Photo appears black (but thumbnail looks ok)

Question

I have noticed that in iPhoto '08, any photo that has been cropped so it is larger in the y direction than the x direction ("taller than it is wide") appears black when I view it in full screen mode, or white in the window editor, but the thumbnail looks fine.
This happens for old photos that I cropped in iPhoto '06 as well as new photos that I have recently cropped.
Is this a common problem with iPhoto '08?

Answer 1

J-a-x:
First try deleting the iPhoto preference file, com.apple.iPhoto.plist, that resides in your User/Library/Preferences folder.
If that doesn't help boot into Safe Mode and see if you get the same crashing? If so then I would suggest you update to 10.4.10 via the COMBO updater, make sure you're running Quicktime 7.2 (update if necessary) and repair disk permissions after doing so.
If you don't crash in Safe Mode then there's something afoul in your account. It may be another preference file, not iPHoto's, that interacts and causes the crashing. Here's how to troubleshoot those preference files:
Trouble Shooting Preferences
Go to HD/Users/Your_name/Library. Move the Preferences folder (in its entirety) to the Desktop and make a second copy of it so you have Copy A and B. Now try the the process again and 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.
Open Copy B on the Desktop and select all of the items inside. Drag them into the open new library folder. When the Copy window comes up check the Apply to All check box and then click on the Don't Replace button as seen here. That will keep the new files created and bring back all of the others.
If the problem is NOT fixed, trash the new Prefs folder and move the intact Copy A folder back to the Library folder .
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.