IPhoto library - help!

Hello,
I was using iPhoto (*I just upgraded to Snow Leopard and am running iPhoto '09) just before I got the grey screen and "restart your computer" message. After restarting, I fired up iPhoto but it got stuck on the beach ball. I then looked up the answers via google and tried following the method of deleting the plist file in the preferences folder, logging out then logging in etc. This didn't work.
I then found the thread whereby someone suggested I use iPhoto Library Manager "rebuild" function. I have started the process but it keeps coming up with the message: "The library could not be loaded because an error occured: The library database could not be loaded. Could not retrieve next result row. The album data file for this library is malformed. Conversion of string failed. The string is empty" before again attempting to load the library. Are teh repeated attempts to load the library normal?
Are there any other suggestions as to how I can save my library?
I backed up everything, so I am not worried that I have lost it all - it is more that the iPhoto library contained just about a third of all the images (dud ones were left on the back-ups), all of which were organised into events/albums etc.
Cheers
Nick

That's telling you that the database was profoundly damaged in the Kernal Panic.
Your options are:
1. Restore from back up
or
2. Recover the photos and Start over from scratch

Similar Messages

IPhoto doesn't recognize iPhoto library - HELP!

When I opened iPhoto today, there are "no photos" in the library, and when I open it holding the option key and try to select the iPhoto library (which does exist) it says it can't recognize those files. I can't get iPhoto to be the default application for jpeg files either - it says it doesn't recognize those either. I know the photos are there in the library but iPhoto won't open them - please help!

Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
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.
Further, iPhoto is a database not an image viewer and it cannot be be set as the default application to view files.
Regards
TD

Using a backed-up iPhoto Library - HELP!!

Hi all. I'm looking for some guidance on how to recover photos that were recovered from a failing hard drive. My wife had a collection of digital photos that were originally imported in to Aperture 2.0. A while later, she started using iPhoto 09 for new photos. Eventually, she imported all of the photos from Aperture into iPhoto 09. Her collection is just over 2,500 photos. Well, last week, her hard drive started to act up and she asked me to back up her pics, and to do it from iPhoto as that's where the total photo collection then resided (Aperture + iPhoto). So I did, and we eventually had her hard drive repaired. After reinstalling iPhoto, I planned to just put the original saved iPhoto library that I backed up for her back into her pictures folder. I did, but now, when we open iPhoto, we are presented with the error message "unable to locate original" and the options are "cancel" or "locate original." So now you see our delimma (the originals went away with the bad hard drive).
Can someone please advise as to how to proceed? All of the photos are there, in the copied library, however, we are unable to use them as they are. Is there a way to convert them so they will work (hopefully without loosing all of their new attributes, e.g. "place", "faces", etc.)
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Regards, bamarich.

What do you mean when you say:
All of the photos are there, in the copied library, however, we are unable to use them as they are.
and
So now you see our delimma (the originals went away with the bad hard drive).
It sounds like iPhoto was running in Referenced mode.* Was it?
If the actual photos “went away with the bad hard drive“ then they are gone.
Regards
TD
*If you're running a Managed library, then it's the default setting, and iPhoto copies files into the iPhoto Library when Importing
If you're running a Referenced Library, then you made a change at iPhoto -> Preferences -> Advanced and iPhoto is NOT copying the files into the iPhoto Library when importing.
Regards
TD

Upgraded to iPhoto 6/iLife and cannot access my iPhoto Library - help!!!

I upgraded to iPhoto 6 tonight and ran sofware update so I was sure to have the latest version. Went to open it and it said I needed to upgrade my Library. So I start the upgrade of the library and it goes all the way through till it gets to "examining photo Library" Then when it looks like it is almost finished, a window pops up and says that there is a problem accessing one or more files in my photo library folder and goes through directions to go in the finder and check to be sure permissions are all set to read and write.
I cannot figure out how to find the locked file.
Please Help!!!
Thanks.
imac g4 20" Mac OS X (10.3.9)

The first thing you want to do is quit iPhoto, select your iPhoto Library in the Finder, and Get Info. Under Ownership and Permissions, click the triangle to show its expanded form.
If you are the owner and have read and write permissions, you will be able to click a button that says "Apply to enclosed items". Once you've entered your password, all items inside the library will have the right permissions.
If you're still getting the message, then some file inside is locked. I have no idea how they get that way, but iPhoto can't upgrade your library if a file is locked.
In your Applications/Utilities/ folder, launch Console and then launch iPhoto and get the message. Console should indicate which files are locked. Go to each of those files in the Finder, and Get Info on each. Uncheck the box that says "Locked" for each file listed in Console (there are usually only a couple or so).
Launch iPhoto again and it should work fine.

Missing iphoto library - help !

Ok, long story short, I was changing permissions on my iphoto library (with the finder info window), and the iphoto library folder disappeared ! It is not visible with the finder - feel free to call me silly. When I checked the free space on my drive the iphoto library is still there, that is to say, the space is still being used.
I do have an online backup (I had a local, but that is another story), and can download if need be, but can anyone suggest how I could get my original back? Is there some super duper program on version tracker I can download and have it bring back my library in a few seconds?
Any advice much appreciated,
Thanks.

Thanks Matt,
I did what you said and found my library. Here is the list:
drwx------@ 9 ianbacon ianbacon 306 12 May 10:41 Aperture Library.aplibrary
dr-x------@ 24 ianbacon ianbacon 816 25 May 17:36 Ian
drwx------+ 30 ianbacon ianbacon 1020 20 Mar 22:52 OLYMPUS Studio 2
drwx------+ 5 ianbacon ianbacon 170 22 May 13:37 Photo Booth
lrwx--x--x 1 ian staff 47 26 May 14:22 iChat Icons -> /Library/Application Support/Apple/iChat Icons/
drwx------@ 17 ianbacon ianbacon 578 27 May 11:03 iPhoto Library
drwx------@ 44 ianbacon ianbacon 1496 25 May 16:24 iphone pics
drwx------@ 20 ianbacon ianbacon 680 25 May 17:02 test
Thanks again
Ian

Problem with Iphoto library help please

I had a hard drive crash the other day. It had all of my iphoto images on it. I purchased a new hard drive and went into time machine and dragged the icon that says iphoto library back to my new drive. It took a while to copy. Now when I click on iphoto library I get no images in iphoto.
If I get info on the iphoto icon it says that the file size is 26.95 gb. so it sounds like the stuff is there but not coming up. What if anything can I do?

benelaxe
More of a Time Machine question, really. I don't use it myself, but my guess is there's rather more to restoring from the back up that just dragging.
You could try holding down the option (or alt) key and launching iPhoto. From the resulting dialogue select 'Choose Library' and navigate to this library. If iPhoto sees a valid Library there it will open. If it doesn't, then that's not a valid library and check on the Time Machine forum for details on restoring it.
Regards
TD

Pictures from an iphoto album are not in iphoto library HELP

I have photos in an album on my iphoto but they are not actually in the library?? how does this make sense!? so when i come to delete them i dont know if they're deleted or not.
also another topic is that to delete a picture in i phioto i have to delete it from the library dont i as if i delete it form an album it just deletes it from the album??
sprry probably very dumb questions but im just trying to figure it all out.

Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
If the photos are in an Album, then they are in an Event, somwhere.
One way to find them might be to flag them, which will help them stand out a little as you search.
Yes, to remove a pic from iPhoto it needs to be removed from the Library view - either Events or Photos.
Regards
TD

Reinstalled OS, now scared to irreversibly screw up iPhoto library (help)

I was having major freezing problems that didn't respond to disk utility or other fixes. Finally I decided to reinstall OS X. I have been pretty diligent about using Time Machine to backup. So, reinstalled using a version 10.5.2 Install Disk 1 (I forgot tofind the Snow Leopard disk). I didn't touch the time machine because I was afraid to overwrite inadvertently. So now I have updated to OS X 10.6.4, and reinstalled my iLife 09 and done all software updates. The issue is that I want to get all the iTunes music and iPhoto pictures and iMovie movies back into the libraries. I'm guessing the best way is to somehow get them off of Time Machine, but I don't think the current system considers my external drive as the time machine now. Also, they should all be intact in the Previous Systems libraries, but I don't know how to restore them either. Can someone advise me on what to do? I was hoping that I could just drag and drop libraries so it all goes back to exactly the way it was before with these libraries, but I'm scared to lose my data and backups. Thanks.

Busy busy Dad wrote:
I was having major freezing problems that didn't respond to disk utility or other fixes. Finally I decided to reinstall OS X. I have been pretty diligent about using Time Machine to backup. So, reinstalled using a version 10.5.2 Install Disk 1 (I forgot tofind the Snow Leopard disk). I didn't touch the time machine because I was afraid to overwrite inadvertently. So now I have updated to OS X 10.6.4, and reinstalled my iLife 09 and done all software updates. The issue is that I want to get all the iTunes music and iPhoto pictures and iMovie movies back into the libraries. I'm guessing the best way is to somehow get them off of Time Machine, but I don't think the current system considers my external drive as the time machine now.
The problem is, when you reinstalled OSX, you set up a user account. OSX probably doesn't realize you're the same user as the one on the backups, so it's not going to let you view or restore that "other" user's files.
If you ever again want a fresh copy of OSX, just install it from the disc. That will replace the current copy of OSX with a new one, leaving everything else intact.
Also, they should all be intact in the Previous Systems libraries,
Snow Leopard doesn't make +Previous System+ folders. Unless you created them somehow, or they're left over from an +Archive and Install+ of Leopard.
I was hoping that I could just drag and drop libraries so it all goes back to exactly the way it was before with these libraries, but I'm scared to lose my data and backups. Thanks.
The best way to do that is to start over.
Boot up from your Snow Leopard Install disc, erase your internal HD, and install OSX. When your Mac starts up again, you'll be asked if you want to transfer your data. Select +From a Time Machine backup+ and take all the defaults; that will transfer everything except OSX. See #19 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum), for details and step-by-step instructions.
Then download and install the "combo" update to get back to 10.6.4. Info and download available at: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1048 Be sure to do a +Repair Permissions+ via Disk Utility (in your Applications/Utilities folder) afterwards.

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

Looking for help with using a NAS to store iphoto library.

I have a Seagate Business Storage 2 bay NAS and wish to move my iphoto library out of my MacBookpro to the NAS so it can be accessed from my iMac or the other user on the MacBook pro (appreciate that this can be done without NAS but need to make space on the MBP). I have partially achieved this but get messages saying that cannot access file (reset permission rights) despite the file not being open by any user. I'm competent but not massively techy and desperately need help.

SImple: You can't do it.
Two reasons: typically a NAS is the wrong disk format. Secondly having an iPhoto Library on a network is not recommended.
iPhoto needs to have the Library sitting on disk formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Users with the Library sitting on disks otherwise formatted regularly report issues including, but not limited to, importing, exporting, saving edits and sharing the photos.
See this article
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5168
for more. Note also the comment:
“Additionally, storing the iPhoto library on a network rather than locally on your computer can also lead to poor performance or data loss.”

My iphoto library folder with files of my pictures is missing from the pictures folder, only the application icon remains. I have read through similar discussions but have not managed to fix the problem with the recommended solutions. Can anyone help?

I have a Macbook Pro with iphoto '08 running on Mac OS X version 10.5.8. I used to be able to go to my pictures folder on my HD and access my pictures via that iphoto library folder. There used to be a small arrow next to the iphoto icon with all the albums then listed within the folder (to the right). That arrow is now gone and all I have is the iphoto application icon which just reopens iphoto when I click on it, but I want to be able to access the data files. Somehow I do have files btwn 2008 and 2009 but it hasn't created these since then...Could someone please help me to restore this ability? I have read other similar posts but they seem to be related to lost data all together and I do luckily have all my pictures in iphoto still. I just can't access them in the pictures folder which means I can't access them on my external hard drive. I am now out of start up disc space somehow so I figured I had to delete some albums (I have 12,090 pictures) and do have them backed up but want to make sure I can go back for them when I need them. I did export all the pictures to a folder on the hard drive but it is all 12,090 in one long list with only numbers as names and not in any order, this will be a nightmare to access later! Please help! Thank you!

You can’t open your current photo library using this version of iPhoto.
That indicates that that is your library. Put it in your Pictures folder if it already isn't there and make sure it's named "iPhoto Library". It should look like this:
Now launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and select that library to open. If you get that same message close iPhoto and try the following;
Apply the two fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
Select the options identified in the screenshot.
Fix #2
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
Click on the Add Library button, navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
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
In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
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 left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.

Terrance Devlin answered a question about iPhoto (4-2012) re:copying iPhoto Library to an ExHD, and losing all the albums. I can't locate the "Choose Library" when I open iPhoto with the opt button. Can anyone help?

I tried to move my images (over 25,000) to an External Hard drive to open up some memory, hoping to make my computer run faster. It took three hours to move the images and I see them all in the mac's menus. However when I try to open them with iPhoto now, none appeared. and when I tried to import them back to the main HD they come in to iPhoto just fine, but not with the albums nor any of the massive organization i'd created in the original. this represents years of images, and I can't imagine that I'd have to recopy them into folders/albums again.
Terrance Devlin answered a similar question back in April of last year. He said to make sure the ExHD is formatted to MAC OS Extended (Journaled) and to move the library to the ExHD and then open iPhoto with the option button and select "Choose Library" from the resulting menu.
Command "I" tells me that the new drive is formatted correctly. I can't locate the "Choose Library" when I open iPhoto with the opt button.
First, I wondered if the application needs to be on the same drive as the Library. I sure would like to know if I can find out how to restore all the folders I had them in. Terrance's advice helped the user that had asked the question.
Here's the url for that archived discussion: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3849933?start=0&tstart=0
Can anyone help? I'm using iPhoto 5. My MAC is an OS X version 10.4.11.
thanks, brokenlom

Here are Apple's instructions:
If you are using iPhoto ’06 or earlier, you will need to follow these steps to tell iPhoto where the Library is now located:
Hold down the Option key on the keyboard and open iPhoto. Keep the Option key held down until you are prompted to create or choose an iPhoto Library.
Click Choose Library.
Locate and select the iPhoto Library in its new location.
(from http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1229 )
Below (in the link below) is what you should see when holding down the option key and opening iPhoto. Keep holding down the option key until this dialogue comes up. You want to select the Choose Library button.
http://appleclinic.wordpress.com/2008/04/06/change-default-dir-iphoto/

My iphoto library disappeared. i am trying to restore my library from time machine -- from an external drive -- but everytime it tries to copy my library it tells me it can't do it because i don't have access to my iphoto library??!!! help!!

My iphoto library inexplicably disappeared! i am panicked but i do back up by time machine to an external drive and also to JustCloud. I am trying to restore my iphoto library from a back up on feb 28, 2014 and it says it's copying but then gives me a message that it can't do it because i "don't have authorization to access iphoto library"?! what does this mean? i really want to get my library back on my mac. Also if anyone knows why this happened or where my photos might be on my computer, i'd appreciate help with that, too.

Thank you Terence for your help. I was able to restore my backup from my time machine ext drive to a new 1tb seagate ext drive. so i felt sort of ok. but yesterday that older ext drive i used for time machine wouldn't open! i called applecare and they trouble shooted with me and said it's probably a goner and data is probably corrupted. it's only a few years old and i'm very careful with it. my husband accidentally dropped my new drive last night -- i know, unbelievable, i was SO upset, poor guy -- but I'm so stressed with all of this. i have 10 years of photos and videos. so now i only have the one newer drive with a backup. i have to buy another one today to backup again so i at least have two backups. i tried to delete a ton of files last night to free up the 30 gb of space i need to get my full library back on my mac. i have 90gb free and deleted 7 years worth of photos i had on picasa that were in my "pictures" folder and also a ton or random photos and videos i had in that same pictures folder and thought that would give me the 30 gb but it hardly freed up any space at all! do you know why that is? all of this stuff is really a pain and really stressful. thank god i did have a backup in the first place but now i am panicked the one i have left will somehow crash. especially after my husband dropped the drive lastnight! it didn't fall far and fell onto a wood floor and seems fine, but after my older ext drive crashed yesterday -- and i lost my entire iphoto library a fewweeks ago off my mac -- i feel cursed. any answers you have would be great. thank you.

Help! How can I restore iTunes/iPhoto library from Time Capsule to new Mac?

Sorry to trouble you, because it looks like this should be an easy thing, but I can't find an answer anywhere...
I've got an 2008 MacBook Pro that suddenly began to suffer start up problems. Sometimes it boots to a black/grey screen and sometimes the screen/mouse freezes after only a few minutes of use.
I've borrowed my brother's Mac until I can find out how to get mine repaired, so I'd like to copy over my iTunes and iPhoto stuff from a Time Capsule (where I'm hoping it hasn't been damaged) to his Mac. I only want to copy the iTunes and iPhoto stuff, without filling up his computer with all my other junk.
Is there an easy way to do this? Thanks!

Hi ...
I've found a solution to my problem.
Time Machine locates extenal HDD backups differently depending if they were done via a network or via a USB/FireWire/Thunderbolt connection.
My initial backup was done via a direct Thunderbolt connection. I ran into the above issue b/c the second time when I tried looking for the backup file the HDD was conencted to my iMac and I was accessing it via a network conenction.
I simply connected the drive directly to my MacBook pro and ... voila. I was able to see the backup, select the iPhoto library and begin the restore.
Hope this helps.
BTW - I found this out by reading the 'blue box' selection on this page: http://pondini.org/TM/E2.html
(Thanks goes to Pondini!)

I accidentally ran iPhoto Library Upgrader on my Picture folder and now I have to right click on it to "show contents" instead of looking at it in Finder. Help!

Help! I have 2 problems related to iPhoto:
1: I accidentally ran iPhoto Library Upgrader on my Picture folder and now I have to right click on it to "show contents" instead of double clicking on it and looking at it in Finder. I cannot figure out how to fix my Pictures Folder so that I can click on it and view it in Finder, when I double click on it Terminal opens up with this message "Pictures - Bash 80x24" and
Last login: Mon Nov 3 14:00:05 on ttys000
Christinas-MacBook-Pro:Pictures christinagrierson$
It will not let me replace or delete the folder... I got to my files and backed them up, but trying to avoid reinstalling my OS.
2: When I try to Upgrade my Library.iPhoto file so I can open it in iPhoto it says I need to finish by opening in iPhoto, but then when I do, it tells me it first needs to be upgraded in the iPhoto Library Upgrader... Vicious circle. Please, help! Just trying to recover about 3 years worth of photos...

Hi! Thanks for responding!
I have iPhoto 9.5.1, I am on OS X Version 10.9.5 on a MacBook Pro with 2.66 GHz
My current "iPhoto Library" file is OK (I can open it with iPhoto), however I cannot access the old one from iPhoto 6 titled Library.iPhoto
I tried right clicking and choosing the application, it did not work.
"exactly how did you "I got to my files and backed them up"" - I showed the contents of my Pictures folder, and it opened up the folders in Finder and I copied them to an external hard drive. In my Picture folder I have several folders of Photos plus the iPhoto Library files (old & current)
I do have old back ups, but they are from April, and I recently imported 5 months of photos from my iPhone, so the iPhoto Library I copied after showing contents is the one I need.

IPhoto library - help!

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for