still wasn't working.
However, I have noticed that i'm able to import photos directly from my camera into iPhoto without a problem. But if I rename the folder name automatically the photos stop showing up. But if I put the name back to what I originally named it when first importing the photos everything will work again.
Now that I know the problem came about when I renamed folders, my question is now, How do I get the photos back into iPhoto without getting this error message? Theres no way I can go back to what everything was originally named, I did too much to remember.

Answer 1

Welcome to the Apple Discussions. You don't need to burrow into the iPhoto Library package via the Finder to find photos for use outside iPhoto. Read Terence Devlin's treatise on file access for use outside of iPhoto. It's the best explanation of how to do what you want available.
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier) 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 or later), 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 6 and 7 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. Just put the application in the Dock and click on it whenever you want to backup the dB file. 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.
Note: There's now an Automator backup application for iPhoto 5 that will work with Tiger or Leopard.