IPhoto not reading Library: Driving me mad

Hello all,
A little help please: I have my iPhoto library stored on an external HDD. Some time ago my HDD unintentionally became disconnected while still mounted and while it seems iPhoto was still running. Since then, whenever I try and access my photos via iPhoto it simply shows me a blank grey screen and tells me I have no photos or events.
Interestingly, when I click on the 'Show package contents' in my iPhoto library, I still see all of my original photos. I also see them in the 'images' folder, so I know they're still there. However, my iPhoto doesn't seem to read them.
I've tried the following solutions, none of which have worked:
(1) I pushed 'Option' while opening iPhoto and tried to re-nominate the same Library;
(2) I downloaded iPhoto Library Manager, extracted my photos to a new folder, did the same action as in (1) above;
(3) I tried to utilise my backup on Timemachine (disturbingly this did not seem to have backed up any of my photos stored on the external HDD - not sure why).
I did eventually download Picasa, which recognised the photos but not the albums. While I understand that Picasa is supposedly a superior means of storing and managing one's photos, I don't want to have to go and resort all of my shots (I have 17 GB's of photos).
Can anybody suggest how I can fix this hugely irritating problem? To top it all off, as I am unsure where the computer will store new photos I have not yet uploaded my Christmas holiday pics.
Help / suggestions welcome (maybe also re Timemachine backing up my external HDD photos and iTunes).
Many thanks,

Welcome to the Apple Discussions. Disconnecting the HD with iPhoto open corrupted the library's database file. If you still have the library on the external HD, open it, close it and then Backup and launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys depressed to rebuild the library. Select the last three options.
Click to view full size
If that doesn't bring them back you can use iPhoto Library Manager to rebuild the library as follows:
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
1 -Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
2 -Click on the Add Library button, navigate to your User/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
3 - 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
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 untouched for further attempts at fixing or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.

Similar Messages

After 10.3.9 Upgrade, iPhoto not recognizing Library

After I completed my 10.3.9 upgrade (from 10.1.5), and subsequent upgrade to iPhoto 2.0.1, I get the following effor message when launching iPhoto 2.0.1 (iPhoto was working fine before OS upgrade):
Your Photo Library was not found. Do you want to find your Photo Library?
iPhoto can't continue without a Photo Library. Make sure the disk containing your Photo Library is connected.
<Quit> <Create Library...> <Find Library...>
So, I tried Quit. Restarted and got the same result.
Then I tried Find Library, but when I navigate to the file on my computer called Library.data it is greyed out(location is Pictures:iPhotoLibrary:Library.data)
Then I tried Create Library, but of course all I had was an empty library, and I could research no way to import or link my existing library.
Please shower your suggestions on me.
With thanks,
Duane

Hi, Duane. Trash the new, empty iPhoto Library folder that was created when you exercised the "Create Library" option. Open iPhoto, opt to "Find Library", and navigate to your original iPhoto Library folder. Select that folder, not any of the files or folders inside it. That's your library.
The standard, default path to that library folder is: Your hard drive>Users>your account name>Pictures>iPhoto Library. You can move the library elsewhere if you like, but if you have no good reason to do so, leaving it in the default location is probably best.
A cardinal rule for iPhoto users is never to tamper with any of the things inside an iPhoto Library folder. Everything inside that folder is arranged exactly the way iPhoto needs it to be arranged, and next time you open iPhoto, it expects to find all the contents exactly as it left them last time. If you tinker with the contents of that folder via the Finder, or using any tool or utility other than iPhoto itself, the library database will be corrupted for iPhoto's purposes, and some or all of your pictures or albums will seem to have vanished the next time you open iPhoto.
There is a Discussions forum entirely devoted to iPhoto 4 and earlier. If you have further questions related to your version of iPhoto, I recommend posting them in that forum.

Iphoto not reading camera

I just bought a Mac Book Air that did not have iPhoto.
I downloaded from App store and downloaded the camera driver.
It is stil not reading my camera.
Can anyone help. I am hours into this and so frustrated.
Alicia

thank for you telling me where i could see if the camera is actually being read. i went to the system profiler and the camera is being read by the computer, i just don't know how to get iphoto to read it.
and just to clarify, this is one of those mini digital cameras that i don't think is more than $20 or $30. i got it for christmas and just thought it would be nice to be able to attach to a keychain and use when i don't happen to have my canon on me. so, if by chance this isn't going to work and the camera needs a regualr PC or whatever it won't be the biggest deal in the world, but if it's a simple fix i'd like to get it working.
thanks

Iphoto not reading iphone

All of a sudden iPhoto is not reading my iPhone. As a result I cannot download new images.
Any ideas?

Many people fix these issues simply by restarting the phone. Some require a reset.
Regards
TD

Iphoto not showing library

When I was uploading some pictures into iPhoto, my charger was pulled out of my laptop and I didn't realize my battery had gone bad and was not charging, therefore, my computer shut down. When I restarted, there were no pictures in iPhoto, however, my library is still in tact.
I have since done a back up of my library on an external drive and gotten a new battery, but no matter what I seem to do, I can not get the library to show up in Iphoto. I have tried all the options when holding down the command and option keys. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Mac OS X (10.6.8)
iPhoto '11 (9.1.5)

Not having a backup is a really bad decision - it guarantees data loss when problems occur
You can try the free trial of iPhoto Library Manager's - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ - rebuild command and see if it can recover anything
Otherwise you will have to right click on the iPhoto library and show package contents and drag the masters folder to the desktop and starting over with the originals there - crate a new library drag the masters fold to the open iPhoto window
LN

Why will iphoto not open, library corrupted using older version?

iMac OSX Version 10.6.8 iMac12,2
Intel Core i5 iPhoto 8.1.2,
iphoto will not open, library corrupted using older version
I have removed all iphoto files and avatars as one person has suggested. I am suppose to reinstall iPhoto using the discs that came with the computer.
I am not sure what to do with any options that might be provided. Any help will be appreciated.

Be sure the DNG Converter's compatibility is set to provide support for your version of ACR:
Benjamin

IPhoto 11 on Mavericks suddenly can not read library anymore

I didn't install anything, may an autoupdate of Apple happened, but I assume that updates by Apple should never destroy a running application, right???
However, when I open iPhoto, the application shows up (empty left pane, empty main content area) and shows the loading icon. This loads 5 minutes until OSX tells me that the harddisk (where my iPhoto library is stored) has been disconnected.
The HD is local and it is formatted with Extended file format (journaled).
What happened? How can I restore it?? APPLE PLEASE HELP! Also the "restore" guideline in the support area DOES NOT WORK!
Thanks.

a few problems
1 - Apple is not here and yelling at them does no good - and does make reading your posts harder and decreases the volunteer's view of getting involved - stop the rants and yelling and spend your time providing details so the volunteers can assist
2 - what version of iPhoto? Is OS X 10.8.3 at you state correct? - How much free space on the hard drive that the iphot library is on? How much free space on your boot drive? how is the EHD holding the iPhoto library connected to your Mac? Any other symptoms or strange problems with that EHD?
3 - anything else you can tell us including your best guess as to the problem
LN

IPhoto not finding library

Hi,
I am using iPhoto 5.0.4 and iPhoto Buddy. When I open iPhoto on it's own it is saying it can't find the library and wants me to choose one. Is there a way I can name a folder the right name so it just opens that folder instead of asking me each time?
Thanks!

Open iPhoto with the Option key depressed and then when asked to locate navigate to the folder that's you're working library and select it. When using iPhoto Buddy click on the "+" button and when asked to find and select a library folder you do the same and that library will be added to iPB's list.
I routinely open iPB first and then select the library to open. It may be an extra step but it becomes second nature after a while.
iPhoto, by default, looks for a folder with the name "iPhoto Library" that's located in your User/Pictures folder. That is the default location.
OT

Id2 tag not read by Music app correctly

Dear users,
I have a couple of tracks, for which the id2 tags are not read properly. I made sure
- I deleted the id1 tags and use only id2 tags.
- I checked with other Windows SW (MediaMonkey, VLC player) for tags. All are the same and correct.
This is, what I see in VLC:
This is, what I see on my Z10.2.2.:
I'm awaiting the following on two lines, an the song should be listed under the Album name (Supernature):
Ohh la la [live]
Goldfrapp
How can I upload a file, so others could check for id2 tags with other BB player, please?
Cheers,

I'll try that !
What bugs me is that all the various tagging programs I have tried tell me the tag are in id3v2.3...
Anyway, I'll install iTunes again and keep you updated.
Cheers !
edit :
Good call ! Thanks a lot !
Now... When once the tags are converted, I have to move the folder containing the updated mp3s to another folder than "My music" and then move in back in so that the media sniffer, being acti've, removes the album and then re-reads the whole correctly and shows up the track numbers in my library.
I thought the "update" option in Mediasource ("Actualiser" in my French version -mais oui !- in the menu that pops up when you right click on a track in the library window) would do the trick, apparently I'm wrong, since nothing happens tag-wise when I do it :|.
I thought I'd just convert everything through iTunes, delete the whole library in Mediasource and create whole a new one, but if I don't ask, I'll never know : is there a way to have the Mediasniffer read the tags again ? Message Edited by Umbrifer on 08-29-2006 0:38 PMMessage Edited by Umbrifer on 08-29-2006 0:50 PM

TS1192 'Could not read the iPhoto Library. The library at [file path] has a corrupted AlbumData.xml file.'

Got this msh from Piasa...any ideas? 'Could not read the iPhoto Library. The library at [file path] has a corrupted AlbumData.xml file.'

Contact Adobe support - that is not an iPhoto message - in general Piasa has no ability to access the iPhoto library - there have been hacks but often they do not worka nd can cause problems
You need to user either Picasa or iPHoto - using both on the same photos is problematic
LN

New iPhoto not working at all - blank library on startup

I just upgraded my iLife package to 09 and must admit that I've never experienced this much trouble in my 15 years as an apple.
First of all: Upon upgrading and first launch of iPhoto I was met by a complete blank library. I quickly checked all my preferences and while clicking around my Events and Librarys appeared in iPhoto though I'm unable to open any Events and generally nothing's working.
I've tried trashing my preferences and reinstalling. I've made sure that everything is up to date. Still I met by the same blank screen. Furthermore it seems I cannot quit iPhoto and I have to force-quit the application.
While looking for a solution I tried "iPhoto Library Manager" - but no luck there either. It was unable yo rebuild the library, what seems to be the obvious solution. As far as I know, there no way to rebuild the new iPhoto 8 (09) Library...???
Anyone have a solution to my troubles.
Thx

Hmm it seems I cannot go back to iPhoto 08 without making a complete restore. I'm not ready to try that and risk trouble in other applications (Adobe packages etz). By the way I upgraded both iLife and iWorks at the same time.
The rebuild didn't help att all it seems. The problem is the same. Blank iPhoto until I click around in the preferences, then all librarys and events suddenly appear. But they're all completely useless. Still no access to individual pictures inside Events. I can open Events in a new window and look through the photos but that's it...
I did this upgrade on my MacPro. Luckily my "real" photos are on my MacBookPro, but I don't think I will try upgrading before i find a solution...
Any ideas are most welcome.

IPhoto 9.6 - Library will not upgrade...

MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010), 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5, 8 GB 1067 MHz DDR3, Intel HD Graphics 288 MB.
OS X Yosemite, Version 10.10.
iPhoto 9.6
Library size - 48GB
PROBLEM.
I upgraded iPhoto and everything worked great. However a few days ago when opening the App a message appeared telling me my library needed to be upgraded to use this version of iPhoto.
I have selected upgrade on several occasions but all that happens is the "Beachball" for approximately 10mins and then the App closes, occasionally it will get as far as "examining photo library" but still shuts down.
ATTEMPTS TO CURE
1.     I have tried holding down the Cmd + Opt keys on selection of the App and have selected every option on the iPhoto First Aid but it will not allow me to do anything other than "Upgrade" or "Quit"
2.     I have opened the App holding down the Opt key and created a new library - iPhoto then works fine. However when I try to change libraries I'm back where I started.
3.     I have removed and reinstalled iPhoto (ensuring my library was backed-up first) - no change.
4.     I have downloaded iPhoto Library Manager. It finds my library and my albums but none of my pictures - is this because I need to pay the £20?
Any help would be gratefully received.

If rebuilding your library with iPLM doesn't work or fails to recover your photos you may have to resort to the following;
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.

I have lost my photos/videos when i imported from my ipad 2 to my new imac latest version and it's not reading the files. I have downloaded iMac library manager and can see them. can someone shed some light please ?

i have lost my photos/videos when i imported from my ipad 2 to my new imac latest version OS X 10.8.4
and it's not reading the files. I have downloaded iMac library manager and can see them. when i go back into iphoto i'm getting the following message :
Do you want to switch the current iPhoto Library from “iPhoto Library.photolibrary” to “iPhoto Library.photolibrary” and relaunch iPhoto?
I don't know what to do - please help !!!!
can someone shed some light please ?

So it appears you have only one library on the hard drive. Apply the two fixes below in order as needed to that library:
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. However, books, calendars, cards and slideshows will be lost. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.

Copied iphoto library to new 10.7.3 Air. Now 10.6.8 iphoto not working

Hello,
I recently purchased a new Macbook Air, running 10.7.3. I copied my iphoto library through file sharing from my previous MacBook Pro running 10.6.8. I have the photos on the new machine, so they're safe. I went back to delete them on the Pro, since I'll be handing it off to my wife. But iphoto will not open, says "You have made changes to your photo library using a newer version of iPhoto. Please quit and use the latest version of iPhoto."
Two questions:
1. How do I get the version of iphoto they're requesting? If I have to buy it, I'm sorry but I already purchased it once.
2. Is it possible to reinstall just iphoto in it's previous version instead?
Thanks.

Try the following:
1 - delete the iPhoto preference file, com.apple.iPhoto.plist, that resides in your
User/Home/Library/ Preferences folder.
2 - delete iPhoto's cache file, Cache.db, that is located in your
User/Home/Library/Caches/com.apple.iPhoto folder (Snow Leopard and Earlier).
or with Mt. Lion from the User/Library/Containers/com.apple.iPhoto/
Data/Library/Caches/com.apple.iPhoto folder
3 - 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 down the Option key when launching iPhoto. You'll also have to reset the iPhoto's various preferences.
NOTE 2: In Lion and Mountain Lion the Library folder is now invisible. To make it permanently visible enter the following in the Terminal application window: chflags nohidden ~/Library and hit the Enter button - 10.7: Un-hide the User Library folder.
OT

My iphone 5 is 32GB and I keep it backed up in icloud. A recent message suggested that I don't have enough icloud space so I have deleted all back up - it still says no icloud space - help!!! I am not a techy person and this is driving me mad!! :(

Please can somebody help ....My iphone said not enough icloud space available, so I have delete all back ups and checked what apps are linked to my back up and it is only my photos. Since deleting all current back ups I have tried to back up again and it still says not enough space when I have 5GB/ 5GB available.
Can anybody help please? I'd be really greatful as this is driving me mad... why can't things just be simple x

The problem could be that you don't have enough storage on the device itself, not on iCloud. Go to Settings>General>Usage to see how much "Storage" you have available on the device. Farther down the list is the available storage on iCloud.
Also check:
Go to Settings>iCloud>Storage & Backups>Manage Storage; there, tap the device you need info on and the resulting screen lists Backup Options with which apps store data on iCloud as well. Tap Show All Apps to get the complete list of apps and MB used for backup storage.
A device needs many MB of storage in order to perform a backup to iCloud.
Also see: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4847`

IPhoto not reading Library: Driving me mad

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for