Some of my Library Dissappeared after CD Burn

Question

Hi,
I just noticed that part of my library has disappeared from iPhoto after I burned a disk to back them up.
The photos remain on my hard drive in the iPhoto Library>Originals directory, however they do not appear in the library when I load iPhoto. They are kept safe on the CD that I burnt.
I have burnt photos to disk before and this hasn't happened so I'm a bit worried (although all files are intact so its not too much of a problem). I'm just curious of whether I will need to create a whole new library (start iPhoto holding alt) or whether these files can be recovered somehow, by possibly forcing a whole library rebuild or something.
Any help would be great,
Andrew Chambers.

Answer 1

Andrew:
If you have to start from scratch here's a way to create a new library that contains the same rolls as the old one.
Creating a new library while preserving the rolls from the original.
Move the existing library folder to the desktop.
Launch iPhoto and, when asked, select the option to create a new library.
Drag the Originals folder from the desktop into the open iPhoto window.
This will create a new library with the same rolls as the original library. However dates on the rolls may be different but can be edited as you would the roll title.
If you have a lot of keywords assigned to the photos you can recover some of them if you follow Tutorial #1 before
In the future I suggest you make a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto file after each import and after doing any editing or organizing in the library. Then if you experience a similar loss all you need to do is replace the damaged database file with the backup copy and you'll be back to the same place in the library as when you make the backup. See the tip at the end of my signature for a way to make it easy to accomplish the backup.
Once this is completed you can delete the Originals folder from the desktop and the iPhoto Llibrary folder. If desired, you can keep the older library folder to try other fixes on it.
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.