IPhoto library Gone! (replaced in just one click w/o ever dragging 2 Trash)

iPhoto library gone / replaced in just one click (w/ o ever dragging anything to the trash)!
I currently own multiple PowerMacs all sharing the same high speed local network. All of them run the latest / Mac OS X.4.9 and have multiple HD’s (both internal and external) as well as iLife’ 06. And all of them also have iChatAV3 and are able to video chat one with the other at will while on the same local high speed network.
This is my very first iPhoto library nightmare since I’ve owned a mac. and yes I’ve always been conditioned to backup everything one wishes to keep. This particular scenario is no different. (altho my back up HD for one of the three G4 computers involved was a bit dated by at least 6 months).
This was essentially triggered via two separate iLife ‘06 apps , namely iPhoto and iChatAV3 (combined with at least an ounce of stupidity on my part). That combined with 2 people not communicating properly / being on the same page (or rather the same Folder) when working on the very same task. Hey... I do NOT claim to be an expert at this particular application even though I have used macs since apple first introduced the Apple IIe decades ago. So this does not stem from lack of experience but rather not thinking things thru entirely in terms of all the possible consequences of simple, yet catastrophic actions when it comes to replacing or authenticating one particular folder containing the entire iPhoto Library simply titled “pictures”.
Starts like this, ichatav is open on 2 of three macs and my teenage daughter asks me to send her a roll of pictures she downloaded into my computer (since it’s twice as fast as her own) from her digital still camera. Now she wants all 12 photos on her computer as well. So I drag all 12 photos to my desktop and place them in a folder titled “Jackies pics”. I drag this folder to her icon on my buddy list and ichat AV simply refuses to allow sending the entire folder and ask me to send them one at a time. That should have been my first clue. Strange I thought. Always worked well in the past. Why not now? So I tell her over ichatav that the app simply won’t allow me to send her the entire folder and that I’ll have to send them one at a time. Please make a new folder on your HD called Jackie’s pics. She agrees and creates a folder on her end called .... (you guessed it) ...... “pictures”...... to which she drags each of the 12 images I sent over our local network.
Little did she realize this newly created folder has the makings of an atomic bomb when it comes to importing the entire folder into iPhoto’s library on her own mac. A dialog box quickly materializes asking that she “authenticate” or hit cancel. So she ask me what to do. I said that’s fine, hit authenticate (assuming she titled it Jackies pics). BIG mistake! She hits authenticate and now she has the 12 images I sent her in iPhoto....BUT .... the 1600 or so originals in the entire iPhoto library quickly vanishes. Her entire iphoto library is now wiped out or rather replaced with this new folder. She asks me, what happened? And in less than 30 seconds she in complete tears. Over 2-3 years of her photos (all 1600 images) gone in the click of a mouse.
Today is father’s day .... and I remembered that I have a complete backup of her HD (even though it is a bit dated). So together, we managed to recover about 90% of the lost images. If anyone reading this knows how I can possibly recover the final 10% (most current photos) then please help us.
Bottom line: We were fortunate. This Father’s Day iPhoto Nightmare ended happily....
TIA
(3) G4 PM's/(3) S-Drives/Sony TRV900/Nikons/6FWHD's/PS7/iLife06/FCPHD/DVDSP/etc. Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Just another update .... Today, my daughter was multitasking on her G4 powermac working within iPhoto as well as email account and last but not least the latest iTunes. As she opened this final app (and I mean "final").... her entire hard drive bit the dust after she saw the spinning beachball and hence attempted to force quit. (I should also point out we are having a heat wave in San Diego today ...which also may have contributed to this hardware issue mainly).
This time, I had a complete updated copy of her HD and simply cloned it to a new hard drive. Took me a few hours to troubleshoot, clone and install a new drive in its place. But all is working normally again (sure hope it stays that way this time).
Friendly reminder to those who read this post .....
BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP .... ESPECIALLY IN IPHOTO & ITUNES!

Similar Messages

Iphoto library gone on my side

My wife and I each have an account on my 1.8 duel G5. When I opened my iphoto 6 tonight my library was completely gone. All my photo books and every roll. Our iphoto folder lives in our shared file. When I go to my wife's side, she still has everthing as it was.
I may have jumped the gun and re-imported my iphoto folder which left me with a big messy 4000 photo library with doubles and out of any kind of chronological order. Completely useless.
How do I get rid of this mess and get my wife's library back to my side?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Hugh

Hi Hugh,
It seems you have run into the "permissions changing on the library" problem.
I would take look at iPhoto Library Manager and read the documentation page on sharing libraries to see it explained.
There is also another method in Tiger for sharing one library.
(you can go back to sharing the shared library by using one of the next methods and just delete the iPhoto Library folder in your Pictures folder that is the messed up import)
SHARING ONE IPHOTO LIBRARY BETWEEN USERS ON SAME MACHINE
You can try one of these three methods:
1- Use iPhoto Library Manager-the paid version
The documentation page will give instructions on how it is done.
2- Sharing one iPhoto library between several users on one machine
3- Share an iPhoto Library in tiger Using ACL's
4- I have also read about ShareAlike
There is no other info on the site about how it works.
I strongly urge anyone wanting to try any of the methods for sharing one iPhoto Library folder among more than one user to backup all iPhoto Library folders before attemptin anything.

Photos in my iPhoto library will not enlarge when double clicked on. they fill the screen and then screen goes black. hasn't happened before. thanks--

photos in my iPhoto library will not enlarge when double clicked on. they fill the screen for a second (or less) and then screen goes black. hasn't happened before. thanks--

There are several possible causes for the Black Screen issue
1. Permissions in the Library: Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Include the option to check and repair permissions.
2. Minor Database corruption: Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild.
3. A Damaged Photo: Select one of the affected photos in the iPhoto Window and right click on it. From the resulting menu select 'Show File (or 'Show Original File' if that's available). (On iPhoto 11 this option is under the File -> Reveal in Finder.) Will the file open in Preview? If not then the file is damaged. Time to restore from your back up.
4. A corrupted iPhoto Cache: Trash the com.apple.iPhoto folder from HD/Users/Your Name/ Library/ Caches...
5. A corrupted preference file: Trash the com.apple.iPhoto.plist file from the HD/Users/ Your Name / library / preferences folder. (Remember you'll need to reset your User options afterwards. These include minor settings like the window colour and so on. Note: If you've moved your library you'll need to point iPhoto at it again.)
If none of these help: As a Test:
Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Create Library'
Import a few pics into this new, blank library. Is the Problem repeated there?

My iphoto library database was corrupted with one file taking over all images i purchased aperture, selected no for importing duplicates and yet it is still importing duplicates what can i do??????

my iphoto library database was corrupted with one image taking over every other image on the database
i purchased aperture and am in the process of copying my i photo library , i ticked no to importing duplicate images and yet it is still importing many duplicates including the photo which took over my old iphoto library
help how can i stop it from importing the duplicates?

my iphoto library database was corrupted with one image taking over every other image on the database
What exactly do you mean by that? Do you mean one thumbnail only was visible in the iPhoto Window? What? This is the sort of thing that's fixed easily by an iPhoto rebuild. Gives us some more information and we may be able to help with that - iPhoto version and a description of exactly what's happening will help.
i ticked no to importing duplicate images and yet it is still importing many duplicates including the photo which took over my old iphoto library
A couple of thoughts here: If the iPhoto Library is corrupted and Aperture is importing from this damaged Library well you can't expect that it will all go easily, can you?
The iPhoto Library contains two versions of edited photos. Are you sure that you're not seeing the second version?
Regards
TD

Serious System Problems. Pictures and Documents folders are opening iPhoto when clicked. iPhoto Library gone.

I have been speaking to Old Toad for the majority of today trying to fix my iPhoto Library as its become corrupt and I cannot get my photos/videos back into iPhoto. After many many suggestions I seem to have created some serious system problems.
PLEASE READ ALL OF THIS THREAD...
https://discussions.apple.com/message/21742033#21742033
If anybody can be of assisatance that would be a great help.
I am a mac dummie, recently transfered so foolproof guidance will be helpfull!
(Unfortunatly.. and now I know the importance, I haven't used time-machine and my mac isn't backed up. If i restore to factory settings I will loose the 600+ photos and videos I had in my iPhoto Library.... which dissapeared, which is the whole reason why I created the first thread)
Thank you!!

Linc:
It appeared to me that somehow the OP's Picture folder was converted into an iPhoto Library as his screenshot of the PIctures folder looked like the inside of a library.
This statement by the OP make me think it might be more than just an iPhoto issue (the bold text):
I am unable to drag the Picture folder to the desktop, It wont move, and iPhoto (which is still empty) just opens.
Some how the same is happening with Documents,
OT

I have lost my iphoto library, it is now just a white package icon

If someone could suggest the best course of action for me I would be very grateful . I have lost my photos like many here. I had backups etc, carbon clone and Time machine,For some reason my ilibrary seemed to be opening from my external drive and I just could not understand this. When I switched off the external I had no iphoto library any more.
Becoming increasingly confused I also detected, using mackeeper, that there were various trojans in my external.
Rightly or wrongly, I started to think these two problems might be related and set about clreaning first the internal and then the extrernal. The process of searching and deleting the harddrive (3TB) and my internal drive trying to clean all the mess up was taking so long that I eventually decided to delete some of the backup files in Time machine beacuse there was at least 2TB of backup
Anyway, after all that I cannot find my photo library at all. I have a white iphoto library now located in the FINDER within the PICTURES area that is said to have 14 GB. It is liisted as a package. I do not understand what that means. But it cannot be opened in any way.
Should I now start a new iphoto library in iphoto and try and import this package. As I have already mentioned, I would be grateful for any help, as all I have now are thousands of deleted photos that were in the trash..
Thankyou
Message was edited by: clbobman

Stop wasting your time with anti-virus junk.
What should I now use as a virus program? Are these programs not necessary on the MAC?
... My mission is to find a simple virus protection and start all over again.
... I just want something simple.
Your chosen anti-virus solution is likely to have caused the problem to begin with. OS X already includes everything it needs to protect itself from viruses and malware. Keep it updated with software updates from Apple. It doesn't get any simpler than that.
A much better question is "how should I protect my Mac":
Never install any product that claims to "speed up", "clean up", "optimize", or "accelerate" your Mac. Without exception, they will do the opposite.
Never install pirated or "cracked" software, software obtained from dubious websites, or other questionable sources. Illegally obtained software is almost certain to contain malware.
Don’t supply your password in response to a popup window requesting it, unless you know what it is and the reason your credentials are required.
Don’t open email attachments from email addresses that you do not recognize, or click links contained in an email:
Most of these are scams that direct you to fraudulent sites that attempt to convince you to disclose personal information.
Such "phishing" attempts are the 21st century equivalent of a social exploit that has existed since the dawn of civilization. Don’t fall for it.
Apple will never ask you to reveal personal information in an email. If you receive an unexpected email from Apple saying your account will be closed unless you take immediate action, just ignore it. If your iTunes or App Store account becomes disabled for valid reasons, you will know when you try to buy something or log in to this support site, and are unable to.
Don’t install browser extensions unless you understand their purpose. Go to the Safari menu > Preferences > Extensions. If you see any extensions that you do not recognize or understand, simply click the Uninstall button and they will be gone.
Don’t install Java unless you are certain that you need it:
Java, a non-Apple product, is a potential vector for malware. If you are required to use Java, be mindful of that possibility.
Disable Java in Safari > Preferences > Security.
Despite its name JavaScript is unrelated to Java. No malware can infect your Mac through JavaScript. It’s OK to leave it enabled.
Block browser popups: Safari menu > Preferences > Security > and check "Block popup windows":
Popup windows are useful and required for some websites, but popups have devolved to become a common means to deliver targeted advertising that you probably do not want.
Popups themselves cannot infect your Mac, but many contain resource-hungry code that will slow down Internet browsing.
If you ever see a popup indicating it detected registry errors, that your Mac is infected with some ick, or that you won some prize, it is 100% fraudulent. Ignore it.
Ignore hyperventilating popular media outlets that thrive by promoting fear and discord with entertainment products arrogantly presented as "news". Learn what real threats actually exist and how to arm yourself against them:
The most serious threat to your data security is phishing. To date, most of these attempts have been pathetic and are easily recognized, but that is likely to change in the future as criminals become more clever.
OS X viruses do not exist, but intentionally malicious or poorly written code, created by either nefarious or inept individuals, is nothing new.
Never install something without first knowing what it is, what it does, how it works, and how to get rid of it when you don’t want it any more.
If you elect to use "anti-virus" software, familiarize yourself with its limitations and potential to cause adverse effects, and apply the principle immediately preceding this one.
Most such utilities will only slow down and destabilize your Mac while they look for viruses that do not exist, conveying no benefit whatsoever - other than to make you "feel good" about security, when you should actually be exercising sound judgment, derived from accurate knowledge, based on verifiable facts.
Do install updates from Apple as they become available. No one knows more about Macs and how to protect them than the company that builds them.
Summary: Use common sense and caution when you use your Mac, just like you would in any social context. There is no product, utility, or magic talisman that can protect you from all the evils of mankind.

Share 1 iPhoto library between 2 accounts on one Mac ?

The simple answer should be to place the to-be-shared iPhoto library in the shared folder with both accounts having read-write access. Since only one account will be open at a time there should be no transaction management issues. Unfortunately, "should" and "are" aren't the same in this caser.
Only the original iPhoto account/application is able to edit the content of the library but both can see it. So it seems that there is some additional hidden (?) iPhoto file tied to the iPhoto application ? I've looked at the content of the iPhoto Package but nothing obvious (recently changed date for example) pops out.
Is this trivial functionality really not available or am I just missing something obvious ?
(As an aside, for iTunes I did see the suggestiuon of putting the whole iTunes folder in the shared space and aliasing the iTunes application to the accounts that needed access on the same machine to get the desired functionality in iTunes. I'm tempted to do the same with iPhoto, moving the originally owning iPhoto app over to the shared space and aliasing a copy into each of the two accounts.)
Thanks,
-Sven

For iPhoto 09 (version 8.0.2) and later:
What you mean by 'share'.
If you want the other user to be able to see the pics, but not add to, change or alter your library, then enable Sharing in your iPhoto (Preferences -> Sharing), leave iPhoto running and use Fast User Switching to open the other account. In that account, enable 'Look For Shared Libraries'. Your Library will appear in the other source pane.
Any user can drag a pic from the Shared Library to their own in the iPhoto Window.
Remember iPhoto must be running in both accounts for this to work.
If you want the other user to have the same access to the library as you: to be able to add, edit, organise, keyword etc.
Quit iPhoto in both accounts. Move the Library to the Users / Shared Folder
(You can also use an external HD set to ignore permissions, a Disk Image or even partition your Hard Disk.)
In each account in turn: Double click on the Library to open it. (You may be asked to repair the Library Permissions.) From that point on, this will be the default library location. Both accounts will have full access to the library, in fact, both accounts will 'own' it.
If you are asked to repair permissions you do this by holding down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild.
However, there is a catch with this system and it is a significant one. iPhoto is not a multi-user app., it does not have the code to negotiate two users simultaneously writing to the database, and trying will cause db corruption. So only one user at a time, and back up, back up back up.
Regards
TD

Iphoto library gone after software upgrade/update..Does anyone know how to get my pictures back?

Hello, I have a Macbook Air and 3 days ago, I had a "crucial update" on my computer but accepted it before looking at what it was for. When my computer auto restarted, my iphoto library was completely gone. Does anyone know how this could have happened?
I have the OS X 10.7.5 and iphoto 9.2.3... The update that I did may have been the Os X 10.7.5 but I did not look at what the update was being quickly clicking the accept button.
Unfortunately, I do not think that my pictures were backed up on the "time machine application". Any help would be great for how I can get my pictures back.
Thank you!

You should have been syncing all of this to your computer regularly.
Just sync it back.

I am trying to transfer photos from my iPhoto library to a newly created one.

I want to know if I'm doing this the easiest way. I have an iPhoto library with 45,000 photos. I just created a new library and want to take some of the photos and put them in the new library. I created a folder on my desktop where I exported the event, switched libraries and imported to the newly created iPhoto library. Is the is right steps to take or is there an easier one.

That will work but there is a more efficient method. Use the paid version of iPhoto Library Manager to copy Events from the old library into the new library. This will also copy any edited versions, keywords, titles, places, etc.
OT

Where has my iPhoto library gone?

I have downloaded the update for iphoto 11. When I opened the app, I found that ALL of my photo's had gone Where are they likely to be? Can I get them back? I hope so, because I don't have them backed up (very stupid of me)
I have read and tried some of the various solutions, but so far, nothing has worked. It was suggested that I update my library, but I don't know how to do this.
I think I've messed up somewhere, because now when I open iphoto it says:
To use iphoto ’11, you need to upgrade your photo library.
The upgrade might take several minutes, depending on the number of photos in your library
It then gives you an option to quit or continue. I select continue and then it says:
You can’t open your current photo library using this version of iPhoto.
You have made changes to your photo library using a newer version of iPhoto.
Please quit and use the latest version of iPhoto.
I select quit and then nothing.
Help!

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.

IPhoto library gone

I tried to post this under iPhoto topic, but the web site kept giving an error message so I am posting it here. I recently purchased a Canon dig camera and loaded the software to download pics. In the Image browser (of the software) there is a topic box with a Pictures folder and Movie folder. In the pictures folder there was an icon for all my iPhoto library pics and also desktop pics etc. I thought that these were probably aliases and since I was not in any of my HD folders (just in the Canon software program) etc I deleted them from the Canon software windows. (I did not want duplicates of all iPhoto pics etc.) Now I cannot find my iPhoto library even after doing a "find" and all my pics are gone. I couldn't believe that they could be deleted from a third party software program since I was not even in any of my libraries or HD, desktop folders. So it looks like I deleted all my pics (still don't understand it). Am I just not looking in the right spot for the missing folder? Sorry for the stupidity.
Glen

"the web site kept giving an error message"
What did the message state? Which iPhoto forum. There are several? Please report error along w/the above requested info over on the Feedback about Discussions Forums so that it can be taken care of.
For the record, I had no problem getting into any of the iPhoto forums.

Updated to 10.7.2. iPhoto library gone. Apple wants $50.00 to attempt to recover.

Just finished uploading new images to my MacBook Pro. Prompted to update to 10.7.2, so I did and upon system restart, my iphoto library magically disappeared. Called Apple support which said that my telephone service had expired and that I should spend $250 for support or $50 for this one time.
Any suggestions as to how to recover my library other than having to reinstall everything again...?

Restore from your back up.

Iphoto library gone - no back up

Somehow my iphoto library is gone. No back up.
what happened to it? why did it just disappear? its not in trash. there is no file or folder in its place. just gone.
can i retrieve without bring my mac to a memory recovery place?
I"m trying virtual lab but it seems to only show 540mbs worht of iphoto files when i know i had a lot more photos.
i just did a security update. could that have erased? i believe after i did this update - my shortcut icons in my finder window were all gone also.
i also installed flip4mac wmv recently.
btw - i've done a search for iphoto everything and have not found it on any drives. it doesn't exist anywhere on my system.

Jonathan
Have you looked in your Pictures folder? This is where the iPhoto Library Folder - which contains your photos and the library files - is meant to be. Look manually, many people have problems with Spotlight.
Assuming that the iPhoto Library Folder is actually gone:
1. Download a file recovery app like FileSalvage: http://subrosasoft.com/OSXSoftware/index.php?mainpage=product_info&productsid=1
2. Don't Save things on your mac, it increases the chance of overwriting the files.
3. I"m trying virtual lab but it seems to only show 540mbs worht of iphoto files when i know i had a lot more photos.
I don't understand this reference - but why is it showing 540 MB;s of "iPhoto Files" when you say they are missing?
Regards
TD

IPhoto Library gone after update to OSX Yosemite 10.10.3

Put another way, how do I get the new "Photos" program associated with the new OSX Yosemite v. 10.10.3 to see my former iPhoto library that is stored on an external hard drive?
Here's the full story:
This morning I updated my MacBook Air to OSX Yosemite v. 10.10.3. The update claimed that it ran successfully. Afterwards, I plugged in my iPhone to sync it to the computer. There were photos on my phone that I'd taken yesterday, so when I plugged the iPhone in to the USB cable, a program launched that I thought was iPhoto (but, as it turns out, is actually a new Apple program called simply "Photos"). I was led through a series of questions, one of which was "do you want to download your photos to iCloud?" I did not want to download my photos to the cloud; first off, I've got like 100GB of photos and second off, even if there were that much space allowed with an iCloud account, I wouldn't have wanted to take the time. After skipping that download-to-the-cloud step, the new "Photos" program downloaded the pictures taken yesterday off of my phone and deleted them from my iPhone as I'd requested. But, when the transfer from phone to computer completed, I was taken to the new Photos program and the only pictures on my account are those that were downloaded this morning from my iPhone.
Because I've got so many photos I keep my iPhoto Library on an external hard drive. I keep two additional external hard drives that back up everything every night. I am not worried about the photos being lost, but I can't figure out how to get the new "Photos" program to go find that library on my external hard drive.
All help appreciated.

To migrate your existing library to Photos is simple: just open it.
Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch Photos. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library'
You problem is that you will no have two libraries - the converted iPhoto one and the one you created with just these iPhone photos.
So I would export the pics from the new Photos Library to the Finder: (File -> Export-> Export unmodified originals
Trash the Photos library from your Pictures Folder
Convert the iPhoto Library
Then import those photos from the Finder.

Can I separate my iPhoto library onto two hard disks, one on board MacBook Pro and one connected drive?

Help, my HD is full.

Here's one way to do what you want:
Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
Now you have two full versions of the Library.
3. On the Internal library, trash the Events you don't want there
Now you have a full copy of the Library on the External and a smaller subset on the Internal
Some Notes:
As a general rule: when deleting photos do them in batches of about 100 at a time. iPhoto can baulk at trashing large numbers at one go.
You can choose which Library to open: Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library'
You can keep the Library on the external updated with new imports using iPhoto Library Manager

IPhoto library Gone! (replaced in just one click w/o ever dragging 2 Trash)

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