IPhoto Preferences hangs

After I launch iPhoto, I can look at photos in albums, etc. but when I click on Preferences, iPhoto hangs and I have to do a Force Quit.   This has just started recently and about the only change I've made to my environment is a new iPad Air.  I am on a Mac Mini runing OS 10.6.8 and my version of iPhoto 9 is 8.1.2.  I've tried deleting the preferences and cache files and restarting but that doesn't help.   There doesn't seem to be any recent posts on this problem so I'm at a loss.  I suppose I could stop using iPhoto Preferences but I wanted to change the drop down option under General that specifies what to do when a camera is attached.  Another different situation that may be related is that when I attach my new iPad Air, it launches iPhoto which did not happen when I attached my old iPad 2.

If it's not hanging when you trie  iPhoto in another user account on your may it may be incompatible or corrupt preference files in your account.  The following is one way to test that:
Trouble Shooting Preferences
NOTE: In Lion and later the Home/Library folder is now invisible. To make it permanently visible enter the following in the Terminal application window: chflags nohidden ~/Library and press the Return key - 10.7: Un-hide the User Library folder.
If you're running Mavericks or Yosemite  go to your Home folder and use the View ➙ Show View Options menu to bring the this window:
1 - close all applications.
2 - open your Home/Library folder and Option-drag (copy) the Preferences folder to the Desktop.
3 - select the contents of your Home/Library/Preferences folder and drag them into the Trash bin in the Dock.  You will be asked to provide your Admin password.
4 - reboot. Be sure to know your account's username and password as you will be asked to log in with it.
5 - run the application again and determine if the problem(s) is fixed.
6 - If the problem is fixed:
A - open the working Home/Library/Preferences folder.
B - Open the Preferences  folder on the Desktop, select all of the contents and drag them into the working Home/Library/Preferences folder.
C - When the Copy window pops up check the "Apply to All" check box and then click on the Don't Replace or Skip button.
D - reboot.
7 - If the problem is NOT fixed, drag the contents of the Preference folder on the Desktop into the Home/Library/Preference folder and replace the entire contents that were created by clicking on Replace.
8 - reboot and you're back as square one.
Note:  keep the Preference folder on the desktop until you're sure all registration info for your apps are working.  If not you can copy the required files from the desktop pref folder to the working one.
Also be sure to have a current backup of your hard drive before attempting.

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    B - Open the Preferences  folder on the Desktop, select all of the contents and drag them into the working Home/Library/Preferences folder.
    C - When the Copy window pops up check the "Apply to All" check box and then click on the Don't Replace or Skip button.
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    Click to view full size
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