Library damaged, need back up

I just did a migration from my old G4 to a new iMac and when I open iPhoto is says, "Your photo library is damaged or unreadable and cannot be opened. Please restore from a backup." It looks like the pics are there though.
On my G4 my iPhoto was having problems and wouldn't open at all, it would say something like, "This program has quit unexpectedly..."
I'm somewhat new to the inner workings of Mac. I have copied my "Albums" to a Lacie drive thinking that it would be as easy as copying "Music" into iTunes.
As far as a "backup", I have the old G4 files and the "Albums" on external.
Please help! And please be very step by step basic! Thanks!

Robert
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

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Invalid iTunes library/damaged iTunes library

I created a library for all my media with the option key and iTunes on my external hard drive. All my music, TV shows, podacsts, etc. is stored there and all is intact, except I launched iTunes like normal and I get the message
"The file 'iTunes Library' does not appear to be a valid iTunes library file. iTunes has created a new iTunes library and renamed this file to 'iTunes Library (Damaged)'"
I've read other threads. I can't seem to rebuild the library with the .xml file. I tried the drag your library to the desktop thing and that doesn't work.
All my physical data is fine, but I need the library back so I don't have to spend weeks recreating it by hand.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Thank You!

Indie, I don't understand this part. Do you just mean re-creating your playlists and reassigning star ratings and that kind of thing? I took your "having to play all the files" literally and don't know what that has to do with anything.
I hope the Apple Store folks advised you to make regular backups of the critical iTunes Library file. Some people are wise enough to keep a backup of their iTunes Music folder. Fewer make a backup of the iTunes Library file, but that's how you can recover from an incident like yours with the least amount of work.

ITunes Library (Damaged)

Hey guys, using windows i got a blue screen error. booted my PC back up and opened iTunes. a small window come up about the library. i ignored it as i thought it'd say 'Find the directory' or something, but it just went i had no songs in my library. My Library is now damaged. NOT The .Xml File Just The .itl File.
<3 Thanks

Also, when i try to add ANY Library it says
'The File 'iTunes Library (Damaged).itl' cannot be imported because it does not appear to be a valid exported file.'

Repair itunes library (damaged) file. Multiple iTunes libraries on an external harddrive. All libraries have been working fine. Do some "housecleaning" on a one of the large libraries 296GB. iTunes quit and now has damaged file. 296 GB still on HD.

How to repair itunes library (damaged) file. Multiple iTunes libraries on an external harddrive. All libraries have been working fine. Do some "housecleaning" on a one of the large libraries 296GB. iTunes quits and now has damaged file. 296 GB still on HD.

The duplication is unnecessary. Exporting creates a duplicate of the file. So now you'll have a duplicate of a duplicate. Exporting is not "working on" a file.
No it's not merging, it's exporting from one to the Finder and into another. No matter what lose something. If you export the Original you leave behind all the work you've done in iPhoto. If you export anything else, you lose the non-destructive editing and the ability to revert to the original. With merging you preserve that work. Yes, you can trash the old Library when you have completed the manoevre but no it's not the same thing as merging.
This User Tip
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4921
has details of the options in the Export dialogue. But in brief:
Current gets you the iPhoto Preview, used for sharing via media browsers. It's a jpg, medium quality missing metadata. Original gets the file you imported, unchanged and then you can export different version of the current version at different qualities. If you choose to export anything except the Original you do not get a Raw. There's no such thing as an "edited Raw", and you lose the connection between the original and the exported version. That means you've taken a non-destructive workflow and turned it into a destructive one.
The Tiff will certainly be higher qulaity and less likely to suffer generational loss in future editing but the file sizes are vast, often more than 10 times the size of the jpeg.
Put it this way, it would be cheaper to buy Library Manager than the disk you'll need to contain all the Tiffs. Unless you plan on a lot of editing, I'd go for a high quality jpeg as a reasonable compromise.
To be clear:
So, I guess my new question is, how can I edit the Raw image and keep it in a RAW format that IPhoto recognizes so that I can reprocess without any loss at a future time, or is it that once you edit a RAW image, then it is no longer a RAW image?
Once you edit a Raw it can no longer be a Raw. End of.

Photo library is not backing up when icloud backs up

MY iPad Air 8.1.1 and my iPhone 5s 8.1.1 both give me a message saying, " icloud photo library has not backed up in 16 days. Connect to wifi and backup." iCloud backs up daily. Why are my photos not included in this backup. I have iCloud Drive turned on. Should I turn it off? Help!

Try deleting your existing backup and backing up again. An inability to back up to iCloud can be caused by a corrupt existing backup that needs to be deleted, or by data on your device that is causing the backup to fail. To troubleshoot these, try deleting your last iCloud backup (if you have one) by going to Settings>iCloud>Storage>Manage Storage, tap your device under Backups, then tap Delete Backup and choose Turn Off & Delete at the prompt. Then go to Settings>iCloud>Backup and turn iCloud Backup back on and try backing up again.
If it still won't back up, you may have an app or something in your camera roll that is causing the backup to fail. To locate which one, go to Settings>iCloud>Storage>Manage Storage, tap the name of your device under Backups, under Backup Options tap Show All Apps, then turn them all to Off (including camera roll) and try backing up again. If the backup is successful, then the camera roll and/or one of your apps is causing the backup to fail and you'll have to located by process of elimination. Turn the camera roll On and try backing up again. If it succeeds, turn some of your apps to On and try backing up again. If it succeeds again, turn some more apps to On then try again; repeat this process until it fails. Eventually you'll be able to locate the problem app and exclude it from your backup.

Making my iTunes Library (damaged) my iTunes library again

So my operating system crashed, and when I restarted the computer, everything was back to normal, but when I went to open my iTunes, it was taking forever to load my iTunes library. I finally just hit Stop and was going to try it again, but then it started really quickly going through a bunch of albums and at the end said that my iTunes Library was renamed iTunes Library (damaged) and then it opened up iTunes with none of my playlists (I had 40+) and only 9,363 songs (before I had almost 22,000). All my music files are still there, but it's just I can't get it to load my old iTunes Library file, which I don't think is actually damaged. Can I tell iTunes to use the "damaged" file somehow? Is there another way to get back my playlists and to have it show all my music in iTunes again besides dragging and dropping my iTunes Library folder into iTunes (which would not give me back my playlists)?
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Sigh I just found out about holding down the option key while opening iTunes to choose a library, and it turns out my iTunes Library (damaged) file is actually damaged. Is there another way for me to recover my playlists and put my songs back into iTunes? Thanks!

Original Library Damaged

I had problems with a corrupted library file and decided to delete my itunes library and reinstall what I had backed up about a month ago onto some DVDs. So, I deleted my entire iTunes folder - the music, the library and everything else inside. I restarted iTunes now and it automatically created a library and a music folder, which I expected and planned to install the backed up library to. However, I noticed the library file it created was called "iTunes Library (Damaged)"
The library seems to be saving, even though I haven't put any music into it yet, but why would iTunes be creating an orignally damaged library? Is this something I can fix and if so, are there any suggestions?

Bump.
Does anyone have any answers as to what the problem may be?

ITunes Library (Damaged) - no music left

I was importing some music from a CD when the power went out in my house. When the power came back on and I restarted my Mac and iTunes I received an error message saying that the iTunes Library is Damaged and that it will create a new library.
So now when I open iTunes there is NOTHING left. I see the old library in my iTunes folder "iTunes Library (Damaged)" but have no clue as to how to get it fixed and get my music back. Help please!

Try these steps adapted from a previous post:
- Restart iTunes holding the Shift key in Windows, Option key in Mac.
- Select Choose library. Select the library in the folder "iTunes Library (Damaged)".
This might help too:
How to recreate your iTunes Library
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93313

Computer formatted - want to rebuild iTunes library & get playlists back!

I had to get my computer formatted a while ago. My files were saved, including the iTunes folder in My Documents. I have downloaded iTunes and added my music to the library, but I have no idea how to get my playlists back. I've worked really hard to put them together. My iPod isn't synced yet, mostly because I don't want to lose my playlists and play counts, but I'm getting new albums and I will need to sync sometime. How can I rebuild my iTunes library, or at least get the playlists back? Please help, I beg you.

Hi
This came off these forums and was posted by MacMuse (I think)
" The manual way around this problem is to use the iPod in its alter ego - that of portable computer disk drive. Successfully tested under iTunes for Windows 4.2 & 4.5; Windows XP. And follow these directions LINE BY LINE or iTunes will erase everything on the iPod.
- Start with the iPod disconnected from the computer - DON'T CONNECT IPOD YET
- open iTunes
- open iTunes Preferences - this blocks iTunes from seeing an iPod connection; leave the preferences window up and running
- connect the iPod to the computer, wait about 15 seconds before continuing
- open 'My Computer'
- Tools menu, Folder Options, View tab, enable 'show hidden files /folders'
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- after the copy completes, right-click the new Music folder on your hard drive and select 'Properties'
- clear the checkmark next to 'Hidden'
- Close that explorer window
- eject iPod from System tray "Safely Remove Hardware" icon.
This icon looks like a small gray rectangle with a green arrow floating above it. It's only there when a removable device (like the iPod in this case) is attached to the computer. Right-click & select 'Safely remove..', then click 'Stop' in the next window, OK in the next window, and then Close to complete the ejection.
- disconnect the iPod from the computer
- go back to iTunes, cancel the preferences window
- File menu \ Add folder to Library \ find that Music folder copied over from the iPod
Your iTunes library should be back in action!"
This worked for me when I had to repartition and reformat my hard drive.

My iphoto library does not back up

I thought that timemachine would back up my desktop including my photos to my external drive. There is regular back up taking place but I am pretty sure my 6,000 pictures library is not backed up.
1. Where do I need to look to find it
2. is it possible to have such a photo library backed up automatically?
If not what are my options: drag and drop the pictures to my external hard drive?
Thanks
Armand

I thought that timemachine would back up my desktop including my photos to my external drive. There is regular back up taking place but I am pretty sure my 6,000 pictures library is not backed up.
Why do you think this?
1. Where do I need to look to find it
Launch TM from the dock and look back to see what is in the pictures folder (the default location of the iPhoto library) - to test you can select a previous version of the iPhoto library and restore it to the desktop (not to your pictures folder where it would overwrite your existing iPhoto library) and launch iPhoto while depressing the option key to select the restored library to test - do the option launch again to go back to your current library
2. is it possible to have such a photo library backed up automatically?
Yes - by default that is what TM does
If not what are my options: drag and drop the pictures to my external hard drive?
You can always drag the iPhoto library as a single entity to an external drive
LN

How do I fix an Itunes Library (Damaged) on a Mac with all current software and udates?

I have lost my main Itunes Library. I have one now that came straight from the music in my phone. All playlist are gone. 75 gigs of music are gone. the only music availible to me is the music that was in my phone. down to 15 gigs I have found a file that says "Itunes Library (Damaged)" but I can't do anything with it. Of course Mac wants $ to fix it. Is there anything I can do to remedy this disaster? Running Imac with OS X 10.8.2, Iphone 4 w/ios6 and original Ipad with all updates. The Iphone seems normal but is missing all playlist. It reorganized the music. The Ipad has no music and over half the Apps have disappeared.
HHHHHHHEEEEEEEELLLPPPPPP! Please!

Assuming you have AVG then yes, a second patch has apparently been released to day which may resolve the issue. See this post for general advice.
If you don't see the .itl file extension then don't add it to the filename of the renamed file.
iTunes Library 2012-09-22.itl > iTunes Library.itl
iTunes Library 2012-09-22 > iTunes Library
My advice has generally been aimed at Windows users, but if you have AVG on a Mac and that too suffers from this issue then it is worth nothing that at one point the iTunes Library on a Mac was stored without any extension. If you match the name of the empty library file you are replacing it should work.
tt2

I'm not sure if my iPhoto library is being backed up by Time Machine. I am backing up to a LaCie external hard drive. I can open photos that are in folders but not those that are in iPhoto.

I'm not sure if my iPhoto library is being backed up by Time Machine. I am backing up to a LaCie external hard drive. I can open photos ont the hard drive that are in folders but not those that are in iPhoto.

Do a restore from Time Machine. That will tell you.

For some reason my Itunes deleted my current library and reverted back to a library from 5 years ago! How do I take the music from my Iphone and put it back into my Itunes library?

For some reason my Itunes deleted my current library and reverted back to a library from 5 years ago! How do I take the music from my Iphone and put it back into my Itunes library?

backup from old computer and restore to new either to icloud or an external drive also check out turingtest2's excellent article on backup using synctoy

What is causing this? The file "iTunes Library.itl" does not appear to be a valid iTunes library file. iTunes has created a new iTunes library and renamed this file to "iTunes Library (Damaged) 4". This happens everytime I start iTunes lateley. Help!!!

Everytime I open iTunes lately...I get all my music thrown out of the library and this annoying message come up...The file “iTunes Library.itl” does not appear to be a valid iTunes library file. iTunes has created a new iTunes library and renamed this file to “iTunes Library (Damaged) 4”. Is this how an apple works? It doesn't? Why all of a sudden is it doing this? Please help. Thank you.
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Did you happen to bring this iTunes library over from a windows machine? You might read this kb article to see if it helps http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1451

How to get existing library imported to new itunes install, old library was not backed up or exported

How to get existing library imported to new itunes install, old library was not backed up or exported. This occured due to Win 7 user profile was corrupt.

I know that in Mac OS X one can pick which library to use by holding down the option key while starting iTunes. What's the Windows equivalent?
Press the Shift key.
WIll the fact that the music is now on another physical drive make a difference
No.
I know the previous install is at least 7.0, but I have no idea about which point release.
Try checking the content of the iTunes Music Library.xml file.
Finally, what's the expected behaviour (or required procedure) with respect to reauthorization of this computer to use the same ITMS-purchased files?
You will be asked to reauthorize the computer.
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Library damaged, need back up

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