Missing photos randomly in iPhoto

Read a thread further down and I've tried all those. It started about 2 weeks ago. Events missing all over the place (4619 photos in total divided into events). Before this started I copied the iPhoto Library file onto an external drive 18GB approx and at that stage it was working fine. Also of course had backups going back several weeks in Time Machine. Also own Aperture with an imported iPhoto Library in it.
That was, and still is, fine. All photos are there including new ones since the problem started. I have the new ones and all the photos from Aperture in a Folder on an external drive as jpgs. So at least I can use Aperture and still have all my Photos safe.
So I used AppZapper to completely remove iPhoto and used my Restore DVDs that came with my new iMac 27" i7 to reinstall iPhoto. Then I went back in Time Machine to a week before all the trouble started when i know things were fine but still the same problem. Deleted that one and got the known good one off the external drive and that has the same problem. So went into iPhoto and deleted every single photo and then restarted and dragged the entire collection photos from the folder on my external drive into iPhoto.
Wonderful they are all there and all working. Trouble is I now have one Giant Event with the whole lot in. Not good. My Photos go back to 1998 when I got my first Digital Camera and were divided into categories such as Family, Good Times, The Farm etc. Still have that in Aperture but wasted my money as I much prefer iPhoto to Aperture.
I'm starting to think that the Library file is ok and there is something else within Snow Leopard OS X that is corrupt and causing the problem. Not necessarily an iPhoto associate.

Sorry. I should have been more specific. There was an earlier thread similar to my problem. I had already tried their suggestions Rebuild cache and thumbnails to no avail. Used iPhone Library Manager to repair permissions removed all caches and xml files etc manually. None of which worked. I hadn't tried rebuilding the Library using iPhone Library Manager. So I've done that and it did work. I lost 297 photos but at least everything is back to normal. I can now check the IPLM log and see which it couldn't recover and put them in iPhoto from my jpg folder on my external drive. Many thanks for suggesting that. I often forget all the features of IPLM. It was well worth the money.

Similar Messages

Missing photos in both iPhoto and Aperture

I recently upgraded to Aperture 3.1.2 and transferred all my photos from iPhoto 8.1.2. In total I transferred about 15000 photos from my iPhoto library. I noticed some photos were missing in Aperture. After opening iPhoto again, some photos were missing there (although the thumbnail was present). I tried restoring my iPhoto library but that did not restore the photos. I BELIEVE between iPhoto and Aperture I have all my photos but I can't be entirely sure. Does anyone have anyone out there have any ideas of what I can try? I already rebuilt my iPhoto library and that just helped identify what photos I am missing in iPhoto.

This definitely sounds like and iPhoto and/or backup problem.
How was the backup done? If it was with TM (or another incremental backup program) did you check an earlier backup?
If you restored the iPhoto library from backup and the images were still missing I'm afraid there isn't much that you can do.

Missing Photos from my Iphoto library, Please Help!

#1 Woke up yesterday and noticed there are many pictures missing from my Iphoto library.
#2 The folders are still there but there are NO picture in some of them EVEN though my total picture count remains the same. About 25k pics.
#3 I do a google and some forums suggest "rebuilding" the photo album THROUGH my Iphoto Photo Library.
#4 I go ahead and start the rebuilding process which seems conceivably at the rate its going, it might take maybe a full day or more!!
#5 My laptop FREEZES for some mucked up reason at about 5500 photos rebuilt so far. I am forced to force quit Iphoto and RESTART the whole process.
#6 Now during the "rebuild" process. The process stops at and ONLY recognizes up to the 5500 photos.
#7 Now my library ONLY says 5500 photos instead of the 25k
#8 All of my photo FOLDERS still remain.
#9 A little tidbit, I don't know why but my external 2tb hd is somehow connected to my Iphoto, where if my EX HD is not connected I will be missing many photos from my mac laptop Iphoto Library while disconnected.
#10 2 things, I have not backed up my library since Dec 2010, BUT i also have added very little photo since then.
PLEASE HELP ME KIND MAC PEOPLE, What can I do? Where have all my photos in my library gone? Why will it only rebuild now only to 5500 photos. Please shoot my some ideas and help if you can. Thank you very much for your kind advice and help! Humbly "Devastated" for these photos are work and family irreplacable :[

It is unlikely that your problem is a corruped preference file - the correction for that is
A good general step for strange issues is to renew the 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 and reset any personal preferences you have changed and if you have moved the iPhoto library repoint to it. This may help
This does not affect your photos or any database information (keywords, faces, places, ratings, etc) in any way - they are stored in the iPhoto library - the iPhoto preference file simply controls how iPhoto works - which is why renewing it is a good first step.
It is likely that you have a corrupted library - and backups are NOT just to protect against hardware failures
Note - things fail - software - computers - people - and if you do NOT always have a current backup you will lose all of your photos and other data sooner or later
And the managed library has NOTHING to do with the library you have selected - it has to do with iPhoto preferences you have selected -
Were the "missing" photos only missing when the EHD was no tavailable as you implied?
and do you have a default "managed" library (the iPhoto preference to "copy imported items to the iPhoto library is in its checked state) or a referenced library - if htat option checked or unchecked?
LN

Missing photo imports in iPhoto

Hi all, here's my problem...
I am missing a few days of photos that were previously uploaded to iPhoto, two months ago. I just opened iPhoto, and noticed they were gone. Here's what they are appearing as:
I did a little research, and I cannot find any of the image names anywhere on my computer. I have opened iPhoto to get into the "Rebuild Photo Library", but I have no idea which selection would pertain to my situation... I did try the orphan photos, with no sucess.
I have also went back through my back-up hard drive/time machine, and curiously enough, the back-up days after these photos were uploaded are also blacked out...
Does anyone have a solution for this? I'd appreciate any insight you may have!
(I have iPhoto '09, version 8.1.2)

The ! turns up when iPhoto loses the connection between the thumbnail in the iPhoto Window and the file it represents.
Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. (In early versions of Library Manager it's the File -> Rebuild command. In later versions it's under the Library menu.)
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 photo's from iPhoto? Can I store from time machine?

I am missing some photo's from my iPhoto library (must have deleted accidentally). I have time machine and when I go in to the oldest it only shows the entire photo library - is there a way to see the files in the library and restore them?
Thanks in advance!

Try rebuilding the Library it could correct the issue.
iPhoto Rebuild
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2638

Missing photos/movies in iPhoto

Whilst adding photos/movies to my iPhoto 11 Library (version 9.4.2) stored on Time Capsule, it crashed. When I reopened it many items I had just been tagging had disappeared. I then did a search for them using the iPhoto search function, and it still couldnt find them. I then did a search on Shared using Finder and it found them. Apparently they are in the iPhoto Masters Directory. So if they are there why cant I see them in iPhoto. Do I have to rebuild the Library to see the items? If so how do I do that - is it risky?
Thanks.

Whilst adding photos/movies to my iPhoto 11 Library (version 9.4.2) stored on Time Capsule, it crashed.
That's not an appropriate setting for an iPhoto Library.
How are you linked to it? Wireless?
So if they are there why cant I see them in iPhoto.
Because you damaged the Library in the crash.
First off, move the library to an appropriate setting - any disk formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled) with a cable based connection.
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 after upgrading iPhoto

I recently upgraded iPhoto and now many of the photos are not showing up, mainly the older ones, have I lost them for good? Any help appreciated

Apply the two fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
Since only one option can be run at a time start with Option #3, followed by #4 and then #1 as needed.
Fix #2
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
1 - download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
2 - click on the Add Library button, navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
3 - Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the File ➙ Rebuild Library menu option.
4 - In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
5 - Click on the Create button.
Note: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments. 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.
OT

IPhone sync - restoring missing photos in iPhoto from the phone

I have recently restored from a Time Machine backup, and several recent photo imports are now missing from iPhoto. (Yes, I have tried to rebuild the library, but they are still missing.) The photos still exist on my iPhone, but when I plug it in, it only allows me to import from the 'Camera Roll' album, and not the 'Photo Library' album, where the missing photos still exist. So:
Question #1 - If I allow iTunes to perform a photo sync, will it replace the whole 'Photo Library' album, thereby deleting the photos that only exist on my phone? Or is this a two-way sync, which would happily reinsert my missing photos back into iPhoto? (Wishful thinking I'm guessing).
Question #2 - Is there a way to pull those photos from the iPhone manually, so I can re-import them into iPhoto?

Yes and Yes (using third party software or emailing them, or uploading them) but remember that the ones on the iPhone are compressed optimised versions just for the iPhone display - not the originals.

Random sequential groups of photos missing from Events and iPhoto Slideshow but are in an Album. How do I recover or copy photos back to Events and rebuild slideshow?

Random sequential groups of photos missing from Events, an Album I created, and a slideshow using the photos. This "appears" to have happened when upgrading to Yosemite. When I use iPhoto Library Manager, I see two entries for the Event Information for the date in question, same name, same number of photos, but different sizes. The smaller has the image number but no photo for the given date; the larger has the photos.
Image path for the version with all photos: /Volumes/Promise Pegasus/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Previews/2010/2010_05_24/IMG_0697.jpg
Image path for the version with missing photos: /Volumes/Promise Pegasus/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Previews/2010/2010_05_24_2/IMG_0697.jpg (NOTE the _2 added to the image number.)
I assume that I have to get the missing pictures back in Events so I can reload back into the Album. Hopefully, the slideshow will magically be better.
Help!

That's an indication that the link/file path between the thumbnail and the master file has been broken. Do the following:
1 - launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down to open the First Aid window. Be sure to follow the circled recommendation in the screenshot.
2 - run Option #4, Rebuild Database.

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

IMac 20-inch on OSX 10.7.4 running iphoto 11, my photos from my iphoto library have been deleted. I have time machine but the iphoto library file is missing when I access time machine, help please.

I have an imac 20-inch Late 2006 model on OSX 10.7.4 running iphoto 11, somehow the application ccleaner has deleted my photos from my iphoto library. I have time machine but the iphoto library file is missing when I access time machine.
To restore photos I have followed the steps below
Quit iPhoto.
Connect your Time Machine drive.
In the Finder, open the folder containing your iPhoto Library. Unless you've moved your iPhoto Library, it can be found in Home/Pictures/iPhoto Library.
Enter Time Machine. (Time Machine can be found in the Dock or in the /Applications folder.)
Choose your desired backup. The timeline on the right side of the screen displays a purple tick mark for each of the backups stored on your Time Machine drive.
Select the iPhoto library you would like to restore, and click the Restore button.
I dont get the option in step 6 as I dont have an iphoto library file to choose? Does anyone know why?

Hi Barry
Thanks but as mentioned all is intact, even at step 3 I can see the current library in Home/Pictures/iPhoto Library which has no photos, but when I access time machine any point before the NOW option the iphoto library in Home/Pictures/iPhoto Library is missing from the finder window.
As you can see here it is
and now its gone. I have no explanantion.
How do I go about moving this question as you suggested.

.Issue with creating a photo book in Iphoto error message states some frames are missing images, but I've checked each one and from I can see they are all filled in. It won't let my buy the book though

Having an Issue with Creating a photo Book in Iphoto. I continue to get an error message when clicking on "Buy Book" The error indicates that I'm missing a frame or frames from the book. I've checked this many times and cannot locate the issue. The book appears to be complete from my perspective. What can I do now? I worked very hard on this and would hate to lose it all.

How did you check the book? Did you preview it?
See:
iPhoto, Aperture: Previewing an order in iPhoto or Aperture
Is that the message?
"your book seems to have frames on one or more pages that do not contain photos. You must either change the layout of those pages or place photos in those frames before you can buy this book."
The most common reason for this error is, that you have used a page layout that needs a background photo and you have not yet added the backdrop. Then the book is still showing some default grayscale image.
Check, if one of your page layouts is using this background:
Then you need to add a photo to the background of the page.

IPhoto Missing Photos, Unique Situation

Hi everybody,
I am in what I believe to be (after a bit of Googling and forum searching) in a unique position with my iPhoto Library. The library in question used to be maintained without keeping copies in the actual library (by using the relevant option in iPhoto Preferences), as I like to maintain my own folder hierarchy for the actual photo file storage. However, after a hard drive upgrade and the move to iPhoto '08, I decided I'd like to change this. Before moving to '08, though, I needed a way to get all my then-aliased photos into the library itself. So, I used a program called Synk (basically a backup program) which was able to resolve all the aliases to photos elsewhere and replace them with the actual photos in my iPhoto library.
The old system and paths have since been replaced (due in no small part to a hard drive crash), and I'm now having an issue with those photos whose links no longer work. Apparently, said links weren't working during the resolution of the aliases, and so a number of broken links made their way into the new library and are now still there. And, unfortunately, those photos were stored on a drive which no longer exists, meaning anytime I try to click on one of those photos, iPhoto gives me the spinning beach ball of death for a minute or two (per photo) as it tries to connect to that drive. When it finally fails, it brings up the "Could not find this photo" dialogue box and gives me the option to find it, but to do this for all the missing links (as there are quite a few) would be extremely tedious.
So, I'm wondering what ideas people have as to go about restoring my library. I still have all (or at least most) of the missing photos in question on disk; they're just not properly linked. And I'd really like to keep all my tagging, renaming, and comment info for the photos that are there, given I've done extensive work in these areas. Thanks for any help.

CyberMonk:
I hope you didn't use Synk on the entire library package. Because it cannot parse the database file's contents which is the heart and soul of the library. I'm afraid you may not be able to resurrect the library.
Since the links for the alias files are broken unless you can re-link each file you'll have to start over from scratch by creating a new, empty library and importing the photos again. I don't know of any application that can do that.
Do you get a warning window when double clicking on a thumbnail indicating that the original file cannot be found and asks if you'd like to find it? If so, if you can find and re-link one photo in an event it may re-link all of the photos in that event as they are all in the same folder. But you have to be able to get to that warning window.
If the above fails I strongly recommend you setup a "managed" library to prevent this type of problem again.
You could run a managed library of all your photos on the external HD and have a smaller library on the laptop for the most current and those you need. You can use the paid version of iPhoto Library Manager to manage the multiple libraries and copy files via albums or event between the two while maintaining the keywords, comments and title.
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier) database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 6 and 7 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. 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.

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.

I have over 60,000 photos in my iPhoto. When my screen saver comes on it randomly shows certain photos. Often, these photos are old and I in turn find the desire to print said photo. Is there a way the screen saver can convey a photo file name as well?

I have over 20,000 photos in my iPhoto. When my screen saver comes on it randomly shows certain photos. Often, these photos are old and I in turn find the desire to print said photo. Is there a way the screen saver can convey a photo file name or location as well? Can I create a slideshow of all my photos to cycle through at leisure with photo info? Lastly, I know I have duplicates and have tried numerous software programs to delete duplicates to no avail. What do you recommend as a method to reduce duplicates on iphoto? Thanks for your time.

1. No.
2. Yes.
3. Some apps for dealing with duplicates in iPhoto
iPhoto Library Manager
Duplicate Annihilator
Decliner
iPhoto Duplicate Cleaner

Missing photos randomly in iPhoto

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