Old photo files no longer opening in iPhoto

iPhoto won't open photos from 2002-4 taken on a Canon: they were loaded into my iPhoto Library some years ago and used to open just fine, but recently the files show as empty frames, with an exclamation mark when double-clicked. The actual files are still there, in their same old location in the Finder, and they *do* open in Preview. These are regular .jpg files, about 1 Mb in size. iPhoto will open about 1 in 20, so it's not that the whole batch is uniformly bad; also there's no problem with the several thousand photos I've taken, and that are in the Library, since 2004. I've tried rebuilding the Library, repairing permissions, starting a new library etc. - but iPhoto just doesn't like them. Anyone got a diagnosis and remedy?

Latest iPhoto, v.9.5. New Library: same result. But all files that iPhoto balks at ('sees' them, but warning exclamation point and not opened) open happily in Preview.
(A thought: maybe I should try Loom. But iPhoto really should be able to handle these files if Preview can.)

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Hi All, I recently bought a Mac Book Pro and transferred all my photos from my hard drive onto the Mac. I realised that there were some folders which didn't have the camera information embedded in the files and these files refuse to open on iPhoto. HELP!!

Hi All, I recently bought a Mac Book Pro and transferred all my photos from my hard drive onto the Mac. I realised that there were some folders which didn't have the camera information embedded in the files and these files refuse to open on iPhoto. I know that the folders that have the problem were not transferred to the hard drive via a photo transfer application (I have a Canon camera) but I simply copied them out of the photo card and onto my old PC.
Is there some way I can open these pictures on my Mac? They work fine on a PC.

Thanks for your reply.
The files don't open in preview either. In preview I get the error message 'The file "xxxx_xxx.jpg" could not be opened. It may be damaged or use a file format that Preview doesn't recognize'. The folders with these un-openable pictures do not even get imported into iPhoto. When I try to import them I get an error message about the files being unreadable.
The color profile information on the un-openable files is not visible but I see that all the other files from my old drive are RGB.

HT202358 i have already downloaded the iPhoto 11 but when i try to pull up an old photo file its saying i need to prepare the library ? HELP !!!!

i have already downloaded the iPhoto 11 but when i try to pull up an old photo file its saying i need to prepare the library ? HELP !!!!

I upgraded Yosemete my Iphoto was upgraded I chose the wrong library, apparently I have more than one, so I followed the directions on the upgrade and no luck I cannot open my Iphotos unless I go through the search mode and find the file, otherwise it will not let me switch between libraries...So frustrating on a mac less than a year old GRRRR!

Where do my photo files down load to when iPhoto imports them

Where do my photo files down load to when iPhoto imports them

It goes into a Originals or Masters folder inside the iPhoto Library "package" which is really a folder designed not to look like one so people don't open it up and mess with it's insides.
Normally you can manage your photo's in iPhoto and export copies from there, but in emergency or bulk copy cases you might have to access the iPhoto Library directly and copy from there instead.
To open this iPhoto Library "package", right or control click on it and "Show package contents"
Be sure to only duplicate and move original files out and don't mess around there as it will them mess up your iPhoto Library.

Old .idx files no longer working

Old .idx files (index files) that worked with Reader 9 no longer work with Reader XI. Because of this, I have not upgraded beyond Reader 9, but I love the new XI. Is there any way of converting the old .idx file so that they will work in XI? (is there a simple upgrade tool?)

Latest iPhoto, v.9.5. New Library: same result. But all files that iPhoto balks at ('sees' them, but warning exclamation point and not opened) open happily in Preview.
(A thought: maybe I should try Loom. But iPhoto really should be able to handle these files if Preview can.)

BO Live Office - Excel files no longer opening

Hi all,
I've been running into a problem and only encountered it when installing BO Live Office. On my old computer, I used to be able to click on an Excel file that was on my desktop, for example, and then Excel would automatically open up and open the file. Then when I downloaded Live Office, I was no longer able to do this. Now everytime I click on an Excel file (no matter where it is located), I keep getting an error. Excel opens, but it tells me "There was a problem sending the command to the program."
At first I thought it was just my computer messing up and or something else was going wrong, but now I'm not so sure. I just recently got a new computer and I tried out opening an Excel file (from my desktop, for example) and it worked. Then I went and installed Live Office with the latest FixPack, etc. Once I installed it, it would no longer let me open an Excel File by clicking on the file. I keep getting the same error - "There was a problem sending the command to the program."
On my old computer, I had Office 2003 w/Windows XP and now I have Office 2007 w/Windows 7. It doesn't seem to matter if I have the latest software or upgrades/fixpacks. This error still occurs. I've tried turning off/disabling the Live Office Plug-in, but this has not worked either. Has anyone run into this problem before? I'm not sure how to go about fixing it. Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you,
Charlette

Hi,
I also had the same issue (from couple of months) after we upgraded and it was very very frustating until I saw this post.
Thanks a lot Tracy.
I added "%1" at the end in the field labeled u2018Application used to perform action:u2019
"......\Microsoft Office\Office12\EXCEL.EXE" "%1" /e
The excel files are now opening. But there is also a message along with it. It says as below.
>>>
Windows cannot find '<excel file name goes here>'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again. To searcg for a file, click the Start button, and then click Search.
>>>
It's odd that the file is opening fine even though the above message shows up. This happens to every .XLS and .XLSX file. Atleast the file is opening now, which is great!
I am not sure how to fix the warning message.
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks again.
Edited by: Prapoorna Kolan on Aug 24, 2011 5:20 PM
Edited by: Prapoorna Kolan on Aug 24, 2011 5:21 PM

Old Applications & files won't open in OSX-Tiger/Classic

[post moved from other forum]
I finished my Powerbook's hardware upgrade with success yesterday(with thanks to JPL, Sig, A_Brody and other's great advice). System is now Powerbook G3 400 Firewire with 512mbRam, new 40GB HDD, and OS-X Tiger. However...
I can't seem to get the older Applications or their files to open. I get the error message:
"There is no default application specified to open the document Appleworks 6"
and/or
"Could not be opened because the application that created it could not be found--- could not find a translation extension with appropriate translators"
The upgrade/update procedure included...
===Back-up all files on the old 10GB HDD to an external USB drive.
===Remove old and replace w/new 40GB HDD, also install new 512MB PC-133 RAM module in lower slot.
===booted from old OS CD and ran Hard drive set-up utility with two partitions, one 30GB the other 10GB.
===Install OS 9.0.4 from that original Apple software CD onto the first 30GB partition.
===Onto same partition, ran OS-9 Update 9.1.0, then 9.2.1, then fireware update 4.1.8f5, then Update 9.2.1
===Installed OS-X Tiger onto the first 30GB partition
===Moved all backed-up files from the external USB drive onto the second 10GB partition.
I have tried running the old applications in both OS-X Classic mode and also after changing the "Start-up Disk" to the smaller partition (which should be a clone of how the original Hard drive was set-up i.e. folder structure etc.)
I'm quite surprised that when re-booting to the smaller partiton, that although it looks just like my system prior to upgrading, the apps don't run and the files don't open those older apps that created them. I assumed that the smaller Partition--and booting to it--would be the same as if the original Hard drive was still in the powerbook.
When I get those error messages above, I have followed the "Choose Application" button thru to where I could choose the application. I follow to the "Applications (Mac OS 9" folder to where the actual APPLEWORKS 6 app (for exmaple) is located, but it is greyed out and can't be selected. BTW later I did copy all of the contents of the original "Applications" folder from the backed-up HDD into the OSX "Applications Mac OS 9" folder. Also note, the apps in that folder are listed as KIND "Unix Executable File". The files (in this case AppleWorks files) are also listed as that file KIND.
===In the OSX's System Preferences/System/Classic/Advanced tab, I have tried the REBUILD DESKTOP procedure--with no effected change. I know I read elsewhere in discussions that there was a procedure to re-boot with a certain keyboard held-key combo that allows to re-build desktop upon booting?? I don't remember the keyboard combo. And,not certain how that procedure is different.
===In the change Start-Up disc Utility, I now see four Systems to choose from...
Mac OSX 10.4 on New 30GB HD
Mac OS 9.2.2 on New 30GB HD
Mac OS on Old 10GB HD (that's the smaller partition),
Mac OS 9.2.2 on New 30GB HD
Network Start-up
Both the second and forth choice will boot-up to OS 9.2, but as mentioned the apps won't run and files won't open
I'm guessing the reason the third choice won't boot (it reverts back to OSX Tiger when I try) is because that original System copy is OS 9.0.4 (backed-up prior to running the OS-9.1 and 9.2.1, 9.2.2 updates.). Also note, when in OS 9.2.2 when I go into that Utility... Apple/Control Panels/Startup Disk it doesn't list the old OS on the smaller partition. BTW could I now run/perform the OS-9 updates to bring that System on the smaller HD partition up to OS-9.2.2 with out causing problems (and maybe providing solutions?)
I wonder...
??? Why would I be having to choose which application would open an application---wouldn't an app open on its own (Unix Executable File")
??? When I moved the orig HD back-ups on the external USB drive I noticed a file with some kind of PC icon was being created within the folder. Currently I see that the file is now displayed as FINDER.DAT. Does this file relate to the error that refers to "appropriate translators"? Could the Apple Macintosh files being backed-up onto an external USB drive that may not have been formated as Apple HFS type be causing a problem?
??? Why wouldn't the smaller 10GB partition with the old HDD back-up copy moved to it not function like the original Hard drive? Particularly when I choose to boot to its SYSTEM w/Start-up Disc? BTW when I choose that route, the powerbook just boots to OSX Tiger.
THANKS for any replies, you all have been a great help with the challenges of upgrading...
MSG-PWRBkG3
PS:
Sorry for the long post. But, I have included as much up-front details as possible to assist in your replies. I also want to help others reading this thread later on as to what (correct or incorrect) procedures were followed... to help them see how these in-compatibility scenerios would be similiar to their situations... leading to solutions for all.

Thank you for including as much detail as you did. It makes it much easier to troubleshoot this type of issue. What I'll do is basically follow along with the procedure you used and point out where you (unknowingly) ran into problems.
"Back-up all files on the old 10GB HDD to an external USB drive."
Okay, I'm betting that this external USB drive was formatted as PC-Exchange/Windows format. Since this type of disk format doesn't have native support for the special "Mac" information about files (such as resource forks and HFS metadata like file type and creator codes), when Mac OS writes files to these disks, it needs to use a special method. When you copy the files from OS 9, OS 9 adds special "FINDER.DAT" files and also stores the resource-fork-parts of the original files inside a "RESOURCE.FRK" folder on the disk. My FAQ goes into more detail about this. When, from OS 9, you look at the files you just copied to the PC-formatted disk, and they appear identical to the files on your original 10 GB hard drive, that is in fact a complete illusion. The files as they exist on the PC-formatted disk are very different from what they appear. When you hook it up to your OS 9 Mac, the files appear fine, and you can copy them and have them work just like the original files did. If, on the other hand, you hook this PC-formatted hard drive up to your OS X Mac, it looks at the files in a completely different way. If you copy the files off of this disk from OS X, most of the files won't be usable.
"Remove old and replace w/new 40GB HDD, also install new 512MB PC-133 RAM module in lower slot."
"booted from old OS CD and ran Hard drive set-up utility with two partitions, one 30GB the other 10GB."
"Install OS 9.0.4 from that original Apple software CD onto the first 30GB partition."
"Onto same partition, ran OS-9 Update 9.1.0, then 9.2.1, then fireware update 4.1.8f5, then Update 9.2.1"
"Installed OS-X Tiger onto the first 30GB partition"
"Moved all backed-up files from the external USB drive onto the second 10GB partition."
If you did this from OS X, you will run into problems, whereas if you do this from OS 9, you'll be okay. The reason for this, as I mentioned above, is that OS X doesn't know how to "see" the files in the same way that OS 9 does.
This is what I would do. Make sure you still have the PC-formatted drive with the files you backed up from OS 9. Reboot into one of your versions of OS 9 that works properly. Hook up the external USB drive, and the files on it should appear properly and function properly. Now copy the files over onto your local hard drive and they should work properly as well. The files that you copied over from OS X won't be useful and can be deleted. Then reboot into OS X and you should be all set.
Hope this helps....
Dual 2.7 GHz PowerPC G5 w/ 2.5 GB RAM Mac OS X (10.4.5)

TIP: What to do if the Recovered Photos File will not import into iPhoto...

Like many others in this forum, I just upgraded to iWork/iLife '06. When I installed iPhoto '06 it trashed my existing iPhoto Folder and placed all of my other existing photos (those not already imported previously into iPhoto) into a recovered photos file. I tried and tried and tried to import those "recovered photos" into iPhoto but it kept returning an error message on import "Unreadable file"
Finally I selected the "recovered files" then clicked on "Get Info" and found that the permissions were "locked" with a padlock icon. Clicking once on the padlock opened the permissions back to me the "owner" and the iPhoto allowed me to import all of those 425 "recovered photos". Whew! I hope this tip helps someone else out - I had to figure this out on my own...

The fact that you can use the Raws from your XSi is of no relevance.
The Raw from every model of camera is different. Note: that's every model not every brand. So, the NEF produced by a Nikon D40 is not the same as the NEF produced by a D60, the CR2 produced by a Canon 350 is not the same as the CR2 produced by a Canon 400.
Changing the Raw specification is one of the ways of upgrading the cameras.
IPhoto and Aperture support - or don't - the same cameras.
Regards
TD

Help, I can no longer open my IPhoto, I get a message that says the library needs to be upgraded to work with this version of IPhoto

Help, I can no longer open my I Photo's. I get a message that says the library needs to be updated to work with this version of IPhoto. What have I done and what can I do to view them again.

You're welcome
It should have showed you a progress bar, and hopefully it was moving steadily

My music files no longer open...

The icon next to each music file has changed colour ( black on white to white on blue symbol) & iTunes no longer opens files with the blue & white symbol, Any ideas please??

I'm having a similar problem, if you could help me out.
I just barely installed Office 2011 on my Mac (10.5.8) and now I can't access any of my old word documents.
When I try to open them, it says it is "blocked from opening in this version".
when I open it from word (file-open), it says that it's locked for editing by another user, and I can only open it read-only. When I click read only, it says
"word cannot open this document. the document might be in use, the document might not be a valid word document, or the file name might contain invalid characters."
just an hour ago, when i had the old version of word installed on my computer I could access all of these files, but now I can't open any of them. Any ideas?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you! Merry Christmas!

Where are individual photo files stored on disk after iPhoto import?

This might be the dumbest question in iPhoto history but WHERE in the file system are the individual photo files stored after importing them into iPhoto?
The reason I ask is I want to simply go to the file location in the finder window and attach to an email or edit with another application.
When I go to Pictures>iPhoto Library there is one gigantic iPhoto library file.
Thanks!

kuristofuaa
The photos are stored inside the iPhoto Package File. This is simply a Unix style package file, it makes it a tiny bit more difficult for users to inadvertently muck up their iPhoto. WHy do I say this? Because it is strongly advised that you do not move, change or in anyway alter things in the iPhoto Library Folder as this can cause the application to fail and even lead to data loss.
As to getting pics for email:
There are three ways (at least) to get files from the iPhoto Window.
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.
To upload to MySpace or any 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. If you're using Gmail you can use THIS
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. Or, if you want to access the files with iPhoto not running, then create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use THIS
The change was made to the format of the iPhoto library because many users were inadvertently corrupting their library by browsing through it with other software or making changes in it themselves. If you're willing to risk database corruption, you can restore the older functionality simply by right clicking on the iPhoto Library and choosing 'Show Package Contents'. Then simply make an alias to the folders you require and put that alias on the desktop or where ever you want it. Be aware though, that this is a hack and not supported by Apple.
Regards
TD

Cp4 - project (.cp) files no longer open

Hello folks,
Since upgrading to Windows 7 64bit, I can no longer rely on the integrity of Cp4's project files. Again, I have another three .cp files that will no longer open in Captivate 4. When I attempt to open them, absolutely nothing happens... that means no error message, nothing...
But I know the files are not actually 'bad' because they will all open successfully in Captivate 5.5 beta. Unfortunately, neither 5.0 nor 5.5 offer backwards compatibility in Export or Save As.
I have also tried opening the .bak file (renamed) and previous backups. It seems to have become corrupted during the last major change.
I have encountered this problem far too many times. Perhaps it is time to finally upgrade to Cp 5?
Has anyone else encountered similar difficulties?

You could try creating a new Captivate 4 file (Keep the same dimensions)
Then try importing the slides, File / Import / Slides/Objects and select the 'corrupt' file and see if the slides are appearing there to import . I've had issues in the past and this normally gets round it.
If all else fails feel free to send a copy up to yousendit.com (or another similar site) and PM me the link, i'll take a look at it for you
On my laptop I cant open a particular Captivate 4 file (Think memory issues) yet it opens fine on my desktop PC. The file 'opens' but theres no slides or anything, the toolbar says the name of the Captivate 4 file but theres no slides.
Cheers
Paul

.zip files no longer open

I just downloaded the automatic update to version 3.6.9 of Firefox but I can no longer open .zip files on a certain page which I access using Firefox. I am using 7-zip. Normally, I would just click to open them, but now the screen flashes black for less than a second, not allowing them to open.
Any ideas? Thanks.

I just downloaded the automatic update to version 3.6.9 of Firefox but I can no longer open .zip files on a certain page which I access using Firefox. I am using 7-zip. Normally, I would just click to open them, but now the screen flashes black for less than a second, not allowing them to open.
Any ideas? Thanks.

How do I attach photo files to email message in iPhoto '11?

Apple says, "If you want recipients to be able to use the photos you send, rather than simply view them, you can attach the photo files to your email message. (BUT HOW?) Recipients can then download the photos from the email message and print them, use them in their own projects, and so on."
How do I attach these files when sending an email of photos using iPhoto? (I don't want to use AppleMail, I know how to do it in AppleMail) When I click to Share my photos via email in iPhoto, I do not see any option rbutton to add files to make the photos easily downloadable for the recipient. Anyone know how to do this? Thanks!

Not sure why you can't deselect the option, but I would guess that yes, the files are being attached.
Who are you sending to? iPhoto sends HTML emails and not every application on Windows or Mac knows how to deal with them, for instance, nor every user.
Regards
TD

Photo files disappearing when touched by iPhoto

In my workgroup, a common iPhoto library has been shared by all our users (about three of us) for years, served via AFP by Mac OS X Server 10.3.9.
In the last few weeks, one of our users has reported this same problem: She tries to drag the photo from iPhoto to her desktop, but gets the not permitted cursor. When I go to look at the damage, I see that either the photos are missing from the Library file structure or there is a stub of a file left of about 12K. This is really frightening.
I posted this message originally Oct. 24 without any replies. Anyone's help would be greatly appreciated.

I will answer your questions in order.
1. No files were touched in the iPhoto Library folder until I did some investigating, and even then I didn't move anything. Also, as a troubleshooting technique, I rebuilt the library (through iPhoto, of course).
2, 3, & 4. Everyone in the workgroup belongs to the same group, and everyone's NSUmask is set to 2, so every file gets created with permissions 775 (read-write-execute by owner and group, read only by other people) regardless of the program writing it. Naturally, every file and folder in the hierarchy is readable and writable by everyone who needs to.
Thanks for asking!

Old photo files no longer opening in iPhoto

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