Photos in Finder, But Missing from iPhoto

I am able to see all my pictures dating back to 2003 using the finder and directly going to the iPhoto Library. Each folder in the Finder is there as it should be, including the folders for the rolls. However, the images don't show up when I launch iPhoto. How do I get these photos and those past albums to reappear in iPhoto?

Jason
What do you see in the iPhoto Window? Utterly blank? Or some evidence of the pics, such as place holders?
If the window is utterly blank... hold down the option (or alt) key and launch iPhoto. Select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the library... does that work?
If there is some evidence of the pics: Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the apple and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Choose the top three options
If neither of these work then you may have a corrupted database:
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 Folder allowing it to overwrite the damaged file. If not, then you'll need to create and populate a new library.
To create and populate a new library:
Note this will give you a working library with the same film rolls and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, books, calendars etc.
Move the iPhoto Library Folder to the desktop
Launch iPhoto. It will ask if you wish to create a new Library. Say Yes.
Go into the iPhoto Library Folder on your desktop and find the Originals folder. From the Originals folder drag the individual rolls 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 Folder 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

Similar Messages

I can see a photo in Finder but not in iPhotos

Sorry to be a pain, i am sure the answer tothis question is simple, but as a new convert to Apple i am not familiar with the wrinkles.
i can see a photo in some view but not in iphoto.
Finder gives the file name, all details about the camera etc and even say it is in the Library :- Users/rosedayjo/Pictures/MacB iPhoto Library/Originals/2010/Last 12 Months
But of course when i go to the directory to which it refers i cant import this photo from there to reestablish it in the library because it says it is already in the library!.
So,
1. how does a photo seem to be in a library but is not.
2. how to i get to the file to return it into the library,
All help welcome

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.
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 or otherwise making changes will prevent iPhoto from working and could even cause you to damage or lose your photos.
Regards
TD

All my old photos are missing from iPhoto on my Mac- any one have ideas on how to retrieve?

All my old photos are missing from iPhoto on my Mac- any one have ideas on how to retrieve?

Do you have a Time Machine backup or any backup of your Mac? Then you could try to restore from the backup.
If your photos are very important documents, you could also try data recovery software. Usually the trial versions are free, but if you want to safe the recovery photos you have to pay. Disk Drill works well to recover jPEG photos, see: http://www.cleverfiles.com/
It is still not obvious what might have happened to your iPhoto Library. Have you searched for different iPhoto Libraries?
You can search everywhere with FindAnyFile, where Spotlight will not search.
I learned this from Old Toad , see his post here:
Re: My iPhoto Library disappeared...how do I get it back?
Download and run Find Any File to search for a file with "ThumbJPGSegment" in the file name. These are files common to all versions of iPhoto libraries.
FAF can search areas that Spotlight can't like invisible folders, system folders and packages. If there's a library hiding somewhere on your hard drive FAF will find it.

Photos Missing from iPhoto with Maverick Upgrade

I have recently upgraded to the Maverick OS and noticed that all my photos are now missing from iPhoto however I can see them under Preview when I use the Finder application. Also, when I open iPhoto it prompts me to enter personalized settings as if I am using it for the first time (ie: Face recognition, etc.) How can I get my photos back into iPhoto? I am worried I may lose them.

Have you upgraded iPhoto after your Mavericks upgrade?
Be aware after updating iPhoto save your iPhoto Library before you open it in the new version of iPhoto Library. If you don't and you have other Macs running eariler versions of iPhoto, they won't be able to open the Library.

Anyone having problems with Elements organiser 13 when try to import photos from Mac photos which was an upgrade from Iphotos on 9th April 2015. Before when I was using Iphotos all was ok...

Anyone having problems with Elements organiser 13 when try to import photos from Mac photos which was an upgrade from Iphotos on 9th April 2015. Before when I was using Iphotos all was ok...

hi I have been trying to do this, but PE13 comes up with a fail message saying that file types are not supported, am only trying to import jpeg files so can't understand this. So far have been unable to use PE13 at all, any ideas anyone please!

I have been trying to get my iPhone to sync with a new computer. As a result I have ended up with many of my apps on the old computer, but missing from the the new one and the iPhone. How do I get the apps on the old one to the iPhone and then the new c

I have been trying to get my iPhone to sync with a new computer. As a result I have ended up with many of my apps on the old computer, but missing from the the new one and the iPhone. How do I get the apps on the old one to the iPhone and then the new computer?

You don't. Backup your itunes library on the old computer and move it to the new computer.

I am trying to print a color photo on my MacBook Pro from iPhoto (not using Photoshop) using Epson 2200 printer, and everything I do in the Color Matching and Print Settings results in a photo with a pink cast to it. What am I doing wrong?

I am trying to print a color photo on my MacBook Pro from iPhoto (not using Photoshop) using Epson 2200 printer, and everything I do in the Color Matching and Print Settings results in a photo with a pink cast to it. What am I doing wrong?

Have you checked the ink cartridges and made sure the nozzles are clear? Are you able to print from outside of iPhoto with the correct color?
Try the following: make temporary copy of the library and do the following:
1 - delete the iPhoto preference file, com.apple.iPhoto.plist, that resides in your
User/Home()/Library/ Preferences folder.
2 - delete iPhoto's cache file, Cache.db, that is located in your
User/Home()/Library/Caches/com.apple.iPhoto folder.
3 - launch iPhoto and try again.
NOTE: If you're moved your library from its default location in your Home/Pictures folder you will have to point iPhoto to its new location when you next open iPhoto by holding down the Option key when launching iPhoto. You'll also have to reset the iPhoto's various preferences.
OT

I can't find my pictures from iphoto. I was downloading Iphone pictures and the library disappeared. How can I recover them?

I can't find my pictures from iphoto. I was downloading Iphone pictures and the library disappeared. How can I recover them?

Restoring a backup is specific to the backup program you are using to do your daily backups - consult it's manual, help file or author's support site
Back up your iPhoto library, Depress the option (alt) and command keys and launch iPhoto - rebuild your iPhoto library starting with the first option and trying others until you are succesful
LN

Any suggestions on how you can transfer photos (including location description etc) from iphoto's on a Mac air book to a Mac?

Any suggestions on how you can transfer photos (including location description etc) from iphoto's on a Mac air book to a Mac? Whenever I export the pictures the additional information is lost

Two ways:
1. File -> Export. Set the Kind to Jpeg or Tiff
Check the boxes at 'Location Information' and 'Titles and Keyword'
The information is written to the iptc and Exif metadata on the file.
2. Use iPhoto Library Manager This will get all of the information plus faces and edit history
Regards
TD

Photos missing from iPhoto/TM backup but with a twist.....

So, there is a challenging twist associated with this case of missing photos and I hope an expert can provide some advice. Note: This is not related to upgrading from iPhoto '09 to '11 thank goodness!
Here is the story in condensed form, with additional details below:
MBP stolen but backed up with TM
Used TM on the replacement MBP to browse backup of iPhoto backup of stolen MBP
Restored iPhoto library to new MBP
Open iPhoto on new MBP and browse library
Everything looks OK except *FIVE* Events which show in the Event viewer as blank grey squares. However, the Events have the correct titles and show the correct number of pictures in brackets in the title. In addition, using the trackpad to scroll over the Event there are no thumbnails visible. If I click on the Event all the photos are greyed out but they do have the correct titles and keywords below the grey boxes. If I click on an individual photo I get a black exclamation mark in a grey circle. Interestingly the LAST IMPORT folder in iPhoto DOES show the thumbnails for ALL the missing pictures, all arrange with the correct Event titles. Of course, clicking on any individual picture gives me the same exclamation mark detailed above.
After reading these support forums I have tried the following:
1) Viewed package contents ---> the blank Events DO NOT show up as folders in the Finder window
2) Used COMMAND & OPTION to launch iPhoto and checked the following boxes in the REBUILD DIALOG BOX: rebuild small thumbnails/rebuild all of the photos' thumbnails/recover orphaned photos/examine and repair permissions ---> Issue persists
3) Download iPhoto Manager and tried EXTRACTING all the photos from the library --> Photos from missing events still not showing up. Not really surprising given that the VIEW PKG. CONTENTS in #1 above didn't show them either.
4) Used iPhoto Manager to REBUILD LIBRARY --> still doesn't show them
5) Used TM to browse the backup directly --> missing photos have blank placeholders only.
It appears for what ever reason the photos have been deleted from the backup. I say "deleted", as opposed to "not backup up", because iPhoto has the remnants of the photos (i.e, Events, thumbnails, titles, keyword, etc.). Any suggestions on how to possibly recover these missing pictures. How about the thumbnail versions at least, even in their their low resolution form. Although, I admit I don't know how/where thumbnails are dealt with in iPhoto as they don't seem to show up in the Library package contents.
Additional info:
OSX 10.7.5, iPhoto '09 is version 8.1.2, and iPhoto library is 75GB, 139 Events, 28,000 pics
The day before the MBP was stolen I downloaded a number of photos and did some editing. That night plugged the MBP in and noticed that the Time Machine did a number of backups through the night, although the iPhoto library seems untouched but can't be sure. The following morning, the computer was used for a few hours and thus had plenty of time to complete any backups necessary.
The *FIVE* Events that are affected seem to be the most recent ones, worked on the night before the MBP was stolen.

I cannot say for certian but it is highly likley that YES, when the person finished editing they just closed the lid of the computer and didn't actually quit iPhoto. So would this explain why there are fragmenst of them in the backup (i.e. Events, keywords, thumbnails, etc.) but not the actual image files? Any way I can at least save the extremely low res thumbnail versions?
I'm also going to try Data Rescue on the camera memory card to try and recover them that way.
Thanks.

Now I'm just ****** off - original photos missing from iPhoto

Ok.
So I had this problem the other day after upgrading to iPhoto 6 (see here: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=406534&tstart=0)
That seemed to get solved from the information provided.
OK, great. So today, I'm flipping through some albums, and I discover, much to my chagrin, that some photos (all of which appear to be from 2000/2001) have thumbnails, but no longer have the photos attached.
And before you say, "hey, do you have the apple support framework 1.4?" why yes, I've already checked.
And before you say, "hey, did you try rotating/exporting/dragging the photos to your desktop?" Why yes, I've already tried.
As a matter of fact, when I try to go into the iphoto library file structure itself, and open some of these older photos (after searching around for them because ever since the upgrade, I appear to have about 800 different files in my iphoto folder), I get a message that the image either doesn't exist or is corrupt.
Speaking of the file structure, This is a list of what I get now when I open the pictures folder in finder:
2000 (folder)
2001 (folder)
2002 (folder)
2003 (folder)
2004 (folder)
2005 (folder)
AlbumData.xml
bdayfun.jpg
Data (folder)
Dir.data
iPhoto.ipspot
iPhotoLock.data
iPod Photo Cache (folder)
Library.cache
Library.data
Library.iPhoto
Library6.iPhoto
Modified (folder - NOTE: THIS DOES HAVE AN INTERNAL FOLDER FOR 2006, BUT NONE FOR 2000 0R 2001)
Original (folder - same as "Modified")
Thumb32Segment.data
Thumb64Segment.data
ThumbJPGSegment.data
All of the photos (so far) that appear to not open are from 2001 and earlier. They are also photos that were taken with an old digital camera, and have file names such as "3 - 141" rather than the more current file naming conventions (but I didn't name these photos - iPhoto did, based on the original roll imports.
I'm finding it extremely frustrating that iPhoto wasn't upgraded in a way that took into account how previous versions of iPhoto itself worked!.
Nevermind that I've submitted multiple bug reports about the fact that iPhoto continues to crash every time I try to empty the trash folder, and have heard not a peep out of Apple.
iMac G5; PowerBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.4)

Hi Samantha,
I know it must be frustrating. there is some info in the iPhoto Help files for missing photos:
"What to do about a missing photo
When you import or edit photos in iPhoto, they are saved in the iPhoto Library folder, located in the Pictures folder on your computer.
If you move, delete, or otherwise change a photo in the iPhoto Library folder, and then open the iPhoto application and try to edit or use that photo, iPhoto may not be able to find it. You will see the missing photo indicator instead (shown below).
To find or replace a missing photo:
If you have the original photo file, either on a CD or on your computer, just import it again into iPhoto. For more information, see Related Topics below.
If you don't have the original photo, or you are trying to find an edited version, try one of the following options.
Click your computer's Trash icon (not iPhoto Trash) and see if the photo is still in there.
Do a search.
To search within the iPhoto Library folder, open your Pictures folder and then open your iPhoto Library folder. From there, click Command-F, choose Images from the Any pop-up menu, and enter a search term.
To search all your files and folders, in the Finder, choose File > Find and enter a search term.
IMPORTANT: When you find the photo file, don't drag it directly into the iPhoto Libary folder. Save it to your desktop, then import it back into iPhoto from there.
If you don't know the file name, try going back to the original iPhoto Library folder and look at the other images. If one is missing in a numerical order, it may be the photo you're looking for and you can search for it. If that doesn't work, try searching on the date you think you moved the file, or the date you last edited it."
As far as your file structure, those loose year folders (if empty) can be deleted or dragged to the trash.
If the Year folders have photos in them that are missing from your library, drag them to the desktop and import the photos into iPhoto.
Here is how the library should look and what the folders contain.
iPhoto 6 Library folder in the Finder
As you can see the structure is now related to rolls. Rolls are created for each folder you import and each import session from a camera.
It is very easy to change the names of film rolls within iPhoto to make them easier to find images within. Open the info panel in iPhoto by clicking on the "i" icon. Once it is opened, click on the roll title in the viewing window.
Click on the word "title" in the info pane and type in your new title. I like to use a date and text format such as 12/25/05 Christmas at Mom's, 1/05/06 my birthday, etc. Once the roll names are changed within iPhoto, they are also changed within the Finder, making it easy to locate an image.
When importing from a camera, make sure you name the roll with a date and text before the import.
As far as the trash is concerned, move most of the photos back into the library and delete a few at a time, then empty iPhoto's trash.
Some people have found success on making sure the trash folder is highlighted then go to iPhoto>empty trash.

Photos missing from iPhoto

I have uploaded pictures from my iPhone to iPhoto with a USB cable (you plug in, iPhoto shows you a tab with your iPhone’s name, go there, click Import button). After the upload, It said that photos have been uploaded, but they are nowhere to be found.
When the iPhone is plugged in, it shows most pictures under the heading of ‘already imported’, but I can’t find them under any other tab! Last import tab is empty, and they don’t show under Events or Photos either. I even checked the masters folder in Finder, but the pictures are not there. Why does it say that they are imported? Imported WHERE? Once I unplug the phone, I don’t see these pictures anywhere at all. Really happy now that did not delete them when prompted by the program. If I plug in and try importing them again, the program asks if I wanna import a duplicate, since they are already imported, but where are they?? There is only one iPhoto library on my computer, so it can’t be that. Tried changing the way events are sorted, that didn’t help.
I just updated my OS to 10.9.4 yesterday, then had to update iPhoto too, 9.5.1 being the current version.
Please help

Enable "Show item counts" in the iPhoto preferences, if you have not done so already.
Where have you looked for the missing photos? Try the "Photos" view again and sort by date, descending. Then the last recent import should appear on top of the list. Is the item count in "Photos" view plausible?
Make sure, you have "Hidden Photos" enabled in the "View" menu.
If the item count is too low, back up your iPhoto library and rebuild it.
Hold down the Command+Option keys firmly, and with these keys hold down, double-click iPhoto to open the First Aid window. Select "Rebuild database". This may take a while for a large library.

Photos missing from iPhoto 11

A random assortment of photos that I use to teach have gone missing from my iPhoto library. They were present when I showed them to my class last week, and when I tried to display the same photos again this week, they were gone. One big block of missing photos is from the same date; a few others are from different dates. I have tried rebuilding the library--no luck. The original files are not in the Masters folder, either. I know I didn't delete them manually because A) I have never emptied the trash from within iPhoto (everything I've ever placed in the trash is still there), and B) I know better than to mess with the Library package.
I'm guessing at this point that the photos are just plain gone, but can anyone explain how or why? Is there anything I might have done inadvertently to cause the disappearance? Is this a known issue with iPhoto? It's driving me crazy. Thanks.

Others have inadvertantly deleted photos via the Finder and the My Photos item in the left hand pane of each Finder window.
It's not an iPhoto issue. Those original photos were deleted from the hard drive somehow but not by iPhoto. You can get a library without those "missing" photo thumbnails as follows:
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 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: 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

All my photo's are missing from iPhoto and I'm getting a message "your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable"

Yesterday when I opened iPhoto all of my photo's were missing. After many hours of frustrating time looking how to resolve, I decided to try again this morning. When I tried to open iphoto, I got the message I referenced above regarding the library is either in use or has become unreadable.
My photos are not in iPhoto anymore. There's nothing there. iphoto acts like its never even been set up. I have iPhoto '11 version 9.4.3. I have OS X Lion version 10.7.5. However, when I go to "All My Files" and then under "images", there are over 10,000 images. I see my photos (I guess it's all of them - i have no idea how many there were) and other "images" also. When i go to "pictures" I only see the 15 or so items I have scanned. In "iPhoto Library", there is 1 picture of what looks like a deck of playing cards with flowers on them - I don't know where that came from. But also in "iPhoto Library" under the heading "desktop", it shows a size of over 27GB and under "kind" it says "package". Still under desktop and "Photo Booth Library" it shows 53GB and under "kind" it says "Photo Booth Library". Before I opened iPhoto to view my photo's, I went to "empty trash" yesterday (not in iPhoto) and it showed over 65,000 items to delete. There were no more than 200 that I could actually see. So, I don't understand. I let it delete a couple of thousand before I stopped it because I didn't know what it was doing. I know - not too smart. I don't know if that has anything to do with iPhoto or not; I'm just throwing that out there. Today I went to "empty trash" and it now shows the 200 items that I can see in there. Don't know what happened.
I do have a time capsule but not sure if I’m using it correctly. If you were to tell me to restore to a certain point, I’d have to be walked thru the process.
I downloaded “iPhoto Library Manager”, not exactly sure how to use it, but got a message basically saying the library nor the database could be loaded and that album data file for the library “iPhoto Library” could not be read.
I’ve spent hours and hours and hours searching the web for answers but I’m scared to do much of anything thinking I could end up losing all my photos if I haven’t already.
Please help!
Thank you!
James

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 #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

Images Missing From iPhoto Libraries, but Show up in iPhoto

I am using iPhoto 6.05 on an Intel Core 2 Duo.
I transferred my files from my old iMac using the transfer program with my old iMac in target disk mode.
When I look for individual images in the Pictures folder, the names of my iPhoto Libraries are there and the years/months/days are there, but nothing shows up in the folders. Yet, when I open iPhoto, my pictures are there in my Albums.
Any suggestions as to what to do. I have rebuilt my iPhoto library using command + option keys when opening iPhoto.
Thanks!

L Briggs
Is there a way to change how they are displayed in Finder?
No. And don't try. 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.
Have you just upgraded from v5 to v6?
Here's how the iPhoto Library Folder is laid out:
In this folder there are various files, which are the Library itself and some ancillary files. Then you have three folders
Originals are the photos as they were downloaded from your camera or scanner.
(ii) Modified contains edited pics, shots that you have cropped, rotated or changed in any way.
This allows the Photos -> Revert to Original command - very useful if you don't like the changes you've made.
(iii) Data holds the thumbnails the the app needs to show you the photos in the iPhoto Window.
People usually want to re-arrange the iPhoto Library Folder because they're afraid they won't be able to find a shot if they need it. 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.
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.
Regards
TD

Photos in Finder, But Missing from iPhoto

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