It happened again!!! iPhoto stops deleting photos!

It happened again!
As I reported in other threads in this forum, I have been experiencing deletion problems with iPhoto. This problem has been reported by many other users in different threads. To my knowledge, there has been no official fix / answer provided by Apple. Terence Devlin has been very helpful in suggesting possible remedies and ways to keep the integrity of the photo library and preventing the problem to reoccur.
My last post on this subject reported actual loss of photos after having rebuilt the library and deleted some albums created automatically by iPhoto under the name "recovered photos". For a more detailed account of that experience see my post under " Lost photos..."
Having had the bad experience of losing photos, I proceeded very carefully and methodically to recreate a new library from previous archives of original photos. The base of this new library was a previous working backup library of about 9000 photos which had not been upgraded to iPhoto 09. After the upgrade, I imported over new 3000 photos into the new library from separate folders in my boot hard drive. The process went smoothly. While I performed the import, iPhoto performed scans of faces and places in the background. I allowed iPhoto to complete the scanning of Faces without interruption; this took many, many hours. Once this process was completed, I quit iPhoto and allowed it to save all the metadata. Subsequently, I proceeded very carefully and methodically to delete some photos that somehow were duplicated during the importation. iPhoto responded well by moving each such deleted photo to its trash. When the trash accumulated more than 50 photos I emptied the trash. I would then quit iPhoto to allow for that deletion to take complete effect. While I continued this process of deleting duplicate photos, I merged some events, split others and identified places of such events using maps. The deletion process went on smoothly through many many photos until stopped deleting after i hit a certain photo. When this happened the selection did not skip to the next photo when I hit the delete key. The photo did not move to the trash. At that time the trash had 37 photos. I gave the command to empty the trash and the trash counter showed zero. I then quit iPhoto, but when I reopened it the 37 photos were back in the trash!!! I took a look at those photos sitting in the trash to identify the last one. I looked back at the events and noticed that all 37 photos still sitting in the trash were no longer in the events except for the very last one.
I am now afraid of doing anything else to this library until I know what it is the best next step. Any suggestions?
For the time being I am rebuilding the library with the iPhoto Library Manager application (iPLM) because that creates a backup of the original library without messing with it. This I am doing just in case the original library got fatally corrupted. My firm interest is in recovering the original library to full operational status. I would appreciate hearing your suggestions about what should be my next step on that original library.
Thanks in advance.

but we can't really back up the database file itself.
That is what the new rebuild feature in iPhoto 09 is supposed to do:
Click to view full size
However, if you want to take a more proactive approach you can download and modify the Automator workflow described below that I created to backup the iPhoto 08 and earlier database file.
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 versions) 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. There are versions that are compatible with iPhoto 5, 6, 7 and 8 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: The new rebuild option in iPhoto 09 (v. 8.0.2), Rebuild the iPhoto Library Database from automatic backup" makes this tip obsolete.

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Iphoto is deleting photos off my camera and phone etc. when I download them to my mac. It asks if I want to keep or save them and even if I say keep its deleting them off the media card etc. What can I do to stop this. It has only just started doing this.

Iphoto is deleting photos off my camera card and phone etc. after I am downloading them onto my mac. After the photos are downloaded it asks if I want to keep them or delete them and even though Im saying that I want to keep them!. Any ideas?

Review these Knowledge Base articles... they may help you:
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When i deleted my photos from my iPhoto it deleted them from Facebook also. Any ideas how to stop it happening again? Lost 40k photos

Can anyone tell me how to stop iphoto deleting pics from my facebook account when i delete them from iphoto on my mac? Have just lost 40k pics as i thought they were safe on facebook!

notcloudy wrote:
Apple's Icloud with Yosemite and IOS8 on devices is suppose to do just that - synchronize between devices so when you get home the pictures you took with our devices will magically be on you primary computer.
You may also want to look into other "clouds" available -- including clouds you can set up yourself (WD offers make your own cloud - haven't looked into it as don't need it)
Thanks for the constructive feedback! iCloud sync generally works well, though I believe it's time-limited-- You'll have to import them to your library from the iCloud sync to make it "permanent" within a few months. I'm also using CloudStation on my Synology NAS, and I use Dropbox on all my computers although not for photos, because I'm still using their free account. Keeping iPhoto libraries up to date is not generally an issue. Though I admit 2 of my 3 computers are on Yosemite and I am using iOS 8, I haven't specifically explored the differences in iCloud behavior on the new versions.
The deleting comment is more around temporarily storing them in one iPhoto library, uploading to Facebook, then deleting from iPhoto without deleting from FB -- it's not so much about how to transfer the photos around. It's pretty easy to shoot 15 or 20GB of photos in a day with a modern camera, and you might find yourself without an internet connection, or at the very least, too spotty to copy that much data overnight.
For example, on a recent trip, my workflow was to load photos from my RX-100 via SD card into my MacBook Air which only has 128GB of storage.
So I'd copy all photos to iPhoto, flag favorites, edit, add to FB album in iPhoto, let that upload, then export to disk, let that sync to my CloudStation folder back on my NAS at home in the US, then finally delete all un-flagged photos in iPhoto (the "rejects"). By the end of the trip, even the 15GB of all of the flagged, edited photos took up too much space (in addition to all of the originals I was storing on disk), so I deleted the Facebook sync so I that was able to delete them from iPhoto.
Of course, I kept all my originals, but those were in 3 places: SD card, CloudStation folder on my Air, and on my NAS back at home (plus any devices that were powered on and syncing to CloudStation).
This worked great in Iceland where I had 50up/50down internet, but not so great at an agriturismo in Italy where I was getting something like 50% packet loss on their point-to-point wifi internet connection!
When I get home, every single original picture goes onto my master iPhoto library on the Mac Pro at home, but I treat the libraries on my laptops as transient places for editing and uploading, then deleting. This is not just a multiple-computer problem, though -- I am sure many users just wish to upload then delete, and never keep their originals.

How do I get iPhoto to delete photos from my SD card?

There was a time when I uploaded photos from an SD card into iPhoto, iPhoto would ask if I wanted to delete the images from the SD card after the upload finished. That is not happening any more. I have been through all of the iPhoto preferences and don't see anywhere to select an option to delete photos after an upload is done. I seem to remember there being a check box in the photo upload window I could check to indicate to delete the photos. I am not seeing that check box any more when I upload photos.
I would prefer to delete the images through iPhoto than to use my camera to reformat my SD card.
I am using iPhoto '11 9.4.3 (720.91)
Thanks,
Paul

Trashing the plist file will restore all options to the factory settings, so you should be asked again. That said, it's not wise.
Never let your computer erase data without you first checking that the data is safe. Specifically never use iPhoto (or any other app) to delete the photos from your Camera Card. Disconnect the camera, check the transfer has gone correctly and then use your Camera to Reformat the Card. This has three advantages:
1. You know your data is safe - because you've taken the time to check it.
2. Reformatting the card is much, much faster - takes a couple of seconds
3. Reformatting also refreshes the Directory Structure on the Card, helping prevent issues with the card and prolonging its life.

IPhoto randomly deleting photos, leaving empty events behind.

Hi. My iPhoto will randomly delete photos from entire events, leaving behind only an empty event. What is happening? Are the photos still on my computer somewhere? How do I make is stop?
I have read it could be a corrupt library? Is that possible? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Super! Thanks for the guidline for providing better detail.
I'm running iPhoto '11 (version 9.4.2)
-on OSX Mountain Lion 10.8.4
- There doesn't seem to be a trend to what photos are deleted and when. It has started within the past 5-6 months. All I observe is when I open my iPhoto, on occasion there will be an empty event. It never deletes partial events and it never deletes the event itself (that I have noticed) There are absolutley no other problems with iPhoto itself. It speaks to my iPhone and iPad just fine, iCloud syncs the Photo Stream well. I am fairly certain that the only photos deleted came from my iPhone. (I have an iPhone 5)
In addition to deleting photos, it seems that iPhoto is misplacing events. For example, I have an event with only 3 photos in it taken on 12 April. It has been moved to the top of the list of events for no apparent reason.
- I can't say how long this has been going on. Maybe 5-6 months tops. I did move to Indonesia from America in that time. I can't imagine that would do anything. Before I left, I replaced my hard drive (upgraded to 1TB from 500GB). I restored off of the old hard drive with no problem. I also got more memory installed so I'm running with 8GB instead of 4GB. I have not installed anything or made any other noticeable changes since the problem began. Although replacing a hard drive is no small thing...
- I have tried to reveal the photos in Finder to see if the original files are still in the source library. They are not. The organization now skips a number where my photos ought to be. Other than that I'm not sure how to fix it. I don't really have a backup from which I can restore.
- There is nothing unusual about the setup, it's a standard Mac OS and I only use iPhoto with my iPhone and iPad.
I hope that helps give some information?

Iphoto stopped importing photos from iphone 6.

All of a sudden, iPhoto 9.2.3 stopped importing photos from my iPhone 6 (iOS 8.1.2). It says "All photos have already been imported" which they have not. I still have photos in Camera Roll which iPhoto did not import. At the same time, I started receiving this message which I plug my iPhone into the computer, "This accessory may not be supported." Can anyone recommend how to return the iPhone and iPhoto to normal? Sending photos via email to the computer wastes time.

Apple menu ==> Force Quit
LN

IPhoto 6 delete photos and count increases

I'm deleting photos from the library (not an album), and have emptied the trash. But the photo count keeps increasing. Help!

As a Test:
Hold down the option (or alt) key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Create Library'
Import a few pics into this new, blank library. Is the Problem repeated there?
Clarification: Is that iPhoto 08? Or iPhoto 09
Regards
TD

Iphoto stopped downloading photos from iphone 6.

All of a sudden, iPhoto 9.2.3 stopped importing photos from my iPhone 6 (iOS 8.1.2). It says "All photos have already been imported" which they have not. I still have photos in Camera Roll which iPhoto did not import. At the same time, I started receiving this message which I plug my iPhone into the computer, "This accessory may not be supported." Can anyone recommend how to return the iPhone and iPhoto to normal? Sending photos via email to the computer wastes time.

As a Test:
Hold down the option (or alt) key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Create Library'
Import a few pics into this new, blank library. Is the Problem repeated there?

Backing up iPhoto - then deleting photos on your Mac, then backup with additional photos, will this lose any photos

Just wondering on the following when backing up Iphotos:
If you backup your iphoto libary from your mac then remove some of these photos on your mac (to create additional space on the hard drive), then add additional photos to your iphoto libary, and do a back up of your iphotos libary - will the new back up still keep the old photos (in the backup) that you have deleted?
As i have alot of photos on my Mac that are eating up my hard drive space, but i am to scared to do anything incase i lose any of my photos.
Any ideas???
Cheers

Depends.
What are you using to back up?
A straight copy of the Library to the external will definitely overwrite the Library.
Here's a strategy that might help:
Here's one way to do what you want:
Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
Now you have two full versions of the Library.
3. On the Internal library, trash the Events you don't want there
Now you have a full copy of the Library on the External and a smaller subset on the Internal
Some Notes:
As a general rule: when deleting photos do them in batches of about 100 at a time. iPhoto can baulk at trashing large numbers at one go.
You can choose which Library to open: Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library'
You can keep the Library on the external updated with new imports using iPhoto Library Manager

Cannot export from iPhoto after deleting photos in its library

... because it says it cannot find the original. It asks if I want to search for it myself, but I think it means searching for the ones I've deleted or something. I don't even want to upload those! Help!
I've read this somewhere else on this forum: "The ! or ? turns up when iPhoto loses the connection between the thumbnail in the iPhoto Window and the file it represents."
That's exactly what's happening! Why?

create a new deafult iPhoto preference file - quit iPhoto and go to "your user name" ==> library ==> preferences ==> com.apple.iPhoto.plist and trash it - launch iPhoto which creates a fresh new default preference file . If you make any changes to it make a note of what chane syou have made.
Do NOT change the preference to copy imported items to the iPhoto library
depress the option key and laynch iPhoto and create a new library
Do not ever make any change to its content or structue using the finder or anyother program other than iPhoto
in iPhoto under the hlep menu go to the iPhoto help videos and watch them
Import a few photos and practice with iPhoto and ask specific question as you find things you do not understand
Most important is to never go directly into the iPhoto library - there is no need to and ther are no user servicable parts in it
LN

Strange problem w/ iPhoto '08: Deleted photos reappear!

I have almost 10k photo in my iPhoto library. Of course, I have a back up, but the original files, not the library itself. Last night I just experienced a strange behaviour of my iPhoto. I think this happened after a network crash and after I had to restart my MacBook Pro. (The library is on a network drive.) I want to delete one set of photo lastly imported. It seems to be normal, but after restarting iPhoto, it comes back. I even deleted them and re-imported them and then re-deleted them with no success. Need help!!!

Waroth_K:
Having the network crash while you were using the library has corrupted your library's database file, Library6.iPhoto. You can try rebuilding the library as follows: launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys depressed and follow the instructions to rebuild the library. Select the first three options.
If that doesn't resurrect the library you'll have to start with a fresh library and import the Originals folder from the old one as follows:
Creating a new library while preserving the Events from the original library.
Move the existing library folder to the desktop.
Open the library package like this.
Launch iPhoto and, when asked, select the option to create a new library.
Drag the Originals folder from the iPhoto Library on the desktop into the open iPhoto window.
This will create a new library with the same Events as the original library if you have the Finder checkbox unchecked in the Events preference pane.
To recover from this type of crash in the future I suggest you follow the tip at the end of my signature.
Do you Twango?
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto 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 08 libraries. 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 import deleting photos

I plugged my camera in my computer to import photos. I clicked delete after importing and began. It went through loading all the pictures and was in the final "completing import" stage when my computer locked up i guess. My spinning color wheel kept running and my computer eventually turned off. When I turned it back on my iphoto opened up and it said i had 34 pictures to import from my camera, those of which i didn't allow to import or delete because they had been imported previously. My computer doesn't have the other photos imported on it anymore, are they lost for good? Is there a way to check my camera card, or restore the old photos either on the camera or my computer? Any advice? Thanks so much for any help.
I have a Powerbook G$ 15" PowerPC G4 (1.1)

Hi Technology impaired, and a warm welcome to the forums!
Whew, I think we should do this first...
"Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the Mac OS X Tiger Install disc that came with your computer, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
*Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.*
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Select your Mac OS X volume.
5. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Then try a Safe Boot, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot when it completes.
(Safe boot may stay on the gray radian for a long time, let it go, it's trying to repair the Hard Drive.)
My computer doesn't have the other photos imported on it anymore, are they lost for good?
It may be possible to recover some erased/missing ones, but you must quit using the Computer immediately, because the OS will think it can write to those freed blocks on the disk.
Either boot this one in Target mode...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58583
And recovering from another Mac, or booting this Mac from another HDD, then using Data Rescue II...
http://www.prosofteng.com/products/data_rescue.php
(Has a Free Demo to see if it could or not, but you'll need another drive to recover to).
Is there a way to check my camera card, or restore the old photos either on the camera or my computer?
Depending on type of card & format, you might be able to restore the pics on the card using recovery tools on a PC.

Delete photos in iphoto not deleting photos from iphone

I import photos into IPhoto. Then when Iphoto asked to delete imported photos I click yes however they don't actually delete?
The next time I try to import photos they are all there.
I went into Itunes to check if my photos were synced and they are not. Any ideas?

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
When you remove applications from iTunes, they aren't deleted in any device apart from the PC or Mac. That's caused because iCloud doesn't sync removed apps, but it syncs installed apps if you have activated Automatic Downloads. That's the reason why your apps may appear in all your computers and devices when you download one. You can remove the applications

IPhoto '11 deleting photos after rotating

I've set up my iMac running Lion with a shared iPhoto library on a disk image as described by Apple so that both my wife and I can access and edit our photos (we have seperate user accounts) When logged in under her user when you rotate a photo it deletes the photo from the library, including from the originals, modified and master folders although the info for the photo is still displayed. It works as you'd expect in my user account although any photos rotated under her account are still deleted in my user account. It does this whether my user account is logged in or not. Is this a result of sharing the library on a disk image or is it the way the disc image is set up (set up in start up items)? Any ideas as we've already lost some important photos!

Sounds like very significant database corruption to me.
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 Rebuild iPhoto Library Database from automatic backup.
If that fails:
Option 2
Download iPhoto Library Manager 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. .
Regards
TD

IPhoto froze deleting photos off camera, files are empty

Hello,
I came home from New York and imported all my photos. When it was done I told it to delete the originals - the card was nearly full. I got a spinning beach ball and the program froze. Thinking it'd be much faster to simply format the card from the camera, I force-quit iPhoto and formatted the camera.
The next day, after taking a bunch more pictures at the 4th of July Fireworks, I tried to open my photos in iPhoto, and found that approximately half my photos were present. Further investigation inside the "Library" package revealed that they were there, but all files, save for 14, were listed as "Zero KB".
I suppose I was stupid for having such a lack of patience and I should have let it finish, but is there anything I can do to get my photos back? I've already grieved for them (the good ones were the Empire State Building and the Cloisters, which I'll miss dearly).
Any ideas or help are absolutely welcome. Thanks!

Some people have found the photos in the import (or importing) folder in the iPhoto library - go to your pictures folder and right click (control click) on the iPhoto library and choose show package contents from the menu that appears. Look (do not touch - if you change anything inside the iPhoto library you risk corrupting the library and losing more data) and see if there is a folder named import or importing - is there is drag it to the desktop and look inside - if your photos are there you can import them otherwise something like media recovery is your only chance
In the future it would be good to use a USB card reader to import your photos and after they are imported and checked then format your card in your camera. This eliminates problems like you had and insures that the card is correctly formatted.
LN

It happened again!!! iPhoto stops deleting photos!

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