.mov unreadable files!

I have just got home with my brand new iMac with OS X Mavericks, I am trying to import any .mov files via airDrop from my macbook pro also with OS X. The photos import great but .mov files will not open. Not in iphoto or QT Player or imovie?! I get an error screen 'unreadable file' unrecoginized format. the original video was shot on my iphone 5 and plays fine in all applications on my macbook pro.
How do I get my old .mov files from my macbook pro to open up in iphoto/imovie/quicktime on my new imac?

Are you sure the MOV files are intact? You may have not transfer the whole MOV files to your new Mac. Try again.

Similar Messages

Time Machine: How should it react to an unreadable file?

Hi, does anyone know how TM should deal with a file that is unreadable due to it residing on a 'bad block' ?
I recently loaded about 250 movie files (about 125GB) onto a 500GB 2.5" USB drive connected to my Macbook Pro (OS-X 10.7.3) and then did a TM backup, including the USB attached drive, to my FW attached destination drive. All appeared to proceed normally and the backup completed. As part of my backup strategy I also then proceeded to make a Carbon Copy Clone of the same USB drive, to another spare USB connected drive. During the cloning, CCC reported that it was unable to read one specific file from the source drive as it was residing on a 'bad block'. CCC advised deleting the affected file and replacing it with a known good copy (the HD would automatically write the file to a good block and map the bad block as unusable).
I decided to look to my recent TM backup for a good copy of the affected file only to discover that the file did not exist anywhere in the backup. All the other files were present, just not the one CCC had identified as unreadable, so TM hadn't backed up that file. (Fortunately I still had access to another copy elsewhere so I was able to replace the file and complete the clone.)
If I read this correctly, it appears that when TM came upon the unreadable file it just decided to ignore it and continue with the backup without reporting anything, leaving the user none the wiser. Unbelievable !!
Has anyone had similar experiences?
Steve, UK.

I appreciate you taking the time to reply, thanks. I may not have made myself clear in the original post. Obviously I would not expect TM to backup a file that it cannot read. The point at issue here is how TM reacts when it encounters such a file. If Time Machine can't read a file that it is being asked to backup then it should really be sounding alarm bells. The screen flashing red and steam coming out of the usb ports may be 'over the top', but I'd settle for a simple message during the backup, or at the end, to notify the user of a problem.)
If Time machine is just ignoring the unreadable file then it's just not reliable backup software. Full marks to Carbon Copy Cloner. It identified a problem with my external drive early enough for me to rectify it whilst I still had another good copy of the file. If I had trusted only TIme Machine I would never have known that one of the files had not been copied.
Thanks anyway. Time to rethink backup strategy.
Regards
Steve.

Unreadable files

My iphotos do not seem to be indexed in Finder. When I try to upload a photo from the library to a website I can only view indexed titled photos in Photo Booth. They will be listed as pic 1 jpg pic 2 jpg etc. but although I have plenty of visable pictures in iphoto they don't show up listed in finder. Only the name "iphoto library" appears. Double clicking on that does not show me indexed jpgs of my photos. Instead it opens iPhoto and loads the photos. Then a window drops down and says: Unreadable files: 1 The following files could not be imported. They may be an unrecognized file type or the files may not contain valid data".
huh? I've been editing and burning the photos to DVD's with no problem although sometimes people can't open them when I send them in e-mail. can anyone help?

My iphotos do not seem to be indexed in Finder.<<<</div>
Attempting to understand the iPhoto library is comparable to attempting long division with Roman numerals.
STAY OUT OF THE LIBRARY UNLESS YOU ENJOY GRIEF. THE FOLLOWING IS COPIED FROM AN iPHOTO "HELP" SCREEN.
IMPORTANT: If you move, delete, rename, or otherwise touch files or folders within this folder, you may be unable to see your pictures in the iPhoto application. The files within this folder should only be manipulated by a customer care representative. It is a good idea, however, to routinely back up this entire folder to a CD or external hard disk so you have a copy in case your photos become lost or corrupted for any reason.

Can lightroom 3 complete 1:1 previews when unreadable files are detected

when lightroom 2.6 detects an unreadable file, be it a .mov or a corrupt file, it stops the process of creating 1:1 previews until I answer the dialogue box that pops up after the import and before the previews are built. Can it please allow the process of building previews to continue, while sequestering the questionable file, moving them to a folder to be dealt with later. Can't this be some kind of checkbox in the import dialogue or a simplified feature that is automatic? My understanding is that you are now thinking of simplifying the import dialogue box for the less informed, while I'm hoping it can still provide us with more detailed options to speed up our work. When I build a catalogue of 2500 to 3000 images that I just shot on deadline, and want to ingest that material overnight and get back to my edit in the morning, this little glitch makes life IMPOSSIBLY SLOW.
see my story below:
I was just importing last night's job of 2500 images shot during a theater production into lightroom 2.6 - 64 bit on my 8 core Mac pro tower running 16 Gigs of RAM. As I often do after such a production - I return to the studio - move all the files from the cards into a single folder on my desktop then import them all into lightroom creating copies of the RAW files and the catalogue itself onto redundant hard drives. I also always create 1:1 previews for quick and easy viewing at any point in time. It's usually late in the evening, and I set Lightroom about this task while I go home to sleep, then begin my edit in the morning with catalogue built and previews made.
HOWEVER-- after the catalogue was imported but BEFORE lightroom began making previews, lightroom posted a dialogue box on my screen advising me that a file was somehow unreadable -- either corrupt, or the wrong kind of file, COMPLETELY STOPPING THE TASK OF BUILDING THE PREVIEWS.
So I returned in the morning, no previews were made -- and two hours later I'm not even 1/2 way through building the previews. SO-- ADOBE people -- or any lightroom users out there -- is there any way for Lightroom to continue building previews instead of waiting for me to respond to this dialogue box first. Lightroom assumes apparently that I at my computer to respond to this dialogue box.
It seems like such a horrible waste of my time when I'm under deadlines to get this work done. I'm happy for the reminder that one of my files was a movie file or a corrupt file or whatever -- please lightroom... sequester these file on my desktop somewhere and finish the job!
Does anybody know if there is a preference I can click on or off to prevent this from happening. Trying to edit large files that are 10- 21 megapixels and waiting for 1:1 previews to open takes a long time of and by itself -- but waiting and extra 4 hours to have previews built that should have been made while was asleep is something that should NOT be happening. I'm about to make two changes that should speed up my workflow i.e: install a fast ATI Radeon HD 4870 with 512MB of RAM, plus upgrade to snow leopard to take better advantage of the 8 cores of processors that my machine has. But even these upgrades would be for nought when Lightroom STOPS the process in it's tracks.
HELP-- SOMEONE -- PLEASE!!!
owen carey

No one's harmed as we all know this since forever.
It is wel documented on the forum.
By not saving it with the pdf option check reduces the size a great deal many users use it to save master files and then do a save as with the option turned on when they place it in another application.
In case you are not familiar with this option turned off and printed to a postscript printer the file will print properly even if it does not display the right way.
At least that is my understanding.

Experiencing corrupted / unreadable files after download

I have a quad core mac pro running snowleopard. Recently I've noticed that I've been having more and more files be unreadable after having been downloaded over the internet. This happens both after downloading from an internet browser, downloading through a 3rd party downloader client (Continuata), as well as syncing with Dropbox.
Given the increasing frequency in which I am encountering unreadable files (i.e. when you try to open or move a file and you get a finder error that says the operation can't be completed because the file cannot be read error -36).
From what I've read this can be due to either software problems or hardware issues. From my personal experience I get the feeling I'm probably dealing with a hardware problem, but I not sure where to start. Most of my problems DO seem to occur on a single internal hard drive, but the diagnostic tests I've run speak nothing but love for the health of the drive (disk utility repair, various Drive Genius 3 tools).
Further information: I use dropbox and sync many times a day with other peoples shared folders. I also use Synergy, the mouse/keyboard sharing over the network software (and it's slightly buggy).
I've repaired permissions a bunch of times, never had any problems to be repaired. Nor have I had any problems to be repaired when I do repair disk.
Is it possible my network adapter might be going? Or some other internal hardware component on the motherboard?

Mac Pro 65lb tower uses Error Corecting Code (ECC) Memory, so memory problems are not your issue, or you would be getting kernel panic, machine check.
The individual data blocks on Disk are recorded using an error-correcting code. Simple problems are corrected on the fly, serious problems cause big delays and an I/O Error.
The communications interfaces use error detection codes, and errors there would cause re-transmission. Repeated problems would slow your connection and eventually cause errors.
The most likely problem is the type that will be fixed by Disk Utility (Repair Disk). That is, if the free list is incorrect, and a block gets inadvertatly re-used before its time.
This also could be a problem with "crazy software". If you tend to load up your machine with lots of third-party gadgets, you will make it unstable.

Unreadable Files: cannot import files error message

I am trying to import old photos from a previous hard drive and get the following message-
Unreadable Files: (# of files)
The following files could not be imported (they may be an unrecognized file type or the files may not contain valid data).
Then it will have the files and their locations that I am trying to open in the box below. These files can be opened with no problems using Adobe Photoshop Elements 3, Canon's Image Browser as well as Preview. They originally came in as digital photos from a Canon digital camera. They used to be able to open in iPhoto with no problem. They either have a [.JPG] extension or none at all. There are a lot of them. Could it be they were used by an older version of iPhoto and are unrecognizable in this one?
I am running iPhoto 4.0.3 Any suggestions?

David:
You just reminded me of one more thing you can try. Log in to another account on your iMac and see if iPhoto will import as it should. If it does then it's a problem with your primary account. One cause might be another preference file that's in conflict with iPhoto. You can use Preferential Treatment to check for any corrupt or damaged user or system preference file. It's not foolproof however. If none are found and it sill won't import, then you can try the following method developed my another user:
Trouble Shooting Preferences
Go to HD/Users/Your_name/Library. Move the Prefs folder (in its entirety) to the desktop. Start iPhoto. Determine if problem is fixed.
If the problem IS fixed, then go to the new Prefs folder that the OS will have created and open it up. Except for those items that are obviously not related, move the contents to the old Prefs folder on the desktop, replacing what had been there. When in doubt, move the item. The worst thing that can happen is a harmless "alert" message. Then, trash what remains of the new folder. Finally, move the old (but modified) Prefs folder back to the library.
If the problem is NOT fixed, trash the new Prefs folder and move the old one back to its original location.
If stlll no go, I'd try reinstalling the 10.2.9 COMBO updater followed by a permissions repair.

Deleting Unreadable Files - OSX Syntax Question

Hi!
When I connect my iPhone 4S to my MacBook Air (OSX 10.7.4), I get a dialog box saying "Unreadable Files: 1", "The following file could not be imported. The file is in an unrecognized format. /Users/XXXXXXXXXX/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Import/Masters/Roll 1_2/IMG_0046.MOV."
I've used Terminal to CHDIR as far as the Masters subdirectory, however the space in the "Roll 1_2" directory name means that I can't use it to access the directory.
1. How can I access or kill this directory using Terminal without the space character causing me problems?
2. Am I likely to run into file access problems? If so, is my ancient Linux knowledge going to allow me to enter CHMOD 777 *.* to gain access?
Thanks!
James

1. Don't do that.
Don't change anything in the iPhoto Library Folder via the Finder or any other application. iPhoto depends on the structure as well as the contents of this folder. Moving things, renaming things, deleting them or otherwise making changes will prevent iPhoto from working and could even cause you to damage or lose your photos.
2. As a Test:
Hold down the option (or alt) key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Create Library'
Import a few pics into this new, blank library. Is the Problem repeated there?

Unreadable Files Error when Importing

Hi - I get an "unreadable files" error when trying to import from my iPhoto Library folder. I've read the other postings, and it sounds as though I should not have moved files directly into this folder. If that's the case, can someone please tell me how to move iPhoto Library files from an external HD onto my computers HD so that I can access the files in iPhoto? What I did was move pictures from my external HD "Pictures,iPhoto Libray, Originals" into the the same folder on my computer's HD - Thanks for any help you can provide!

misstexas:
Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
import from my iPhoto Library folder
That's the reason. iPhoto will not import any file that resides anywhere inside the iPhoto Library folder. Move them to the Desktop and import from there.
Do you Twango?
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've written 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. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've written 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. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

Completing import/previews with unreadable files

I was just importing last night's job of 2500 images shot during a theater production into lightroom 2.6 - 64 bit on my 8 core Mac pro tower running 16 Gigs of RAM. As I often do after such a production - I return to the studio - move all the files from the cards into a single folder on my desktop then import them all into lightroom creating copies of the RAW files and the catalogue itself onto redundant hard drives. I also always create 1:1 previews for quick and easy viewing at any point in time. It's usually late in the evening, and I set Lightroom about this task while I go home to sleep, then begin my edit in the morning with catalogue built and previews made.
HOWEVER-- after the catalogue was imported but BEFORE lightroom began making previews, lightroom posted a dialogue box on my screen advising me that a file was somehow unreadable -- either corrupt, or the wrong kind of file, COMPLETELY STOPPING THE TASK OF BUILDING THE PREVIEWS.
So I returned in the morning, no previews were made -- and two hours later I'm not even 1/2 way through building the previews. SO-- ADOBE people -- or any lightroom users out there -- is there any way for Lightroom to continue building previews instead of waiting for me to respond to this dialogue box first. Lightroom assumes apparently that I at my computer to respond to this dialogue box.
It seems like such a horrible waste of my time when I'm under deadlines to get this work done. I'm happy for the reminder that one of my files was a movie file or a corrupt file or whatever -- please lightroom... sequester these file on my desktop somewhere and finish the job!
Does anybody know if there is a preference I can click on or off to prevent this from happening. Trying to edit large files that are 10- 21 megapixels and waiting for 1:1 previews to open takes a long time of and by itself -- but waiting and extra 4 hours to have previews built that should have been made while was asleep is something that should NOT be happening. I'm about to make two changes that should speed up my workflow i.e: install a fast ATI Radeon HD 4870 with 512MB of RAM, plus upgrade to snow leopard to take better advantage of the 8 cores of processors that my machine has. But even these upgrades would be for nought when Lightroom STOPS the process in it's tracks.
HELP-- SOMEONE -- PLEASE!!!
owen carey

thanks for the note Bill -
I also posted my question to the forum for new features in the next lightroom iteration. Seems like once the import stops and before the previews are made -- that's when the dialogue box opens stopping the previews from being made. I'm not an engineer and I don't write code, but it seems to me the software could and should continue with the task at hand ( import AND build previews) for all the image files that it has correctly imported, while it segregates and does not import -- and later confirms the unreadable files.
Actually I don't think that Lightroom actually imports the disputed files at all -- if they are .mov files I don't think they can -- if they are corrupt files, they advise me of the camera given file name - not the re-named file that my import menu would give it, leading me also to believe that they were not imported into the catalogue or moved into the assigned destination folders. I would love to get some clarification from adobe on this.
I would imagine that this is a matter of overlooked scriptwriting that has not yet come to their attention... or a script that could be made better if enough people had a problem with it. I was very much hoping to get a response from someone at adobe to my query -- but nothing yet -- hopefully the response will be the elimination of this roadblock in the next version or update. Often it's the squeaky wheel that gets the grease, and maybe there are not as many people out there as myself who have run into this problem, and posted inquiries to the forum. Theater shooters like myself who might shoot 2,500 to 3,500 images in 2-3 hrs, event photographers, sports photogs, wedding photographers and fashion photographers are all the kind of people who can shoot thousands of images in a day or a matter of hours. Unless we are sitting at the computer when the import finishes, we will be waiting for previews to build - be they standard or 1:1 previews - until after we have read and checked the warning dialogue. hopefully this will be fixed soon or we will get some sort of explanation.
I have a lot of admiration for the folks at adobe, their genius, their talent, their accomplishment and their responsiveness to our issues, so I hope this problem gets addressed soon - I cannot be the only one out there who was STOPPED at this point in the workflow.
cheers, and best of luck

"Unreadable files" when importing photos into iPhoto

OK, I just recently got a new iMac - my first time using iPhoto. All seemed well for a while... until I started to import my photos into iPhoto from my HD (which I had copied over from my old G3).
The problem was that as I was importing some of the photos I got an error message saying the following:
"Unreadable files: 7
The following files could not be imported (they may be an unrecognizable file type or the files may not contain valid data)."
Now I really don't understand why it's saying this, as the 7 files it is referring to are just normal jpegs straight my from digi-cam. They are just like all the hundreds of other photos that were successfully imported.
Any ideas or help would be much appreciated!
Thanks.

Abstractman23:
Welcome to the Apple Discussions. Were the photos you were trying to import located within an old iPhoto library folder/package? When you got the message did iPHoto display the file names of the files it couldn't import? What were they?
If you were trying to import a library folder then the unrecognized files would be the database files that are part of the library structure.
If you are trying to move your old library from the G3 to the new Mac, just copy the iPhoto LIbrary folder/package intact to the Picture folder of the new Mac. Move any other library out beforehand. Download and run BatChmod on the iPhoto Library folder with the settings shown here, putting your administrator login name, long or short, in the owner and group sections. You can either type in the path to the folder or just drag the folder into that field. Now launch iPhoto and it will open the library and, in an older version, update it to iPhoto 7.
Do you Twango?
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've written an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 08 libraries. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

Photos recognized by iPhoto but denied import "Unreadable File"

Hi everyone,
Have used the same camera to load photos to iPhoto previously, however, my hardware crashed and was replaced recently.
iPhoto and Preview both recognize the pictures but when uploading the photos an error message comes up saying:
Unreadable Files
The following file could not be uploaded. (The file is an unrecognizable format.)
The videos from the same device uploaded successfully, just not the pictures. Can anyone give advice on how to get the photos uploaded?
Thanks!

Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
iPhoto and Preview both recognize the pictures but when uploading the photos an error message comes up saying...
Uploading to where? Do you mean Importing?
Use Image Capture (in your Applications Folder) to move the photos to your Desktop and then open and save one with Preview. Will that import? If so, try the same one the others and then use your camera to reformat your card.
Regards
TD

Can't import .jpg "Unreadable Files:"

I try to import several .jpg that I scanned w/ an all-in-one hp printer/scanner. These pictures open in all other programs EXCEPT iPhoto. The message I get is:
Unreadable Files: 1
The following files could not be imported. (The file is in an unrecognized
format.)
Users/me/dir/dir/file.jpg
I tried saving it as a .tif and importing it and it worked but that is not an optimal solution. 1. it is time consuming 2. the file sizes are large.
any ideas???
I have read other posts and they are all unanswered. Please Apple (or anyone else), answer this one.
Thanks

Update:
I named the file with the same number as an existing photo from my camera, copied it to a blank Compact Flash memory card, put that in my camera and tried to import...same error. So all I can conclude is the problem moves with the file -it's not the import method.
I then dragged a jpg from the BBC news website and dragged that into iPhoto... no problem. I opened the photo in Photoshop and saved it as jpeg with exactly the same name, making no adjustments, dragged that in and it works! The image from the web was saved with exactly the same compression options as my scan. What is going on....

Help - "Unreadable files:.... The following files could not be imported..."

Tried to add five .jpg photos to an existing iPhoto album and it raised this error:
*Unreadable Files: 5*
*The following files could not be imported (they may be an unrecognized file type or the files may not contain valid data).*
I tried to open them with Photoshop and re-save them, different size - no go.
iPhoto is set up to managed the photos in the library, when I look in the iPhoto library > originals > 2009 > directory, I see the photos there. They open with other apps just fine (preview.app, photoshop, browsers, quick look, etc.)
How do I get these to show up in iPhoto? What did I do wrong? Or, how do I tell what's wrong with these files, as they appear to be just fine.
Thanks for the help!!!

As a Test:
Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Create Library'
Import a few pics into this new, blank library. Is the Problem repeated there?
If the new Library works correctly then it suggests that the other library is damaged:
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.
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

IPhoto 9.5.1 Unreadable Files

I just tried to upload photos from my Nikon camera into iPhoto like I always do. Nothing that I know of has changed since the last time I did an upload.
This time I got the message....
Unreadable Files: 183
The following file could not be imported. The file is in an unrecognized format.
It listed the JPGs that it could not import. It did import 10 photos from that batch though.
To trouble shoot I created a new iPhoto library and tried the upload again. I got the same error message but it uploaded 4 photos.
Any suggestions?

Now use the app to move the images to a folder on the desktop.
If you can do that, then import the folder to iPhoto.
If that works, then reformat your card with your camera.

Unreadable Files - Jpg converted from Illustrator

I designed a poster in illustrator. Then exported them as jpeg's. The files open just fine and I am able to use them and print them. When I try to import them into iPhoto the come up at Unreadable files. I tried to save them again and in different names. I have several files doing the same.
Any help would be great. I really need to these in a slide show for work.
Thanks
Todd

Todd:
Where are these files located when you try to import? If you've put them inside the iPhoto Library package/folder then you'll need to move them to the desktop and import from there.
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 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. It's compatible with iPhoto 6 and 7 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: There now an Automator backup application for iPhoto 5 that will work with Tiger or Leopard.

.mov unreadable files!

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