Missing photos post rebuild

After I rebuilt my library, the next time I uploaded photos to my mac after library rebuild, a "new" library seems to have been created. I noticed this just a few weeks ago since there were only 215 photos from the last month or so in it, along with a few dozen blank/grey thumbnails. A few days ago I held down the option key on starting up iPhoto to select another library, but then when I tried to go back and find this "new" library with the 215 photos in it, it was nowhere to be found. I cannot locate any photos with a date past the rebuild date anywhere on my hard drive, and naturally these recent photos had not yet been backed up. Can someone please help me retrieve these photos? Thanks

Did you try to rebuild with iPhoto with "Find orphans" option selected? If that doesn't work you'll have to start over with a new library as follows:
Creating a new library while preserving the Events from the original library.
1 - Move the existing library folder to the desktop
2 - Open the library package like this.
3 - Launch iPhoto and, when asked, select the option to create a new library.
4 - Drag the Originals folder from the iPhoto Library on the desktop into the open iPhoto window.

Similar Messages

IPhoto Library Manager hasn't managed to find missing photos after rebuild

I'm trying to repair what I assume is my pal's corrupted iPhoto Library. There are over 8000 images in the Originals folder, which is the number of photos expected to be in iPhoto but he suddenly discovered there were only 1200.
Having tried to rebuild the library with iPhoto Library Manager it is still only showing 1200 photos and I therefore wondered whether anyone can recommend any other solutions for trying to recover the missing photos?
As always, any help most appreciated
Kind Regards
Bernard

Did you try to rebuild with iPhoto with "Find orphans" option selected? If that doesn't work you'll have to start over with a new library as follows:
Creating a new library while preserving the Events from the original library.
1 - Move the existing library folder to the desktop
2 - Open the library package like this.
3 - Launch iPhoto and, when asked, select the option to create a new library.
4 - Drag the Originals folder from the iPhoto Library on the desktop into the open iPhoto window.

IPhoto missing photo's. rebuild already done

After the recent update of iphoto 9.3.1. I can't work on some photo's anymore. They do appear in the library as thumbnail but if you click on it an exclamation point in a triangle appears. Rebuild the library but the problem remains. It concerns photos recently uploaded, about 25 in total. The filesize seems to be fine (3.4mb) and exporting the corrupted photo doesn't work. Any advice to follow appreciated.
Using a macbook pro 2012 edition.

The ! turns up when iPhoto loses the connection between the thumbnail in the iPhoto Window and the file it represents.
Are you running a Managed or a Referenced Library?
A Managed Library, is the default setting, and iPhoto copies files into the iPhoto Library when Importing. The files are then stored in the Library package
A Referenced Library is when iPhoto is NOT copying the files into the iPhoto Library when importing because you made a change at iPhoto -> Preferences -> Advanced. (You unchecked the option to copy files into the Library on import) The files are then stored where ever you put them and not in the Library package. In this scenario you are responsible for the File Management.

IPhoto library missing photos after rebuild

I rebuilt my iphoto library as per instructions from discussion here as a repair for blank previews Now I have only 100 photos instead of 8000 what happened to my pics
When i open iphto all my albums are still there but most of them are empty and my faces are all unnamed

Did you try to rebuild with iPhoto with "Find orphans" option selected? If that doesn't work you'll have to start over with a new library as follows:
Creating a new library while preserving the Events from the original library.
1 - Move the existing library folder to the desktop
2 - Open the library package like this.
3 - Launch iPhoto and, when asked, select the option to create a new library.
4 - Drag the Originals folder from the iPhoto Library on the desktop into the open iPhoto window.

Photos Missing Even After Rebuild - Help!!!

My iMac crashed after a software update around 10.6.8. This machine is still running 10.6.8.
I had to restore the entire system from Time Capsule.
I am now missing hundreds, if not thousands of photos, from my library of about 35,000 images. All I get is an exclamation mark.
I have rebuilt the library using iPhoto Library Manager and it lists a bunch of images and videos that it can't find.
I can see the meta data from the missing photos (camera, f-stop, iso, etc) but can't see the images as thumbnails or even in the "edit" menu.
I upgraded to iPhoto 11 to see if that would help.
I would be SUPER GRATEFUL for any help! Since this is my Time Capsule back-up that has the corrupt files, I don't have a back-up of the back-up (I WILL NEXT TIME!).

Give the following a try to see if the Masters folder in your problem library contains all of your files even though they are not being recognized by iPhoto:
Start over from scratch with new library
Start over with a new library and import the Originals (iPhoto 09 and earlier) or the Masters (iPhoto 11) folder from your original library as follows:
1. Move the existing library folder to the desktop.
2. Open the library package like this.
Click to view full size
3. Launch iPhoto and, when asked, select the option to create a new library.
4. Drag the Originals (iPhoto 09 and earlier) or the Masters (iPhoto 11) folder from the iPhoto Library on the desktop into the open iPhoto window.
Click to view full size
This will create a new library with the same Events as the original library but will not keep the metadata, albums, books slideshows and other projects.
If this brings back all of your photos you can start using it but still try other fixes on your current library in hopes of recovering metadata and projects.
OT

Missing photo links - changing name of external Hard Drive location

I have searched for the answer to this high and low without success if someone can help...
I have a large collection of photos that I store on an external firewire hard drive (too many to store on my macbook pro). My iphoto library is on my Mac and when importing photos to iphoto I did not import the files so the originals remain on the external hard drive and are therefore linked to in iphoto.
I did it this way, rather than storing the library database on the external drive, so that I could access the information and thumbnails when travelling and not connected to my external drive.
I've upgraded my external hard drive and it will have a different name. I need to transfer all the photos across to the new hard drive.
Is there a quick way to reconnect all my original photos when transferred to the new hard drive or a better way to transfer them? Having tried to copy them across manually, obviously as expected I get a missing photo exclamation mark and am asked to browse to the file to relink. This is OK to reconnect one or two photos, but would take me forever with 17,000.
I remember Adobe Photo Album had a command reconnect missing files, and it would go off and search for the files you may have moved location (or changed the directory name in which they were held). Is such a function available in iphoto? I've tried the iphoto re-build functions, but this doesn't look in other attached volumes for the photos.
Alternatively, is there a way to edit the iphoto library database to do a search and replace of the Volume name to the new name and reconnect the link to then photos? e.g. Can you manually edit the albumdata.xml file (and would this be the file to edit) for example, and rebuild the database with Photo Library Manager?
Can you re-import all the photos from the new location, and rebuild the links that way, or does this create duplicate entries and not merge album, keyword event data etc for each photo?
My last resort is re-importing all the photos again, but of course I'd loose all my keywords, albums, events and other info I've spent a long time entering into iphoto.
Thanks
Phil

I just wanted to close this off to say that my solution worked fine and my iphoto libraries are up and running in perfect order again. And to summarise the solution so you don't have to read the entire post above.
This solution is for those wanting to have the iphoto library on your Mac and store the original photos linked elsewhere on an external / network drive (i.e. not imported into the iphoto library). Then you want to change the location where the originals are stored (say for example you get a new bigger external Hard Drive - like I did), and that new location will have a different name. Most people recommend importing the photos into the iphoto library, keeping everything together, and this can then be moved anywhere and accessed.
So to summarise, if you are moving original photos linked into iphoto:
1. Back up everything you can first...
2. First try moving the files (not copying and deleting) - the aliases may reconnect, especially if they are on your main HD. You may need to manually reconnect one file in each sub-directory.
3. Move your photos to your external HD / network drive. Note if the new place has the same name as your old external HD then the aliases probably won't need to be fixed.
4. Download and install File Buddy or similar Alias 'fixer'
5. Go to your iphoto Library, right click, "Show Package Contents"
6. Copy the "Originals" directory to another location so that file buddy can read it.
7. Run File buddy, fixing the aliases in your copy of the Originals folder, pointing to where you've moved your photos too (restrict the directories as much as possible where you point file buddy to search for the missing files to speed it up). You will only have issues if you have multiple copies of the same file - i.e. that have the same file name and creation date, and file buddy will give you a list of these. This in itself is a good check to see you don't have the same file in two places - I only had issues with folders of photos that I'd been given from family in which there were multiple copies of the same photo. I've now cleaned these up, saved space and ran file buddy again to finish the job off.
8. Finally, move this now fixed "Originals" folder back into your iphoto library (package contents) - writing over / replacing the original "Originals" directory.
All being well, should be fixed!
Just to share with you the benefits I find of having my photos stored on an external HD and the iphoto library on my Macbook:
-- Saves space on my limited internal HD
-- others can access the photos, set up and manage their own iphoto libraries pointing at the same originals, and we don't need two copies of the original files
-- I can access the iphoto library and manage albums, add keywords, titles, etc when not connected to the External HD, though you're limited to viewing the (not too small) thumbnail pictures iphoto stores in its library
I'm loving iphoto even more now, it makes managing and viewing my 1000's of photos a pleasure.
Cheers
Phil

Best strategy for dealing with a mixed library and missing photos

Looking at the package contents of my iPhoto Library, it appears that I have a "mixed" library (i.e. part managed and part referenced). I'm not sure how this happened--I originally created this library about three years ago when I first bought my Mac with iLife '06, then later upgraded to iLife '08 which I'm currently still using. Maybe the default setting was to have a referenced library in iPhoto '06? Don't know. I don't recall ever changing this setting.
Anyway, I was starting to manually recover some missing photos but it just occurred to me that iPhoto is simply updating the aliases to point to the photos I'm telling it to use, and not actually copying the photos into the library (I'm guessing that only happens when you import a photo). This is not what I want. I want my library to be completely managed. I understand that, as my current Preferences settings dictate, any new photos I import now will be copied into the iPhoto Library. But for the existing photos that I am able to recover, I don't want to have to keep the originals outside of iPhoto.
I read in another topic about an application called AliasHerder and I'm thinking of trying that. The problem is, I no longer have original copies of all of the missing photos. I can recreate the folder structure for some of them but not all. I'm not sure what this will do to my iPhoto Library (I have emailed the vendor for clarification). I'm wondering if I'll still end up with a mixed library containing aliases that point to a non-existent file. Perhaps someone who has some experience with the tool could enighten me.
Based on suggestions given to me in previous posts I made, I tried both rebuilding my iPhoto Library and using the iPhoto Library Manager tool. Neither of these produced the results I had hoped for. Am I better off just starting off from scratch and creating a whole new library? And if so, what's the best way to get all of the existing photos from my current library to the new one? Do I export them out and then import them into the new library? Is there any way to salvage events, albums, etc. from my existing library or will I have to recreate these in the new library?
Thanks in advance!

First check iPhoto's Advanced preference pane to make sure you're running a "managed" library.
Click to view full size
Since you don't have the "source" photos available to relink to your best bet, IMO, would be to continue using your current library and delete those missing photos from it whenever you come across them in day to day use. If you click on the thumbnail of a missing photos and drag it to the iPHoto trash and empty it that will delete it from the library. This way you will retain all of your organizational efforts, i.e. albums, books, keywords, etc.
When you rebuilt with iPhoto Library Manager what did the resulting library contain? If it contained your photos without the missing photos you could use it. You would retain your albums, keywords, faces, places and other metadata. You will lose any keepsakes, i.e. books, slideshows, cards, etc.
Or, you could start over as follows:
Creating a new library while preserving the Events from the original library.
1 - Move the existing library folder to the desktop
2 - Open the library package like this.
3 - Launch iPhoto and, when asked, select the option to create a new library.
4 - Drag the Originals folder from the iPhoto Library on the desktop into the open iPhoto window.
You will end up with all your photos (no missing photos) in the same events as in the original library. But there will be no albums, metadata or keepsakes. It's for this reason I made the original suggestion of continuing with your current library above.
OT
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.

Iphoto 08 has missing photos and wheel of death

Bought new imac and upgraded to iLife 08. Upgraded my photo library of some 4000 photos all looked fine at first.
Noticed that in the middle of the photo library are about 20 or so missing photos they display as dashed grey squares. If you scroll so you have these thumbnails on the screen or open an event with these photos in you get the wheel of death and you either have to force quit iphoto or wait for ever to quit iphoto.
I have rebuilt the photo library and used the batchmod tool as described on another post. I have also searched for and removed alias links etc.
Now at a loss as to next move. I have the photos on my old laptop running previous iphoto version plus a few older DVD backups.
Is it anything to do with my old photo ipod?
I could just delete the iphoto library and start over importing from scratch but what if it happens again? Any advice?

It means that your main Library has a damaged database file.
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, faces and places 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

Some, not all, missing photos in iPhoto.

Missing photos in iPhoto.
I’m using a Mac Pro, 2.8 GHz, 16m Ram, OS 10.6.8, iPhoto 9.2.3
I’ve seen many posts similar to this, however my problem is somewhat different…
All was fine prior to last weekend, however, when I needed some of my recent pictures yesterday they were missing, however there were still old photos, the last event date they showed was June 3 2011. I have tried various ideas, from previous experience with Macs (been using them since the mid 90’s) and ideas from the support forums. Just to add to my misery I then found all my recent projects in iMovie have done exactly the same thing, all recent movie projects had gone yet everything prior to Jul 22 2012 was there.
Anyone out there have any ideas, I have a majority of items backed up, thankfully, I’d just like to know what’s happened!
Graham

Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. (In Library Manager it's the FIle -> Rebuild command)
This will create an entirely new library. It will then copy (or try to) your photos and all the associated metadata and versions to this new Library, and arrange it as close as it can to what you had in the damaged Library. It does this based on information it finds in the iPhoto sharing mechanism - but that means that things not shared won't be there, so no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your events, albums and keywords, faces and places 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.

Missing photos in iPhoto '08 v. 7.1.3

This is hardly a "new" topic on this discussion but after trying every recommendation I have been able to find, I am still no further forward so would appreciate any other suggestions that might be forthcoming.
When iPhoto is launched it shows, at the foot, 17,528 items. Click on a thumbnail and one of two thing happens: either, and this is the good one, the photo launches normally or, and this is the other, up pops the greyed out area with the exclamation mark. If I understand that correctly it either means that the original photo is "missing" or that iPhoto is unable to link to it.
An Info check on the iPhoto library shows 12.86 GB. However, on the originals folder only it shows 5.49 GB for 7,506 items.
I have tried all the rebuild facilities offered by iPhoto. No change.
I have installed iPhoto Library Manager and tried to rebuild the library using that: it hangs, showing "getting photo information"...which it doesn't. I had to close it using Force Quit.
I have used the "extract photos" facility in that program - it tells me that 5,589 photos have been extracted.
None of the figures tie up - and I'm not even clear if they are supposed to do so.
The real mystery to me is that the "missing" photos seem entirely random: in a group of, say 10, photos which were imported together 1 or 2 might be missing, all might be, none might be. There is just no discernible "pattern" to the problem.
So, two questions, really: (1) any bright ideas as to what to try next or what might be causing this and (2) if my library is terminally corrupted then it seems to me I should start a brand new library using the extracted photos as the basis then add others from CDs and DVDs, but in doing so is there a way of avoiding duplication?
Thanks in anticipation...
Ryetee

Ryetee
To create a library from scratch - which is what you need to do as you do have a damaged library:
To create and populate a new 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.
In the iPhoto Preferences -> Events Uncheck the box at 'Imported Items from the Finder'
Move the iPhoto Library to the desktop
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.
When you're sure all is well you can delete the iPhoto Library on your desktop.
In the future, in addition to your usual back up routine, you might like to make a copy of the library6.iPhoto file whenever you have made changes to the library as protection against database corruption.
Regards
TD

Missing Photos in PSE 12, but not in PSE 11

I own PSE 11 & PSE 12. Several of my photos in PSE 12 have the question mark (missing photo). These same photos don;t have the question mark in PSE 11. How can I resolve this issue?

See the answer for the same question:
http://www.elementsvillage.com/forums/showthread.php?p=682723&posted=1#post682723

How do I recover missing photos in iPhoto 11?

HI!
     I recently upgraded to iPhoto 11 (from iPhoto 9, I believe). There are 12 photos missing from the 'Photos' section of my library. There are dashed lines around the locations where the photos should be (it is a sequence of 12 pictures), so I assume the originals are in the iPhoto Library somewhere. How do I have the placed back where they should be?
     Thanks for your help.
Doug Chisholm

Give these two fixes a try to see if they can recover those missing photos. But be sure to have a backup of your current library in case the results are not to your liking:
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
Click on the Add Library button,
and select the library you want to add from those in the selection window.
Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the Library ➙ Rebuild Library menu option
In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
Click on the Create button.
Note 1: 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.
Note 2: Your current library will be left untouched for further attempts at a fix if so desired.
Starting over from scratch with new library
Start over with a new library and import the Originals (iPhoto 09 and earlier) or the Masters (iPhoto 11) folder from your original library as follows:
1. Open the library package like this.
2. Launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and, when asked, select the option to create a new library.
3. Drag the subfolders of the Originals (iPhoto 09 and earlier) or the Masters (iPhoto 11) folder from the open iPhoto Library package into the open iPhoto window a few at a time.
This will create a new library with the same Events (but not necessarily the same Event names) as the original library but will not keep the metadata, albums, books slideshows and other projects.
Note: your current library will be left untouched for further attempts at a fix if so desired.

Missing photos in preview

I have a large photo book (100 pages, 647 images) in iphoto 11. I'm having two problems. First, when I export to iDVD or iMovie, 3 photos are missing from the files. The pix are on double spread page layouts, and only some of the small photos (not the one that traverses pages) are missing. The same photos are absent from a slideshow of the book and from the Preview and PDF. So, I can't order the book because I can't get preview to include these photos.
I'm using the latest version of iPhoto (all up to date), but have not upgraded to Lion.
I've checked the photos and they all work (used the "edit" function to check). So, I know they are not corrupted.
I've also removed the .plist file for iphoto and that didn't solve the issue.
Any other ideas??

Are you able to edit or view in full screen those "missing" photos in iPhoto? What do you see when you try?
Make a temporary, backup copy (if you don't already have a backup copy) of the library and apply the two fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
Select the options identified in the screenshot.
Fix #2
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
Click on the Add Library button, navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
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
In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
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 left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
OT

Missing photos -- dashed lines

I recently installed iPhoto 6.
In the default, "organize" view, several pictures have now been replaced by rounded-square outlines in dashed lines. The pic titles are still there, but no pics. Double-clicking to edit these missing photos brings up a blank screen in edit mode.
I'm not even able to delete these squares.
What's up?

Select one of the files in the Originals folder and bring up the Info window on it, Command-I. Then under Default Application assign Preview and click on the Change All.. button. If that doesn't help check my posts in this thread.

Calendar Crashes, iPhoto 6.0.3, and Missing Photos, Books, etc.

Last week I was creating a calender in iPhoto 6.0.2. It crashed twice while I was working on it. I submitted the crash logs to Apple and went on working with the calendar. Everything seemed fine.
Last night I upgraded to iPhoto 6.0.3 via Software Update. I checked permissions afterwards, then launched iPhoto 6.0.3 to work on my calendar. ALL of my photos since December 2004 were missing and I also had no books, albums, or calendars in the left side pane. I tried rebuilding the library and nothing changed. I have not yet tried to "recover" lost images.
I'm not sure if the iPhoto 6.0.2 calendar crash did this or the iPhoto 6.0.3 update, or the combination of the two. Does anyone have any ideas on how to get back all of this information? From what I've gathered, it looks like I should try iPhoto Library Manager. That seems to help some people. At the very least I hope to get all my Film Rolls back, but I would like all the other stuff as well.
Yes, I should have a more recent backup than I do, but Apple also needs to make the iPhoto Library data files more robust so it's easier to rebuild this information!

That did indeed recover all my "missing" photos. I guess there just isn't anyway to recover albums, calendards, greeting cards, slideshows, etc. Is that true?
I think I will revert back to my last backup and manually add the 10 or so rolls that I have taken since then. At least that way the only thing I lose is the calendar I was working on during the crash in iPhoto 6.0.2. I also plan on filing a bug on iPhoto with the crash log and the information about it corrupting my iPhoto Library. If iPhoto Library Manager can recover all my photos, then iPhoto itself should definitely be able to!
One other oddity I noticed was the iPhoto Library Manager would say it was importing Film Roll "Joss's Birthday", but then it would NOT actually use that as the name of the Film Roll in the rebuilt library. I figured since it obviously saw the name, it should use it. Maybe I had the preferences configured wrong.
Power Mac G5 Dual 2 GHz Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Missing photos post rebuild

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