IPhoto Library is missing. What do I do?

All of a sudden I have no iPhoto Library. I restarted, but still, no library. What do I do? How do I get it back from a backup?

Download and run Find Any File to search for a file named "Library6.iPhoto" which is unique to iPhoto libraries.
FAF can search areas that Spotlight can't like invisible folders, system folders and packages. If there's a library hiding somewhere on your hard drive FAF will find it.
If the library is hiding somewhere on the hard drive FAF will find it.
OT

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Albums folder in iPhoto Library folder missing

The Albums folder in iPhoto Library folder missing. This means when I try to sync photos to my iPod (video) in iTunes, none of my photo albums show up (though I can seclect a specific folder useing year, month day, etc.). It also mens that I must navagate through the date folders to find photos when trying to attach them to e-mails.
I am running a G5 with the latest version of OSX, iPhoto, iTunes.
How do I recreat this folder?
Thankd for any help.
Cheers__ Heath

Hi Heath,
iPhoto 5 now stores the Album information in a data xml file. The Albums folder within the iPhoto Library folder is no longer used. At some point, usually after a rebuild, you will no longer have that folder in the Finder.
If you need to access photos from an album it is very difficult for a third party application to navigate the iPhoto Library in order to find the photo you need. You will have to know the date of import in order to find the photo.
There are some third party applications that can read the xml file and can navigate the iPhoto library and show you the Albums. Hopefully more applications will be revised to read this file.
Until then you will have to Share/Export the photos to the desktop. You can then navigate to the desktop to use the photos (example: web uploading from online photo site)
If your application supports drag and drop, you can drag the photo from an open iPhoto Library window into your application.
For email you can also use the email icon within iPhoto to open a message with the highlighted photo attached.
You can also use spotlight to find images in an Album...
This is what I have done using Spotlight to find my images that are in iPhoto albums without opening iPhoto..
In iPhoto, select the album, then select all, go to Photos/batch change.
Change the comments to text. In the text field I put the name of the Album.
Do this for each album.
Close iPhoto.
Open Spotlight and put in the name of the Album ( you have to remember the names of the albums or have then written down)
In the spotlight search results. click on "show all"
Under "Images" click on the "xx more" to show all the images in the album.
Make sure you have it in icon view, the icon view box is the last one on the blue images line.
Now you can control click on the image to "reveal in finder", open in iPhoto or Mail, etc.
I am not sure if this is going to make you happy and it is a little more work, but you can find images in albums and even view them in a slideshow (by clicking the play arrow at the end of the Images highlighted blue line) using Spotlight, all without opening iPhoto.
One important thing to know is you can set up a graphic program to be an external editor (when you double click an image in the library} such as PhotoShop or PS Elements. You set up that within iPhoto Preferences. Just make sure you save the image flattened and with the same name. The edits will then be relected in iPhoto when you hit "save".
Two Apple kbs for you to read
Don't tamper with files in the iPhoto library folder
About the iPhoto Library folder
Also, when you choose a folder to sync for your iPod, choose iPhoto in the drop down menu in iTunes, then choose the Album you want to sync. Do not choose a folder on your hard drive and then the Albums folder in the iPhoto Library folder.
Lori

I have never activated time machine and my entire iPhoto library is missing. How can I restore the library from the last back up??

I am using a MacBook Pro version 10.7.5.
Ive just noticed my entire iPhoto library is missing except for tonights last sync.
I have never activated Time Machine. I am worried if i activate it now, i would have no chance of retrieving my iPhoto library.
Can i restore the iPhoto library from the laptops memory? Or have i clicked the wrong thing while syncing, with no chance of seeing my life again?

I was distracted at the time and have forgotten but I thought it was something like "are you sure you would like to replace all photos on this divise for the ones in your iPhoto library" I was confident as both the comp and my phone have been together for years now.
Im questioning wether the iPhoto program had its own problem before tonights sync. Syncing photos is something i would do regularly without problems, but I've had about a six month break.
Luckily i have made some folders and copied photos out of the iPhoto program. iPhoto was my default photo program and had so many photos from my travelling.
Also I remembered Facebook syncs photos privately, I trying to go way back in time to see if there are any i can save there.
I respect your honesty, if you believe there is no way i can get the program back to normal just say so.

My iPhoto closed unexpectedly and now it says "Rebuilding the iPhoto Library database". What is going on and are my photos still going to be there?

My iPhoto closed unexpectedly and now it says "Rebuilding the iPhoto Library database". What is going on and are my photos still going to be there?

With the amount of information you've provided it's impossible to offer a solution. We can't see your computer so we need to know the details of your problem and setup, i.e.:
what version of iPhoto are you using?
what system version are you running?
what were you doing when iPhoto closed unexpectedly?
how big is your library, i.e. how many photos?
how long has the rebuilding been going on?
do you have a recent backup of the library made just prior to this occurring?
where is your library located?
did you apply any updates or upgrades just prior to the problem occurring?
are you running a "managed" or "referenced" library?
what type of Mac?
how much free space on your boot drive?

My iphoto photos are missing, what should i do?

hi
my iphoto photos are missing, what should i do?
can anyone help me please.

There are 9 different versions of iPhoto and they run on 9 different versions of the Operating System. The tricks and tips for dealing with issues vary depending on the version of iPhoto and the version of the OS. So to get help you need to give as much information as you can. Include things like:
- What version of iPhoto.
- What version of the Operating System.
- Details. As full a description of the problem as you can. For example, if you have a problem with exporting, then explain by describing how you are trying to export, and so on.
- History: Is this going on long? Has anything been installed or deleted? - Are there error messages?
- What steps have you tried already to solve the issue.
- Anything unusual about your set up? Or how you use iPhoto?
Anything else you can think of that might help someone understand the problem you have.

My Entire iphoto Library is missing - only showing missing icons please hel

Hi there, I am in quite a mess. I purchased an external hard drive to back up all my content on my computer. I was attempting to backup my iphoto which was not exporting properly. I went into the help menu to see how to back up to an external hard drive. The description was given to me on Help as going into pictures in Finder and then into iphoto library where all the photos would be backed up and I could copy and transfer to the external hard drive from there. There were several icons in that location and I clicked on one that was titled iphotlibrary6 (or something similar) to see if the photos were in there. Then I got a pop up saying was rebulding thumbnail caches and then all my photos showed the missing icons but I can't get the photos to show or come back. I looked in the trasha dn they are not there. I don't know what to do to get them back.
This happened a while ago when my iphoto crashed (support didn't know how this happened) and I had to get my entire macbook reconfigured.
I would really appreciate someone's help as the phone support refuses to help me unless I pay them more $.
I haven't touched anything else on the iphoto and it says it has 1730 photos so I know there are in here somewhere as I have not deleted anything.
Please help me get these back!
Thanks in advance!

HI again, I got them back thanks! I did a check in search for the original and modified folder as they weren't in the pictures:iphoto library. I found them in the trash. I don't know how they got there, I most likely put them there somehow but I moved them back to their proper location and then did as was suggested (Hold Alt and Apple and launch iPhoto) and they all came back (in their proper locations too!).
Thanks again so much for your help! I hope someone else can learn from my lack of computer know-how!

I'm a little panicked. My iPhoto library is missing LOTS of photos

I was in a hurry and needed to grap a few photos from my iPhoto library. I received a message that something about upgrading the software and Mavericks blah blah blah but in any case, it wouldn't let me see my photos until I clicked "upgrade" or "yes" or whatever that option was. It said something about taking an hour. But when I clicked it, I could see my library immediately, but only with a very few librarys. Please please tell me all the others are somewhere where I can access them! Literally thousands of photos are missing. A decade of photos.
Thanks.

Lets star with some details
What version of iPhoto and of the OS do you have? Note your profile states OS X 10.4.7 - is that correct?
best solution is to restore your backup from before this happened
LN

ALL of my photos and my iPhoto library are missing!!!

Anytime I want to download photos (whether it is from an SSD card, iPhone or iPad) I simply plug in the device, wait for iPhoto to open, then choose the photos I want to upload. Today when I did so a message appeared saying "Which photo library do you want iPhoto to use?". The window options were blank! There were no libraries!!! I did a bit of research on the web and looked at quite a few other discussion threads. I cannot find my iPhoto library anywhere - under my user account, etc.
I have done nothing out of the ordinary lately. The last update to the system was May 22nd: OS X Mavericks 10.9.3 and iTunes 11.2.1
I don't have a back-up, because the 1TB external hard drive I have has other files on it, and I haven't wanted to erase them to use it for Time Machine. And I can't afford another external hard drive at the moment. I HAVE transferred about 60-70% of my photo library, but not all of it. Also, I downloaded iPhoto Library Manager as some of the other threads suggested. It found no other libraries to restore.
Can anyone tell me why my photos would have mysteriously disappeared in the past two days (my iMac is at work - a church where no one has been the past few days due to the holidays)? And where they might be?
This is serious!! (hundreds, if not thousands, of pics missing)
Thanks!

Give this fix a try:
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
1 - download iPhoto Library Manager demo version and launch.>Click on the Add Library button,
2 - select the library you want to add from those in the selection window.
3 - now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the Library ➙ Rebuild Library menu option
4 - in the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed. Click on the Create button.
Note 1: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments. However, books, calendars, cards and slideshows will be lost.
Note 2: Your current library will be left untouched for further attempts at a fix if so desired.

IPhoto won't open despite downloading the iPhoto Library Upgrader. What do I do?

iPhoto stopped opening when I received a notice that I had to download the Library Upgrade in order to access older libraries. I downloaded it, but I continue to get the same message nonetheless. What do I do?

This allowed me to open my newest iPhoto library, but I have two other libraries that won't open. The error message states: "You have opened this library on a newer version of iPhoto. Quit and open it on the latest version of iPhoto." How do I do that? I can't import an older iPhoto library into a newer one. I'm confused.

IPhoto library file includes what?

Hi, I store my photos in folders under "Pictures". Sometime ago I opened up iPhoto and used it for my photos. I don't use it anymore as I find using my folders under "Pictures" far easier.
In "Pictures" there is a file called iPhoto library and this file size is 99GB. I want to get rid of it but obviously dont want any of my photos lost. Are these a duplicate of my photos which are stored under "Pictures"? How do I find out whether these are duplicates? I have taken a screen shot showing how I have organised my photos in various folders in "Pictures" and also the iPhoto library file that is appearing there.
Any advice in laymans terms will be much appreciated. Thanks very much.

By default all photos you import into iPhoto are copies to the iPhoto library - normal procedure is to delete them from the source and ony have them in hte iPhoto library. We obviously have no way to knwo wha tyou have done
and note - there is no iPhoto file - theire is an iPhoto application in your applications folder and and iPhoto library - by default names iPhoto library and located in your pictures folder. It contains database files used by iPhoto for manageing photos and three version of your phtos - the original photo unchanged in the masters folder, a preview of the photo in the priviews folder which show the edited photos and a thumbnail in the thumbnails folder.
You can rignt click on the iPhoto library and show package contents and see eactly what is there - you can copy anything there outside for use without damage - if you change or delete anything from the iPhoto libray using the finder then it will corrupt it and iPhoto will no longe work properly with it
Personally iI think you are making a big mistake reverting to a file management system rather tha ta database managements system like iPhoto - it is much easier to use, very much more powerful and provided lots of additional feratures like intergration with other software, ability to share photos in many ways, etc - I suggest you take a class at yor local Apple store, read a book or take the online tutorials ( http://support.apple.com/videos#iphoto ) and learn how to use iPhoto - if hyou do I htink yhou will like it
The choice is yours
enjoy
LN

Project in iPhoto library is missing photos

I am using an iphoto library for photos in both iphoto and Aperture 3.5. My O/S is Mavericks on a MBP Retina laptop.
Sometime after a recent upgrade--not sure it was the Mavericks, iphoto, or Aperture--I noticed that I was unable to edit picture in one of my favorite events/projects. This was a collection of JPEG and RAW files in PEF (Pentax) format. The thumbnails and metadata are present but the photos are missing.
I have already tried all of the options available in rebuilding the iphoto library using the option/command keys with no success.
Any help appreciated!

First of all, try to save at least the previews by dragging the thumbnails from the aperture Browser window to a folder on your Desktop.
Then check, if the original image files are really missing from the library, or Aperture only has lost the connection between thumbnails and original image files.
Select your Aperture lbrary in the Finder and ctrl-click it. Select the option "Show package contents". In the window that will open, select and open the folder "Masters". open the subfolder of the year > month > day you imported the project to Aperture. Are the original images still there?

How to rebuild an iPhoto library skipping missing pictures ?

Hi,
I have thumbnails missing in my library for unknow reason.
I have retried several rebuild of thumbnails, library or all check box checked but on rebuild it keeps telling me this pic is missing "cancel or look for"
I would like iphoto stop asking ans simply skip the pictures, I will have no failing thumbnails in that way.
Any ideas ?
Regards,
Benoit
iphoto 11 latest runing under mac osx lion 10.7.2

Well it doesn't think so, and that's why you have the problem.
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.

Upgraded to Yosemite, now half my iphoto library is missing!

Hello,
I just discovered that, after upgrading to Yosemite & iPhoto 9.6 (using the iPhoto Library Upgrader), half of my library is missing or didn't get converted/reimported. I have an external hard drive (Time Machine) that automatically backs up the hard drive, but I can't seem to find the photos there either. Please help!
Ttriber

Dan,
This issue has been covered pretty well in the Topic at the link below, and in quite a few others:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1616791&#1616791
Please read, comment and ask questions as needed. I will be out until late tonight, but most questions have been answered. Make sure to make a duplicate of the Mail folder, and maintain the copy on your Desktop, or some other folder.
Ernie

IPhoto library is missing, no disk to mount a new library on

I recently moved all of my iPhoto library to an external hard drive, which was then reformatted incorrectly. All of my files are now gone, and when I try to start a new library in iPhoto, I get an error saying "Please make sure the disk containing your library is mounted and restore iPhoto." How do I create a new library and mount it on my internal hard drive so I can upload photos directly to my computer? As of right now, I can't access the application, as it quits after this error message appears.
I currently have iPhoto '06 and i'm runnning Mac OS X 10.4.11, if that helps at all.

To allow you to quickly recover from this type of library damage in the future see the tip at the end of my signature below:
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. 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.≤br>
Note: There now an Automator backup application for iPhoto 5 that will work with Tiger or Leopard.

IPhoto Library folder "Missing" in 08 version???

So, I'm using the new "Sharing" feature in Leopard's Finder to share files between my iMac and my MacBook over my wireless network. This seems to be working fine for my documents and even my iTunes music. My only problem is I can't locate the iPhoto Library folder so I can share pictures. Didn't iPhoto 6 have a library folder that you could access your originals and modified pictures? Are we supposed to rely on the sharing feature in iPhoto? If so, that stinks because iPhoto would have to be open on both machines.
Much appreciate any insight anyone can give.

grea55
Are we supposed to rely on the sharing feature in iPhoto?
Yes.
Maybe something here might help:
There are three ways (at least) to get files from the iPhoto Window.
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.
To upload to MySpace or any 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. If you're using Gmail you can use THIS
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. Or, if you want to access the files with iPhoto not running, then create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use THIS
The change was made to the format of the iPhoto library because many users were inadvertently corrupting their library by browsing through it with other software or making changes in it themselves. If you're willing to risk database corruption, you can restore the older functionality simply by right clicking on the iPhoto Library and choosing 'Show Package Contents'. Then simply make an alias to the folders you require and put that alias on the desktop or where ever you want it. Be aware though, that this is a hack and not supported by Apple.
Regards
TD

IPhoto Library is missing. What do I do?

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