Iphoto wont open after system upgrade and iLife install

Question

I installed Leopard and reallized i had to also buy iLife because the old version of iphoto was not supported by the the new operating system. Installed iLife and everything works exept iphoto. It acts as though it is "loading library" and then a pop-up window shows up saying:
"The photo library needs to be upgraded to work with this version of iphoto. Your photo library will not be readable by previouse versions of iPhoto after the upgrade. The upgrade process may take several minutes depending on the number of photos in the library."
I have hit "upgrade". But it still does not open.
I have about 9000 photos saved on an external drive.
I have repaired permissions as well as trashed iphoto and re-installed.
I read similar posts and am tempted to create a new library with library photo manager but am affraid i will lose some of my pictures.
I should include that because I couldn't open after the os update, I went into the my photo folders through finder and added new pix that I needed to get off of my camera. I've sinced trashed those folders.
Any ideas?
THanks in advance.
x

Answer 1

Welcome to the Apple Discussions. Thanks for the heads up on the out of date screenshot of BatChmod. It's been updated now. If all you your efforts to get your library updated and running fail you might try rebuilding the library with iPhoto Library Manager. It creates a new library based on the data in the AlbumData.xml file and leaves your current library untouched. Here's how that would work:
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.
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. Just put the application in the Dock and click on it whenever you want to backup the dB file. 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.
Note: There's now an Automator backup application for iPhoto 5 that will work with Tiger or Leopard.