IPhoto missing photos - do I rebuild or restore or ?

I have read & utilized many of the threads here but haven't found one that's exactly like my situation. Before I do anything that could be irreversible, I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction.
I opened iPhoto & the majority of my photos are missing. I had been working on iPhoto just a short time earlier & everything was fine. I had not received any error messages but had just restarted my computer.
I have an iMac (2 GHz Intel core 2 duo), use OSx Leopard 10.5.8 and iPhoto '08 (version 7.1.5).
Due to lack of space, in March I relocated my iPhoto library to a second EHD (Seagate) -- my first EHD (MyBook) backs up via Time Machine both my internal HD and the new EHD with iPhoto on it.
When I open iPhoto, it shows all the slideshows/albums but most (not all) are empty. Of the now only 30 events showing, all are populated. It seems all the photos from mid 2008 to now are missing. I checked the trash - it was empty. When I open iPhoto, the 2000 photos are only 6.5GB but my iPhoto Library on the EHD shows 155GB.
I've tried restarting the computer. I've tried ejecting the EHD, deleting the iPhoto plist, reconnecting the EHD, opening iPhoto while holding option (chose "open library"). Still only 2K photos.
I've created enough space so I can try rebuilding or restoring the library. Is that the right step now? Obviously, I'd love to retain the meta-data (is that the correct term for albums, slideshows, etc?) and am confused at which approach is best.
I've used this forum to help me in the past & am hopeful you guys can help me now.

Start with Rebuilding. If that doesn't fix it then restore.
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 (Right Click -> Show Package Contents) allowing it to overwrite the damaged file.
2. Download <a href="http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/"><b><u>iPhoto Library Manager</b></u></a> 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.
3. If neither of these work then you'll need to create and populate a new library.
To create and populate a new *iPhoto 08* library:
Note this will give you a working library with the same Events and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, modified versions, books, calendars etc.
In the iPhoto Preferences -> Events Uncheck the box at 'Imported Items from the Finder'
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 (Right Click -> Show Package Contents) on your desktop and find the Originals folder. From the Originals folder drag the individual Event 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.

Similar Messages

IPhoto Missing Photos, Unique Situation

Hi everybody,
I am in what I believe to be (after a bit of Googling and forum searching) in a unique position with my iPhoto Library. The library in question used to be maintained without keeping copies in the actual library (by using the relevant option in iPhoto Preferences), as I like to maintain my own folder hierarchy for the actual photo file storage. However, after a hard drive upgrade and the move to iPhoto '08, I decided I'd like to change this. Before moving to '08, though, I needed a way to get all my then-aliased photos into the library itself. So, I used a program called Synk (basically a backup program) which was able to resolve all the aliases to photos elsewhere and replace them with the actual photos in my iPhoto library.
The old system and paths have since been replaced (due in no small part to a hard drive crash), and I'm now having an issue with those photos whose links no longer work. Apparently, said links weren't working during the resolution of the aliases, and so a number of broken links made their way into the new library and are now still there. And, unfortunately, those photos were stored on a drive which no longer exists, meaning anytime I try to click on one of those photos, iPhoto gives me the spinning beach ball of death for a minute or two (per photo) as it tries to connect to that drive. When it finally fails, it brings up the "Could not find this photo" dialogue box and gives me the option to find it, but to do this for all the missing links (as there are quite a few) would be extremely tedious.
So, I'm wondering what ideas people have as to go about restoring my library. I still have all (or at least most) of the missing photos in question on disk; they're just not properly linked. And I'd really like to keep all my tagging, renaming, and comment info for the photos that are there, given I've done extensive work in these areas. Thanks for any help.

CyberMonk:
I hope you didn't use Synk on the entire library package. Because it cannot parse the database file's contents which is the heart and soul of the library. I'm afraid you may not be able to resurrect the library.
Since the links for the alias files are broken unless you can re-link each file you'll have to start over from scratch by creating a new, empty library and importing the photos again. I don't know of any application that can do that.
Do you get a warning window when double clicking on a thumbnail indicating that the original file cannot be found and asks if you'd like to find it? If so, if you can find and re-link one photo in an event it may re-link all of the photos in that event as they are all in the same folder. But you have to be able to get to that warning window.
If the above fails I strongly recommend you setup a "managed" library to prevent this type of problem again.
You could run a managed library of all your photos on the external HD and have a smaller library on the laptop for the most current and those you need. You can use the paid version of iPhoto Library Manager to manage the multiple libraries and copy files via albums or event between the two while maintaining the keywords, comments and title.
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), 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.

IPhoto missing photos, sorta...

A strange thing recently happened with my iPhoto. Yes, my Mac and all
apps are up to date.
I imported some photos from my iPhone. After the import, not all the
photos show up in the "Photos" or "Events" sections. However, they do
show up in "Last Import" and a smart album I set up called "Last 6
Months".
At first I thought it may be a date error, but the metadata is correct
and the photos are not marked as hidden. Please help.
PS: I have Photo Stream enabled, therefore do I even need to be
importing my photos from my iPhone? Does Photo Stream copy my photos
to my library automatically?

have Photo Stream enabled, therefore do I even need to be importing my photos from my iPhone? Does Photo Stream copy my photos to my library automatically?
Make sure you have iPhoto's Photo Stream preference pane set to automatically import the PS photos as shown below:
OT

IPhoto missing photo's. rebuild already done

After the recent update of iphoto 9.3.1. I can't work on some photo's anymore. They do appear in the library as thumbnail but if you click on it an exclamation point in a triangle appears. Rebuild the library but the problem remains. It concerns photos recently uploaded, about 25 in total. The filesize seems to be fine (3.4mb) and exporting the corrupted photo doesn't work. Any advice to follow appreciated.
Using a macbook pro 2012 edition.

The ! turns up when iPhoto loses the connection between the thumbnail in the iPhoto Window and the file it represents.
Are you running a Managed or a Referenced Library?
A Managed Library, is the default setting, and iPhoto copies files into the iPhoto Library when Importing. The files are then stored in the Library package
A Referenced Library is when iPhoto is NOT copying the files into the iPhoto Library when importing because you made a change at iPhoto -> Preferences -> Advanced. (You unchecked the option to copy files into the Library on import) The files are then stored where ever you put them and not in the Library package. In this scenario you are responsible for the File Management.

IPhoto missing photos

When I open iPhoto I have a lot of pictures that are missing, deleted by accident. Now when in iPhoto, i receive the following message, "The volume for “Christmas 2005-12.JPG” cannot be found." I can cancel but the next photo comes up missing and I cannot opt out of this message. How can I remove this message from reoccuring?

You can't.
If this is the case you have
1. A Referenced Library
2. The files are stored on a different volume than the Library
and now that you have deleted the files via the Finder you have corrupted the LIbrary.
No back up? If not then you're starting over.
Regards
TD

IPhone sync - restoring missing photos in iPhoto from the phone

I have recently restored from a Time Machine backup, and several recent photo imports are now missing from iPhoto. (Yes, I have tried to rebuild the library, but they are still missing.) The photos still exist on my iPhone, but when I plug it in, it only allows me to import from the 'Camera Roll' album, and not the 'Photo Library' album, where the missing photos still exist. So:
Question #1 - If I allow iTunes to perform a photo sync, will it replace the whole 'Photo Library' album, thereby deleting the photos that only exist on my phone? Or is this a two-way sync, which would happily reinsert my missing photos back into iPhoto? (Wishful thinking I'm guessing).
Question #2 - Is there a way to pull those photos from the iPhone manually, so I can re-import them into iPhoto?

Yes and Yes (using third party software or emailing them, or uploading them) but remember that the ones on the iPhone are compressed optimised versions just for the iPhone display - not the originals.

IPhoto Library Manager hasn't managed to find missing photos after rebuild

I'm trying to repair what I assume is my pal's corrupted iPhoto Library. There are over 8000 images in the Originals folder, which is the number of photos expected to be in iPhoto but he suddenly discovered there were only 1200.
Having tried to rebuild the library with iPhoto Library Manager it is still only showing 1200 photos and I therefore wondered whether anyone can recommend any other solutions for trying to recover the missing photos?
As always, any help most appreciated
Kind Regards
Bernard

Did you try to rebuild with iPhoto with "Find orphans" option selected? If that doesn't work you'll have to start over with a new library as follows:
Creating a new library while preserving the Events from the original library.
1 - Move the existing library folder to the desktop
2 - Open the library package like this.
3 - Launch iPhoto and, when asked, select the option to create a new library.
4 - Drag the Originals folder from the iPhoto Library on the desktop into the open iPhoto window.

Missing photos after migration from iPhoto to Photos

Last week I upgraded my desktop MacPro from OS 10.9.latest to OS 10.10.3. When I first opened Photos, it did the migration from iPhotos without apparent problem. But I have noticed that many (hundreds at least) of the photos from my pre-migration iPhoto library are now not in Photos. I mounted my pre-upgrade backup drive on a laptop running OS 10.9.latest, and can find specific missing photos OK on the backup. But if I search the main drive on my desktop Mac, for example for "P1440608", I get no results. I have tried rebuilding the Photos library with no change - the missing photos are still missing.
One option is to erase my MacPro main drive and restore from the backup drive to OS 10.9.latest. This should put me back to where I was. Is there a viable alternative? Please note that my iPhoto version was 8.1.2. It will not open in OS 10.10.3, and the App Store will not let me upgrade to the most recent version. I do have Time Machine plus external bootable (SuperDuper) backup of the desktop MacPro, plus that laptop running OS 10.9.latest as resources available.

Apply the two fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
1 - launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
2 - run Option #4 to rebuild the database.
Fix #2
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
1 - download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
2 - click on the Add Library button and select the library you want to add 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.
5 - 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.
OT

Missing photos in iPhoto '08 v. 7.1.3

This is hardly a "new" topic on this discussion but after trying every recommendation I have been able to find, I am still no further forward so would appreciate any other suggestions that might be forthcoming.
When iPhoto is launched it shows, at the foot, 17,528 items. Click on a thumbnail and one of two thing happens: either, and this is the good one, the photo launches normally or, and this is the other, up pops the greyed out area with the exclamation mark. If I understand that correctly it either means that the original photo is "missing" or that iPhoto is unable to link to it.
An Info check on the iPhoto library shows 12.86 GB. However, on the originals folder only it shows 5.49 GB for 7,506 items.
I have tried all the rebuild facilities offered by iPhoto. No change.
I have installed iPhoto Library Manager and tried to rebuild the library using that: it hangs, showing "getting photo information"...which it doesn't. I had to close it using Force Quit.
I have used the "extract photos" facility in that program - it tells me that 5,589 photos have been extracted.
None of the figures tie up - and I'm not even clear if they are supposed to do so.
The real mystery to me is that the "missing" photos seem entirely random: in a group of, say 10, photos which were imported together 1 or 2 might be missing, all might be, none might be. There is just no discernible "pattern" to the problem.
So, two questions, really: (1) any bright ideas as to what to try next or what might be causing this and (2) if my library is terminally corrupted then it seems to me I should start a brand new library using the extracted photos as the basis then add others from CDs and DVDs, but in doing so is there a way of avoiding duplication?
Thanks in anticipation...
Ryetee

Ryetee
To create a library from scratch - which is what you need to do as you do have a damaged library:
To create and populate a new library:
Note this will give you a working library with the same Events and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, modified versions, books, calendars etc.
In the iPhoto Preferences -> Events Uncheck the box at 'Imported Items from the Finder'
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 (Right Click -> Show Package Contents) on your desktop and find the Originals folder. From the Originals folder drag the individual Event 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.
Regards
TD

Missing photo imports in iPhoto

Hi all, here's my problem...
I am missing a few days of photos that were previously uploaded to iPhoto, two months ago. I just opened iPhoto, and noticed they were gone. Here's what they are appearing as:
I did a little research, and I cannot find any of the image names anywhere on my computer. I have opened iPhoto to get into the "Rebuild Photo Library", but I have no idea which selection would pertain to my situation... I did try the orphan photos, with no sucess.
I have also went back through my back-up hard drive/time machine, and curiously enough, the back-up days after these photos were uploaded are also blacked out...
Does anyone have a solution for this? I'd appreciate any insight you may have!
(I have iPhoto '09, version 8.1.2)

The ! turns up when iPhoto loses the connection between the thumbnail in the iPhoto Window and the file it represents.
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.

I try to open I photo and I get the message, your iPhoto library is damaged...please restore from backup. But i din't made backup copy. How can i delete previous library and work wrom the new one?

I try to open I photo and I get the message, your iPhoto library is damaged...please restore from backup. But i din't made backup copy. How can i delete previous library and work wrom the new one?

Try this (assuming you're using iPhoto 12): make a temporary, duplicate copy of the library and try the three fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
delete the iPhoto preference file, com.apple.iPhoto.plist, that resides in your Home/Library/Preferences folder.
delete iPhoto's cache files that are located in your Home/Library/Caches/com.apple.iPhoto folder.
reboot, launch iPhoto and try again.
NOTE: If you're moved your library from its default location in your Home/Pictures folder you will have to point iPhoto to its new location when you next open iPhoto by holding the the Option key. You'll also have to reset the iPhoto's various preferences.
Fix #2
Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys depressed and follow the instructions to rebuild the library.
Select options #1, #2 and #6.
Fix #3
Rebuild the library using iPhoto Library Manager as follows:
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.
OT

How do I recover missing photos in iPhoto 11?

HI!
     I recently upgraded to iPhoto 11 (from iPhoto 9, I believe). There are 12 photos missing from the 'Photos' section of my library. There are dashed lines around the locations where the photos should be (it is a sequence of 12 pictures), so I assume the originals are in the iPhoto Library somewhere. How do I have the placed back where they should be?
     Thanks for your help.
Doug Chisholm

Give these two fixes a try to see if they can recover those missing photos. But be sure to have a backup of your current library in case the results are not to your liking:
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
Click on the Add Library button,
and select the library you want to add from those in the selection window.
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
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.
Starting over from scratch with new library
Start over with a new library and import the Originals (iPhoto 09 and earlier) or the Masters (iPhoto 11) folder from your original library as follows:
1. Open the library package like this.
2. Launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and, when asked, select the option to create a new library.
3. Drag the subfolders of the Originals (iPhoto 09 and earlier) or the Masters (iPhoto 11) folder from the open iPhoto Library package into the open iPhoto window a few at a time.
This will create a new library with the same Events (but not necessarily the same Event names) as the original library but will not keep the metadata, albums, books slideshows and other projects.
Note: your current library will be left untouched for further attempts at a fix if so desired.

Very strange. In iPhoto '11, cannot find my Trash bin under RECENT category - -need to retrieve missing photos.

Hello. I have been trying to solve this for quite some time on my own.
I've been using iPhoto for years, and get all the upgrades. Working with iPhoto tonight, trying to set up two new Albums, it added my entire iPhoto library into the first new Album I created. When I deleted that, then I tried to create another new Album, this time it added 26 photos from a different Album. Very strange. I deleted that new Album, too. When I went back to the date and photos I was originally looking at, I noticed the two I was going to place in the new Album were missing.
That's when I looked up for the Trash bin, which I've usually found under the RECENT category, but now is entirely gone.
Oh no...
I don't understand what is going on. If anyone has any clues, I would be most grateful for your insight.

Hello Terence,
Thanks for your rapid response. To answer your question, under RECENT, I currently see Last Import, Last 18 Months, Flagged, and...
Well, this is wonderful, the Trash is back again, right where it was before. I have also checked the photos that were missing, and they are back right where they were supposed to be.
Now I am wondering if this is a iPhoto '11 problem in general, since I noticed there were quite a number of other entries on the iPhoto discussion page on similar subjects, ranging from Trash trouble to missing photos this evening. Might there be anything to this?
It is great that in my case, it's all been restored. Next time, I will just quit iPhoto and re-open it again. Perhaps even restarting my Mac might well have been a good enough idea.
That was a close call. Thanks very much.

Calendar Crashes, iPhoto 6.0.3, and Missing Photos, Books, etc.

Last week I was creating a calender in iPhoto 6.0.2. It crashed twice while I was working on it. I submitted the crash logs to Apple and went on working with the calendar. Everything seemed fine.
Last night I upgraded to iPhoto 6.0.3 via Software Update. I checked permissions afterwards, then launched iPhoto 6.0.3 to work on my calendar. ALL of my photos since December 2004 were missing and I also had no books, albums, or calendars in the left side pane. I tried rebuilding the library and nothing changed. I have not yet tried to "recover" lost images.
I'm not sure if the iPhoto 6.0.2 calendar crash did this or the iPhoto 6.0.3 update, or the combination of the two. Does anyone have any ideas on how to get back all of this information? From what I've gathered, it looks like I should try iPhoto Library Manager. That seems to help some people. At the very least I hope to get all my Film Rolls back, but I would like all the other stuff as well.
Yes, I should have a more recent backup than I do, but Apple also needs to make the iPhoto Library data files more robust so it's easier to rebuild this information!

That did indeed recover all my "missing" photos. I guess there just isn't anyway to recover albums, calendards, greeting cards, slideshows, etc. Is that true?
I think I will revert back to my last backup and manually add the 10 or so rolls that I have taken since then. At least that way the only thing I lose is the calendar I was working on during the crash in iPhoto 6.0.2. I also plan on filing a bug on iPhoto with the crash log and the information about it corrupting my iPhoto Library. If iPhoto Library Manager can recover all my photos, then iPhoto itself should definitely be able to!
One other oddity I noticed was the iPhoto Library Manager would say it was importing Film Roll "Joss's Birthday", but then it would NOT actually use that as the name of the Film Roll in the rebuilt library. I figured since it obviously saw the name, it should use it. Maybe I had the preferences configured wrong.
Power Mac G5 Dual 2 GHz Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Migrating iPhoto to Aperture 3 and the case of missing photos

I love the new Aperture 3 and am so excited to migrate from iPhoto. I have used the Aperture feature of importing an entire iPhoto library directly into a new Aperture library. This doesn't produce any errors (except for a handful of missing photos which aren't too important), but when I look at the resultant Aperture library (8 hours later), I am missing a LOT of photos. My iPhoto library has about 24,000 photos and my Aperture library only has about 16,000. Because of the differences in the way Aperture and iPhoto keep track of edits, my Aperture library should have considerably more photos than iPhoto and not less. Please help!

In new iLife 09 (or iPhoto 09), some pics are now black in the Event, simply an outline of dotted lines. Yet, when I cursor fast, they appear, so I know there are still there.
That doesn't mean that they are "still there". It means that a cached version of the image exists.
I recall, when migrating photos it noted that the photos in iPhoto (old system) needed to be formatted to new iPhoto, so I allowed. Makes me wonder if something in a pic title or such is the issue.
That's a standard procedure when you upgraded to the later version of iPhoto. Happens every time to up a version, and to everyone.
With regard to Portrait. When I import from iPhoto to Aperture, any Portrait picture has a 2nd verson next to it, but in the Horizontal. All Horizontal pics, there is only the one version of the pic.
Your camera has an Auto-Rotate feature. However, the camera does not actually rotate any pixels in the file, but instead flags it with an instruction: "Display me this way". iPhoto, seeing the flag, reads the intention and creates a modified version. Hence the second version of the Portrait pics and no second version of the Landscape ones. The landscape ones don't have an auto-rotate tag.
For the dotted line problem, try rebuild your iPhoto 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.
Regards
TD

IPhoto missing photos - do I rebuild or restore or ?

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