IPhoto library open failure?

Problem opening iPhoto?

Problem answering question?
If you want help you’ll need to give us more information. There are 9 different versions of iPhoto and they run on 8 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.
Posts that consist of "iPhoto doesn't work. Help" or "iPhoto won't print" or "Suddenly I have no photos" means the helper is just guessing. More information means you get better assistance.

Similar Messages

  • Failure to recognize iPhoto library and failure to import same images

    Okay so this one is strange. For some time now every time I open iPhoto is has had to rebuild itself. I took this as a bug and let it do it each time.
    Now with Photos being on my machine I saw this as an opportunity to see if it fixed the issue with the new app. I opened Photos and asked it to select the MASSIVE iPhoto library I use. It said it can not open that one and failed after several times trying it.
    I then took the step of exporting over 10k images and videos into a folder on one of my drives and then reviewing everything within the files to ensure no bad data or 0k files or anything. All looks good. I can however over and open each random file I tested and it looks okay. So the integrity of the images and videos seem okay to me.
    I then also reset the permissions on ALL the files to 777 and the folder to ensure that the system could do anything it wants with them.
    From here I tried to import them into Photos and instead of the 10,219 I am supposed to see it only imported a little over 3k and then said that the rest were not readable due to bad (or missing) meta data. I downloaded a meta data editor and tried to batch edit something like the date updated or date created to see if re-setting it with batch may update the meta data to a more modern format and allow for importing. That also did not work.
    So here I am with no way to get all my content into Photos and not help I can find anywhere online to work around this.
    I am almost tempted to run and PS script to open, process and save each file to get it to reset the information for each image. This seems like an extreme step but I am at a loss as to what to do other than have the system see them as totally new files.
    This is also NOT ideal as I will loose any meta data I did have like date creation and I will have 10k files that all think they were made today. Manually sorting everything again into albums is also not very exciting to me but without being able to direct open or import the iPhoto library I am not clear what else I can do.
    Anyone have any ideas?

    Thanks for posting this because it explains a lot to me as a troubleshooter trying to help other people. No one should be using the guest network feature for their own devices. By default, most routers prevent devices on the guest network from accessing devices on the main network for security reasons. Some routers let you disable that security feature but it's a bad idea if you are letting other people use your guest network.
    Furthermore, everyone should have WiFi Protected Setup (WPS) disabled in their router if their router supports the "external registrar" authentication method. That's the method where you enter an 8-digit code which is printed on the bottom (or side) of the router into a device you want to add to your network. You can read more about this here:
    http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/723755
    To the best of my knowledge, Apple routers are not vulnerable to this exploit because they do not support "external registrar".
    The major brand with the worst exposure to this problem is Linksys because WPS currently cannot be disabled in their consumer routers (at the time I'm writing this). The situation should begin to improve in March 2012 as Linksys starts to roll out firmware upgrades for certain models. Here's a link to the Linksys firmware release schedule:
    http://www6.nohold.net/Cisco2/ukp.aspx?vw=1&articleid=25154

  • (Big) iPhoto Library opening empty from external drive

    I need help! I have a new 2014 MacBook running Yosemite, as well as an older MacBookPro. I copied my large iPhoto Library from old laptop (labeled old library "iPhoto Pics 2008-2014", or similar) onto an external drive so that I could access all my photos on this new laptop in iPhoto.  I have been holding the "option" key and then opening iPhoto & choosing this 2008-2014 Library to open, and it has been working great. All my 6 yrs worth of pictures immediately populate iPhoto just like it did on my old laptop. HOWEVER, my external drive was accidentally unplugged yesterday without properly "ejecting" it, and it gave me a warning/error message saying something like "your external drive was improperly disconnected". The next time I went to open iPhoto, choosing my 2008-2014 library, it said (something along these lines...) that I had to update the format of the library I was trying to open and it might take a few hours. I had received this message (or similar one) the 1st time I opened this library in my new laptop iPhoto app and so I said yes, for it to fix it. However, it didn't seem to do it properly this time and ended up closing itself. When I tried to open it again, it said some other errors needed to be fixed and I said yes again. Sorry, these details are a bit fuzzy about what went wrong & what messages I got...I just know something didn't seem right as my laptop wouldn't let me close iPhoto and I ended up having to do a force quit to shut down my laptop and reboot.
    So now when I rebooted, and I click "option" and open iPhoto, I am able to choose my normal 2008-2014 Library, but it opens with the basic "To get started with iPhoto, do 1 of the following 3 things...", with NO PHOTOS or VIDEOS showing up at all in events, places, albums, etc. It looks just like a brand new Library. However, when I look in Finder and find my 2008-2014 iPhoto Library file, it says the size of it is 171.72 GB, which I think is large and would indicate photos are still in there? These are ALL My photos from the last 6 years. I have most of them still saved on my old laptop (everything before getting my new laptop Nov 20th), just don't have pics I've downloaded to that Library on the external drive between Nov 20th and now. Can anyone help me figure out why iPhoto is opening up an empty library when it should have 6 yrs wroth of pics in it? Did I accidentally erase all the photos in my Library on my external drive??? Thanks in advance for your help/thoughts.

    Thanks guys. I did what you said and am about to choose option #4. I cannot really back up this drive before starting rebuild as I don't have a backup of this library exactly, but it is a copy of my entire iLibrary off my old laptop, which I copied over on Nov 20th, so I should have a complete copy of this Library though 11/20 date on my old laptop. I will just potentially lose any photos I've taken and downloaded to external drive since then (luckily not many or any since I haven't downloaded my SLR camera since Dec 5th, so all pics are still on my camera). One last question...is it worth doing the rebuild, or would be be safer (long term...this external library on this drive will be my primary source of ALL my 2008-2014 photos) to just copy over my original library again from my old laptop to this drive?
    One additional question though...I just came back to my computer after being away from it for 30 minutes, and again got the "you improperly disconnected your external drive" message. However, my drive is still plugged in and I did not touch it!! So it is disconnecting itself somehow. Any advice on why it's doing this or how to get it to stop? Is it because my computer went to "sleep" or something? Should I not leave my external drive plugged in? Seems like a pain if that is the case as I need to access these pics on my drive often and don't want to be constantly plugging in and then ejecting my drive all the time to keep it safe.

  • IPhoto Library opens up iPhoto application

    Every time I go to open my iPhoto library it automatically launches the iPhoto application instead of taking me to the various folders it is suppose to. The only way I can access the photos is to Right Click > Show Package Contents. Normally, this would be fine, but when it comes to uploading photos and whatnot, it's near impossible. Help? Thanks.

    Bonjourcestmoi
    Welcome to the Apple user discussion forums
    The only way I can access the photos is to Right Click > Show Package Contents.
    While this is a way to get into the iPhoto library it is recommended that you do not use it except under very specific circumstanses - if you move, change or otherwise modify anything in the iPhoto library you are likely to corrupt your library and lost data
    Normally, this would be fine, but when it comes to uploading photos and whatnot, it's near impossible.
    There are many correct and safe ways to access your iPhoto photos - see TD's post here for a complete discussion on accessing your library
    I also recommend that you take the iPhoto tutorials - there are several things you need to learn about using iPhoto '08.
    LN
    Message was edited by: LarryHN

  • IPhoto Library open in mbpluginhost

    Hi all,
    Just upgraded to the new OSX Yosemite (10.10.3) and when I open iPhoto I'm getting the error 'iPhoto is open in mbpluginhost' - what does this mean??

    I got the same thing.  I Googled mbpluginhost and saw that it is a start-up process.  Based upon that information, I restarted my Mac.  Once it restarted, I opened iPhoto and the message did not appear.  Hope this helps you.

  • When I open my iPhoto library it suddenly quits

    My iPhoto library opens for a few seconds and then quits.  In the report it gives this error message
    Application Specific Information:
    *** Terminating app due to uncaught exception 'NSInvalidArgumentException', reason: '*** -[__NSArrayM insertObject:atIndex:]: object cannot be nil'
    How can I fix this?

    Assuming you're running iPhoto 9 or later Try the following:
    1 - launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
    2 - Run Option #4, Rebuild Database.
    OT

  • Importing / opening second Iphoto library

    Hello
    a friend of mine backed up his pictures in a Iphoto Library but does not have a mac anymore so he asked me if I can open it for him and move the pictures on a harddrive. but when i double click his photo Library mine opens up and not his how can we open his library to display the pictures

    With iPhoto '08 double clicking on the iPhoto library opens iPhoto which then opens the last used library - to change libraries depress the option (alt) key and launch iPhoto and use the select library function - once you open your friend's library select the photos you want for him and export them (file menu==> export) to a desktop folder and burn that folder to disk for use with a non-Mac (using the share ==> burn - or burn icon - creates a library to use with a Mac - not another computer)
    You will have to do the Option launch again to switch back to your main library
    LN
    Message was edited by: LarryHN

  • Cannot open iPhoto Library (9.6) in Aperture (3.6)

    Hi,
    I've done some searching around and can't find a solution to this problem:
    When trying to open my iPhoto Library in Aperture, I continually get the message
    "To open this iPhoto library in Aperture, it first needs to be upgraded.  Verify that you have iPhoto 9.4 or later. Then open the library in iPhoto to upgrade it."
    I am running
    iMac Late 2013
    Yosemite 10.10
    iPhoto 9.6
    Aperture 3.6
    All updates run on the system
    I have another iPhoto Library that opens fine in Aperture.
    I have tried opening the library using a separate user account with no luck
    Any help greatly appreciated!

    Does the iPhoto Library open in iPhoto 9.6?
    If yes, then open it in iPhoto and use the menu entry "File > Open Library in Aperture".
    If that does not work, repair your iPhoto Library in iPhoto to fix any wrong database entry:
    Try to repair the iPhoto library with the First Aid tools:
    Try to launch into the First Aid Tools  by holding down the key combination option-command ⌥⌘ and clicking the iPhoto icon to launch iPhoto.
    Keep the two buttons firmly held down, until you are seeing the First Aid panel.
    Then select "Repair database".
    If that does not fix it, backup your iPhoto Library and try the other First Aid options as well.
    Where is this iPhoto Library stored? Is it in the default location, the Pictures folder or on an external drive?

  • How can i restore an iphoto library without using time machine

    I somehow created a new iphoto library and my old one was deleted and wasn't saved using time machine. Is there any way i can get my old library back. Please help!!!

    The dock icon always enters the last IPHOTO library opened - so all may not be lost ..
    Look in Macintosh HD/Users/*your name on your mac/Pictures
    iPhoto Library is the default - if you have another iPhoto library with some extension that may be the new one -- so simply click on iPhoto to reset the dock icon.
    If you use time machine - and the Iphoto library is empty - Enter time machine while in this folder and back up through time until you find the last one with pictures.

  • Burn part of iPhoto library

    I want to burn to DVD only a part of my 11GB iPhoto 8.1.2 library.
    Do I do this by going to iPhoto Library, opening the package, then selecting from
    " Originals " the year folders I want ?

    I want to burn to DVD only a part of my 11GB iPhoto 8.1.2 library.
    Do I do this by going to iPhoto Library, opening the package, then selecting from
    " Originals " the year folders I want ?

  • Power failure then iPhoto library= POOF! :-(    PLEASE HELP!

    Power failure then iPhoto> library= POOF!
    We had a power failure and of course iPhoto was open when my computer was improperly shut down. After powering up, I did the following; repaired permissions and ran disk utility (no problems found).
    Upon opening iPhoto (6.03) I got the rebuild thumbnails message, and I said cancel (I was going to do it later), then IPhoto opened and it was BLANK! all 5000+ images were GONE! I am assuming the library got corrupted somehow on either the bad crash, or the canceling of the rebuild option.
    Now, I am a bit neurotic about my pics, so I choose to make my own finder folders of pic when I take them off the camera, and then import into iPhoto that way. So the good news is I still have all my original pictures in folders in the finder.
    From reading various threads here, and Googleing + Macfixit, etc etc. This is what I have done to try to recover my library. (not necessarily in this order)
    [list]
    [*]Trash/recreate the iPhoto plist preferences
    [*]Clear caches using Cocktail software
    [*]Repaired permissions (in Disk utility), and then repair iPhoto library folder permissions usuing instructions found here using Batchmod software
    [*]Rebuild the iPhoto library (option, command) and selecting the 3 proper checkboxes.
    [*]Ran iPhoto Library Manager software to rebuild the database with no success. I get the error message "This Library cannot be rebuilt because its XML file contains no data".
    [*]Updated to iPhoto 6.04/repaired permissions and disk utility.
    [/list]
    Each time iPhoto loads completely blank and void of my photos!
    My assumption is the XML file is corrupt since I am getting that message in iPhoto Library Manager.
    So what to do? And hear are my questions /issues.
    I would certainly like to preserve my 4 years of customization of keywords, titles , folders, smart folders, etc. (which I assume is held in the now corrupt XML file?).
    What is the best way to recover my customization and most importantly the images!
    I realize I can just re-import all my images from my original finder image folders that I have, but I assume this method will not recover my keywords ,etc?
    Is there a way to recover my customization?
    I do have a fairly recent backup of my iPhoto folder on a backup drive ( I think!) It does not have all my newer pics in it, but as I mentioned I do still have all my .jpgs, just not in iPhoto!
    Thanks in advance for reading and any help offered!
    PBG4 1.33 2gig   Mac OS X (10.4.6)   120 gig hd

    I got all my pictures AND everything else back, folders, ratings, keywords etc
    Fortunately I had a backup of the entire iPhoto library folder, it was about 3 months old (I know shame on me) so I didn't want to just use the entire backup folder and lose 3 months of photos.
    So I just copied the AlbumData.xml file and the Library6.iPhoto file. PRESTO all my pictures were back WITH all the folders,keywords etc, etc intact!! (up till the 3 month old backup point).
    Then I just re-imported the missing 3 months worth of pictures from the original folder in the iphoto library folder. So all I had to recreate was 3 months worth of customization. WHEW!!
    Reading through the discussions it seems there is a fair number of users where iPhoto would go empty, but they knew the images were still on the computer. I am not a programmer, but it seems silly to me the their are files that get re-written everytime iPhoto closes....computers crash. and then what happens to the files? Mine got corrupted, lesson learned BACKUP more frequently!!
    Thanks to Old Toad who steered me to the Library6.iPhoto as a possible troublemaker in another thread!

  • I am having macbook air recently my iphotos did not open and was showing report apple and reopen but i came to know that by pressing alt and iphotos i open an new photo library and stored the pics but now how can i get the pics which i had in the earlier

    i am having macbook air recently my iphotos did not open and was showing report apple and reopen but i came to know that by pressing alt and iphotos i open an new photo library and stored the pics but now how can i get the pics which i had in the earlier photo please help me to recover my photos

    Well I'll guess you're using iPhoto 11:
    Option 1
    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. Choose to Repair Database. If that doesn't help, then try again, this time using Rebuild Database.
    If that fails:
    Option 2
    Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. (In early versions of Library Manager it's the File -> Rebuild command. In later versions it's under the Library menu.)
    This will create an entirely new library. It will then copy (or try to) your photos and all the associated metadata and versions to this new Library, and arrange it as close as it can to what you had in the damaged Library. It does this based on information it finds in the iPhoto sharing mechanism - but that means that things not shared won't be there, so no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your events, albums and keywords, faces and places 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.  
    Regards
    TD

  • I opened original iPhoto Library (from iMac 10.8.5) on new MBP and now it won't open on iMac

    As my main computer I use an iMac which is not yet updated to Mavericks and I'd rather not update for now. I recently bought a MBP retina which has Mavericks on it.
    Whilst I was using the shared network to copy over some files to my new macbook I opening the iPhoto library off my iMac onto my MBP. Everything worked fine. However when I tried to open that library on my iMac it doesn't work. I just get a pop up saying:
    The library “iPhoto Library” cannot be opened.
    To open it, you must upgrade to the latest version of iPhoto.
    Quit
    I've tried updating but of course I cannot. I can't even double check what version of iPhoto I am running as everything is greyed out. When I go to the app store and click update I get:
    Download an older version of this app?
    The current version requires OS X 10.9 or later, but you can download the last compatible version.
    When I download the older version it doesn't do anything unfortunately. Is there a way to get my iphoto library back on my iMac as there's a LOT of images on there that I need.
    Thanks

    You will need to restore your iPhoto Library from a back up of your iMac prior to when you opened it on your new MBP Retina.
    The iPhoto app for OS X Mavericks upgrades the iPhoto Library DB and you can't go back. There should have been a message displayed when you first tried opening it from your MBP Retina warning you that the libary will be upgraded.
    So, as long as you have a back up of the library prior to opening it with an OS X Mavericks Mac, you can continue using it with your iMac running OS X Mountain Lion. What this means is, until you upgrade your iMac to OS X Mavericks and the newer version of iPhoto, you will have to maintain 2 iPhoto Libraries and not share it.

  • I just upgraded to Photos and now I can't open my iPhoto Library in Photos OR iPhoto. How do I get my photos back?!?

    I recently updated to the new Photos and when I went to import my library into Photos, it wouldn't let me.  Kept throwing errors.  I followed the suggested fixes using the terminal regarding permissions, but that didn't work.  I decided to just go back to using iPhoto, but when I opened that it wouldn't see my library either.  I tried copying it to an external hard drive and opening that, but it didn't work.  I can browse for it and see it on my computer but it's grayed out and I'm unable to select it.  Please help.  I'm terrified I lost all those photos.

    Option 1
    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. Choose to Repair Database. If that doesn't help, then try again, this time using Rebuild Database.
    If that fails:
    Option 2
    Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. (In early versions of Library Manager it's the File -> Rebuild command. In later versions it's under the Library menu.)
    This will create an entirely new library. It will then copy (or try to) your photos and all the associated metadata and versions to this new Library, and arrange it as close as it can to what you had in the damaged Library. It does this based on information it finds in the iPhoto sharing mechanism - but that means that things not shared won't be there, so no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your events, albums and keywords, faces and places 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.  
    Regards
    TD

  • Every time I open Iphoto I get the following message:  "A photo has been found in the iPhoto library that was not imported.  Do you want to import it?  Yes or No"  Any suggestions?

    Every time I open Iphoto I get the following message:  "A photo has been found in the Iphoto library that was not imported.  Does anyone have any suggestions?

    Quit iPhoto and to to the iPhoto library (by default in your pictures folder) - right click (control click) on it and select show package contents - find the folder named import (on importing) and drag it to the desktop - DO NOT MAKE ANY OTHER CHANGES - launch iPhoto and you will be fine.
    Open the import(ing) folder and if there is nothing in it that you need move it to the trash and empty the trash
    LN

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