Lost photos from iphoto library

I backed up my iphoto library from my old macbook to an external hard drive and now imported it to my new imac. When I open iphoto all thumbnails show up, but when I click on a photo a black picture with an exclamation mark shows up. Some photos open fine, most won't.
I tried rebuilding iphoto with iphoto's own rebuild and with iphoto library manager, both with same results: only 2000 of my 9000 photos showed up!
I did have a problem when first time trying to move files from the external hard drive - Lacie 1tb usb- once it was unplugged without first being ejected, and also it made my computer crash few times and I had to reboot the imac. I suspect this had something to do with the lost photos.
Is there a way to get these photos back?

Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
The photos should still be in the library package file.
You may need to start over with a new Library:
Try these in order - from best option on down...
1. Do you have an up-to-date back up? If so, try copy the library6.iphoto file from the back up to the iPhoto Library (Right Click -> Show Package Contents) allowing it to overwrite the damaged file.
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.
3. If neither of these work then you'll need to create and populate a new library.
To create and populate a new *iPhoto 08* library:
Note this will give you a working library with the same Events and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, modified versions, books, calendars etc.
Move the iPhoto Library to the desktop
In the iPhoto Preferences -> Events Uncheck the box at 'Imported Items from the Finder'
Launch iPhoto. It will ask if you wish to create a new Library. Say Yes.
Go into the iPhoto Library (Right Click -> Show Package Contents) on your desktop and find the Originals folder. From the Originals folder drag the individual Event Folders to the iPhoto Window and it will recreate them in the new library.
Regards
TD
When you're sure all is well you can delete the iPhoto Library on your desktop.

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Lost photos from iphoto library after moving it

Comments:
I have a G5 OS X Version 10.5.5.. I had a lot of photos in my iPhoto library and I was told I could move iPhoto application to my external HD by holding down the command key and then drag iPhoto over to the external HD. Which I did. I opened the external HD and all the photos where there in the iPhoto Library. I had to shut down my computer as I was away for a few days and when I turned it back on and went into the external HD the iPhoto application was not there nor the photos. My Time Machine has no record of them as iPhoto only seems to have a record of a new iPhoto Library on my desk. Can I retrieve these photos? Can you run iPhoto from your external HD? Thanks for your help. Regards Amanda

Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
I was told I could move iPhoto application to my external HD by holding down the command key and then drag iPhoto over to the external HD.
The problem with moving while dragging is that you defeat the default behaviour of the OS. If you simply drag then your Mac makes a copy of the library on the new volume and you have the opportunity to test it thoroughly before trashing the library on your start up disk.
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library Folder as an entity from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
Next, moving your Library - which normally lives in your Pictures Folder - and moving the iPhoto application are not the same thing. You should not move the application.
Start by doing an All Images Search:
In the Finder
-f
Kind Images
Size: Greater than 300k
see if that finds anything.
Regards
TD

How to import photos from iPhoto Library to Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 Editor?

I can't use Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 Editor to edit photos from iPhoto Library. If I choose File, Open, and then select 'iPhoto Library', error message is "could not complete your request because of a program error."

You can't do it that way. Any attempt to poke around in the iphoto library from outside iphoto is very likely to damage the library and cause you to lose your photos, so PSE won't let you. You have two choices:
1. Set PSE as your external editor, send the photos from iphoto, and save them without changing the name or format (you may need to adjust the editor prefs>Saving Files>On First Save to let you do this). Then iphoto will remember your original and the last edited version.
Be sure to choose this file in Applications>Adobe Photoshop Elements 10>Support files as your external editor, not the one at the top level of the PSE 10 folder in Applications:
2. Export the photos from iphoto, use File>Open in the PSE editor to open the images and then save them with whatever changes to name or format you like, and reimport the saved images to iphoto as new files. This way you can save as many versions as you like.

How can I import photos from iPhoto-library to edit in Photoshop CC? - and save it back to the iPhoto-library?

How can I import photos from iPhoto-library to edit in Photoshop CC? - and save it back to the iPhoto-library?

How to access iPhoto images for use in Photoshop
1. In the Finder, navigate to Users > [user name} > Pictures > iPhoto Library.
2. Control-click the iPhoto Library file and choose Show Package Contents.
3. A Finder window opens that shows the contents. The Masters folder (or called Originals folder) contains all of the photographs that are in iPhoto.
Photoshop cannot access this folder, but if you make a duplicate of the folder, the dupe will be accessible -- so:
4. Control-click the folder named Masters (or Originals) and choose Duplicate.
5, Drag the duplicate folder which is named "Masters copy" or “Originals copy” from the iPhoto Library Finder window to the Desktop.
6. Open images in Photoshop from file on desktop.
7 Rename the folder and move it elsewhere (probably to the Pictures folder), if desired.

IMove Won't Import Photos from iPhoto Library Album

Tried to import photos from iPhoto Library/Selected Album. Pictures appeared in photos window but a high lighted photo did not appear in the large window. Tried dragging photos to build project, received message: ERROR DURING IMPORT: The file could not be imported: (-4960).
The files are 5 Megapixel JPEG, I tried to import photos from another Album (200 dpi) in size and received the same error Message. My Mac OS is: 10.4.2, iMovie HD 5.0.2 (111)
e-mail: [email protected]
Richard

"/* Core Foundation errors*/
enum {
coreFoundationUnknownErr = -4960
That is NOT a good error. Your Mac may be in serious trouble.
Prevent Mac Disasters
Eight Simple Steps You Can Take Now to Keep Your Mac from Falling Apart
http://www.macworld.com/2005/01/features/preventmacdisasters/index.php
(Article is in 3 parts, don't miss parts 2 and 3)

New photo app does not import all of my photos from iphoto library

I have just installed 10.10.3 on my Macbook and the new photo app does not import all of my photos from iphoto library. I have about 3200 photos in the library and only 2300 are presented for import. I only have 1 library so I didn't choose the wrong one. Any suggestions?

Upon closer inspection it appears that the missing photos are in a folder called IPhoto Library. This folder is greyed out when I choose the import folder.
When I use 'show package contents' it reveals the missing photos (below). Why is my iphoto library so scrambled! Thanks for any insight.

How do i get photos from iphoto library over to photoshop elements for editing?

how do i get photos from iphoto library over to photoshop elements 10 for editing?
this is an iMac that I just got so its all new to me...
thank you

If you set PSE as external editor, be sure you pick the right file, which is not by any means the logical choice. You want this one:
You can also export the photos from iphoto, edit them and save them under new names and reimport the edited photos as new files. This is more trouble, but lets you save as many different versions of your image as you like (iphoto only remembers the last edited version + original).

How to copy or move photos from IPhoto library to WD My Passport Air ext drive ?

How do you Copy or cut photos from iPhoto library to WD My Passport Air external hard drive?

Open iPhoto, select the photo you would like to move, choose File > Export from iPhoto's menu bar and follow the instructions.
Repeat for additional photos.

HT1229 How do I move photos from iphoto library to my desktop

How do I move photos from iphoto library to my desktop

This User Tip
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4921
has details of the options in the Export dialogue.

I imported photos from iPhoto library to Photo library instead of relinking the library and now approx. 9,000 photos are missing. How do I fix this?

I imported photos from iPhoto library to Photo library instead of relinking the library and now approx. 9,000 photos are missing. How do I fix this?

Trash your Photos library and do it again (Hold down the option key while launching Photos and select your iPhoto library to open)
LN

Why are my photos from iPhoto library deleted from my external hard drive when I am only deleting them from my internal drive?

I did a backup of photos (iPhoto library) from my internal to an external hard drive. I have started to delete photos from my internal hard drive. It seems that when I delete from the internal drive, photos also delete from the external. I did a test and deleted one photo from iPhoto internal drive. When I plugged in the new backup (external drive) and clicked on iPhoto library, it opened iPhoto in the exact place I was working and that one photo was gone. What do I do? I do not want to delete the photos off of my external hard drive.

When I plugged in the new backup (external drive) and clicked on iPhoto library, it opened iPhoto in the exact place I was working and that one photo was gone.
When you clicked on the library iPhoto on the EHD iPhoto is op;ending the last library that was previously opened. To change libraries launch iPhoto with the Option key held down to get this window:
Then select the library that is on the EHD if it's in the window. If it isn't, click on the Other Library button, navigate to the EHD and select the library there.

How can I find a group of lost photos from iPhoto?

When a recent Mac OS X update was installed on my computer which included the new Photo App, my iPhoto upgraded to this new app and was replaced by it on my desktop. In beginning to use the new Photo App, I discovered that it did not have the same editing functions as my iPhoto did. I decided then to go back to iPhoto, but when I opened up my iPhoto I realized in my album list that I had lost about a year’s worth of photos all the way back to the middle of 2013. I then decided to restore my computer to an earlier time using Time Machine so that hopefully my iPhoto would be restored with all of its photos. I went ahead and did this and had to do a rebuild of my iPhoto library to recover the lost photos. When I did this, I was not aware, that I had still lost some other photos out of albums from early September 2014. Before I was aware of this, I also erased my external hard drive and then did a backup because I kept getting messages in my computer that the computer could not do additional back up’s because there was not room on the external hard drive.
Earlier today, I tried to retrieve some photos out of albums from that. In early September 2014 and found that the album listed the photo number but there was no thumbnail and when I clicked on the photo it just brought up a silver triangle on black with an exclamation point in the middle indicating that that photo could not be found. I did a command option press and opened up iPhoto and I completed all of the various rebuilding and restoring options all the way up to and including restored iPhoto database. When I had completed all of this I found that I was still missing those photos, several hundred. I am wondering if these photos are still on my hard drive someplace. I could not restore them from the external hard drive because I had erased earlier backup versions, as I indicated. Is it possible for me to find and restore these photos? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.-MP

You created a mess and there is no solution - with the actions you have taken those photos are gone unless you have access to them from some other source - they existed in two place - in your iPhoto library and on your backup drive - you have traded the backup drive and restore an earlier iPhoto library so all you have is what you have
LN

Lost photos after iPhoto library rebuild - what happened?

After noticing that there were albums entitled Recovered photos in my iPhoto library, I deleted those albums. As expected, i got a message that i was not really deleting the originals, just getting rid of such albums. There were about 5 of those "recovered albums": one contained about 30 photos; three had zero and another had over 1000 photos. Subsequent to that, thinking of making this library totally clean, I decided to do a "libraty rebuild" using the option-command rebuild procedure of iphoto. I checked all the options presented for that procedure. To my surprise, when the process was finished I had less events, and less photos. A careful visual check of the display pane of events and photos confirmed that i had lost actual photos. I tried to reclaim those lost photos with another rebuild -- this time using iphoto library manager, but without success. What happened? Is there any way to reclaim those lost photos?
I do have a backup, but would prefer to correct the problem in the original library to avoid having to assemble and clean up duplicates that i had before.
I'm using the newest version of iPhoto: 8.1 and OS X 10.5.8 on a MacBook 2.4 Ghz - 2Gb Ram - 250 GB HD, 42 GB available. My iPhoto library has over 12000 photos

Why these things happen is always difficult to answer. My experience with iPhoto is using it since v1 on with a single library that's upgraded each new versions and migrated from G4 iMac to G5 iMac to Intel iMac and then a second Intel iMac. I load photos in, my wife does and my 12 year old does too.
And never had a problem.
The database gets corrupted when the app is interrupted when writing to it. The usual causes of this include a crash, a force quit or a lost connection to the Library on an external disk. More rarely minor disk or directory damage might be a cause.
I wondered when I read your report
Subsequent to that, thinking of making this library totally clean, I decided to do a "libraty rebuild" using the option-command rebuild procedure of iphoto. I checked all the options presented for that procedure.
The options presented for that procedure include various items that require the app to read the database file plus this one
Rebuild iPhoto Library Database from automatic backup.
+I Wonder+ - I stress, I wonder, no more - if reading to rebuild various thumbnails from a file that is being vacuumed +while at the same time+ is being replaced by a backup is what caused the issue.
If it is, then the Rebuild from Back Up option should be sandboxed and not possible while the other events are going on.
But that's just a guess.
Regards
TD

Software update lost photos in iPhoto library

I have read many threads but still have yet to find the golden answer.
No, my time machine was NOT working so no back-up.
I have spent 2 days recovering some from Stellar Phoenix.
Is there anything left to do? Are my photos from the last 3 years gone, gone, gone?
Don't understand why after the disasterous update, the iPhoto Library reverted back to several years ago to albums, photos that I had deleted many years ago but precious recent family photos have disappeared!
If anyone has found THE ANSWER to this horrible Apple disaster, I would love your input and direction.
Thank you!
susan

library is located on desktop/applications
No, that should be the iPhoto application, not the iPhoto Library. By default the library should be located in your Pictures folder.
Once you locate the library apply the fixe below:
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 â 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.

Delete photo from iPhoto library and HDD

Hopefully I'm not repeating a previous thread...
Not being an expert, am I correct in saying that iPhoto only changes its version of the photo when editing it?
Also, if you delete the photo by moving it to the trash can, it doesn't physically delete it from the HDD? (When you empty the trash can)
This causes a problem for a few reasons.
I have just loaded Medialink PS3 which allows the iMac to serve the PS3. (BTW - Good product)
If you point Medialink to the original HDD folder then this still includes photos I thought I had deleted.
Also If I want to burn a cd with the photo folder external to iPhoto , the "deleted" photos are also burnt.
I copied all of the photos from a windows PC, and Picasa allowed you to physically delet from its own folder as well as the HDD.
Doesn't iPhoto 09 allow this?
What would iPhoto do if I went through and cleaned up the external folder and deleted jpgs or edited using Canon editing software? If using the external editor, would iPhoto reflect the changes?
Sorry if this is verbose.
regards,

You might want to have a llook at the iPhoto tutorials. They cover a lot of these basics.
http://www.apple.com/ilife/tutorials/#iphoto-hero
And the version of iPhoto you are using?
I'm not at all sure that a Referenced Library is what you want. In fact I strongly recommend against it. But however:
*How to do it:*
Simply go to iPhoto Menu -> Preferences -> Advanced and uncheck 'Copy Files to the iPhoto Library on Import'.
*What Happens:*
Now iPhoto will not copy the files, but rather simply reference them on your HD. To do this it will create an alias in the Originals Folder that points to your file. It will still create a thumbnail and, if you modify the pics, a Modified version within the iPhoto Library Folder.
*Some things to consider:*
1. Importing and deleting pics are more complex procedures. You have to to put the files where they will be stored before importing them. When you delete them you'll need to remove the files from the HD yourself.
2. You cannot move or rename the files on your system or iPhoto will lose track of them on systems prior to 10.5 and iPhoto 08. Even with the later versions issues can still arise if you move the referenced files to new volumes or between volumes.
3. Most importantly, migrating to a new disk or computer can be much more complex.
4. Because iPhoto has no tools for managing Referenced Files, if, for some reason, the path to the photos changes then you could find yourself resolving aliases for +each photo in the Library+ one by one.
My own opinion:
I've yet to see a good reason to run iPhoto in referenced mode unless you're using two photo organisers
If disk space is an issue, you can run an entire iPhoto Library from an external disk:
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library as an entity from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
If you're concerned about accessing the files, There are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto:
*For Users of 10.5 and later*
You can use any Open / Attach / Browse dialogue. On the left there's a Media heading, your pics can be accessed there. Command-Click for selecting multiple pics.
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
You can access the Library from the New Message Window in Mail:
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
*For users of 10.4 and later* ...
Many internet sites such as Flickr and SmugMug have plug-ins for accessing the iPhoto Library. If the site you want to use doesn’t then some, one or any of these will also work:
To upload to a site that does not have an iPhoto Export Plug-in the recommended way is to Select the Pic in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export and export the pic to the desktop, then upload from there. After the upload you can trash the pic on the desktop. It's only a copy and your original is safe in iPhoto.
This is also true for emailing with Web-based services. However, if you're using Gmail you can use iPhoto2GMail
If you use Apple's Mail, Entourage, AOL or Eudora you can email from within iPhoto.
If you use a Cocoa-based Browser such as Safari, you can drag the pics from the iPhoto Window to the Attach window in the browser.
*If you want to access the files with iPhoto not running*:
For users of 10.6 and later:
You can download a free Services component from MacOSXAutomation which will give you access to the iPhoto Library from your Services Menu. Using the Services Preference Pane you can even create a keyboard shortcut for it.
For Users of 10.4 and later:
Create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use this free utility Karelia iMedia Browser
Other options include:
1. *Drag and Drop*: Drag a photo from the iPhoto Window to the desktop, there iPhoto will make a full-sized copy of the pic.
2. *File -> Export*: Select the files in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export. The dialogue will give you various options, including altering the format, naming the files and changing the size. Again, producing a copy.
3. *Show File*: Right- (or Control-) Click on a pic and in the resulting dialogue choose 'Show File'. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected.
+Some Other Comments+
iPhoto will not touch any file outside its library. Period.
It will copy files on import and leave existing files untouched,
It will delete files within the Library but not outside the Library.
When you choose to go with a Referenced Library you are deciding that You want to manage the Files. You want to import them from the camera, you want to sort them however you want and you want to delete them yourself. That's the point of a referenced Library.
I just did a test by editing a photo using Canon Professional and the changes were not reflected in iPhoto. And vise versa.
The point of iPhoto is that you interface with your Photos via the Application. Like Addressbook for your contacts, iTunes for your Music, it's the go-to app for your Photos.
So, you want to edit Photos, you go to iPhoto and use the External Editor:
You can set Photoshop (or any image editor) as an external editor in iPhoto. (Preferences -> General -> Edit Photo: Choose from the Drop Down Menu.) This way, when you double click a pic to edit in iPhoto it will open automatically in Photoshop or your Image Editor, and when you save it it's sent back to iPhoto automatically. This is the only way that edits made in another application will be displayed in iPhoto.
Note that iPhoto sends a copy+ of the file to Photoshop, so when you save be sure to use the Save command, not Save As... If you use Save As then you're creating a new file and iPhoto has no way of knowing about this new file. iPhoto is preserving your original anyway.
Regards
TD

Lost photos from iphoto library

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