HT201769: iPhoto 6 and later: Rebuilding the iPhoto library

Learn about iPhoto 6 and later: Rebuilding the iPhoto library
mnajewicz
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: what if none of that works?

Just got a new internal hardrive and all of my information on my old hardrive was put on the new one.  Went to check iphoto and make sure everything was there ended up seeing the albums and names, but no pictures all the pictures have an exclamation point on them.  I tried to restore and rebuild everything but nothing worked.  Everytime I go to restore things it asks for my permission on restore and and type in my macs password and then it says it doesn't have permission to rebuild and quits.  I have do that many times, and I have restarted my mac many times.  I don't know what else to do.  I have also tried using the iphoto Library Manager but that doesn't work either.

MacBook Pro, iOS 6

Posted on Oct 18, 2012 4:56 PM

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mnajewicz

Q: what if none of that works?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Oct 18, 2012 4:58 PM in response to mnajewicz
    Level 8 (49,127 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 18, 2012 4:58 PM in response to mnajewicz

    mnajewicz wrote:

     

    Just got a new internal hardrive and all of my information on my old hardrive was put on the new one.

     

    It would appear this problem was caused by the method used to transfer the information. How did you do that, and do you still have the old drive?

  • by mnajewicz,

    mnajewicz mnajewicz Oct 18, 2012 5:06 PM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 18, 2012 5:06 PM in response to John Galt

    A mac certified place around me did it for me.  I don't know if they still have the old drive.  I have an external hard drive that has my whole mac on it and last time I checked that still had my photos.

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Oct 18, 2012 5:13 PM in response to mnajewicz
    Level 8 (49,127 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 18, 2012 5:13 PM in response to mnajewicz

    What about using your Mac in general? Are you having any other permissions-related problems? Is everything else working normally, as far as you can determine?

     

    mnajewicz wrote:

     

    I mac certified place around me did it for me.

     

    I would be pretty dissatisfied with their work. To give them the benefit of doubt, perhaps your old HD was corrupt, and they did the best they could. In any event there is probably not much you can do to properly migrate your information.

     

    You could try to use iPhoto's "Import to Library..." menu, and navigate to your Pictures folder. Select a photo or two and add them. If you are successful, try it with more. Don't select the entire Pictures folder - you will end up with a lot of duplicates.

     

    This technique might be successful if your iPhoto Library contains a couple hundred pictures. If it contains thousands, it will be a mess to clean up.

  • by mnajewicz,

    mnajewicz mnajewicz Oct 18, 2012 5:18 PM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 18, 2012 5:18 PM in response to John Galt

    My mac was dropped a few feet so that is why I needed a new hard drive. Could that be why iphoto is acting like this?  Everything else seems to be working, I did have a lot of adobe programs that I just saw were also missing.  Can I use my external hard drive to put my photos and adobe applications back on to my new hard drive?

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Oct 18, 2012 5:38 PM in response to mnajewicz
    Level 8 (49,127 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 18, 2012 5:38 PM in response to mnajewicz

    How did you create the external drive's contents? Is it a "clone"? Can you boot from it?

  • by mnajewicz,

    mnajewicz mnajewicz Oct 18, 2012 5:40 PM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 18, 2012 5:40 PM in response to John Galt

    I just update it when i plug it in.  I am guessing I use time machine when it updates.  I don't know if I can boot from it or if it is a "clone."  Its a hard drive you plug in as a USB.

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Oct 18, 2012 5:51 PM in response to mnajewicz
    Level 8 (49,127 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 18, 2012 5:51 PM in response to mnajewicz

    Well, that's good news. Simply restore your MacBook Pro's hard disk from a Time Machine backup with a date prior to the damage.

     

    What version of OS X are you using? If it's Lion or Mountain Lion, boot OS X Recovery.

     

    If it's Snow Leopard or earlier, boot from your System Install DVD.

     

    In either case, when you get to the OS X Utilities screen, choose "Restore from Time Machine backup".

     

    Be sure to select the backup that existed before you dropped the MBP. Subsequent backups may be corrupted in the same way you are experiencing.

  • by mnajewicz,

    mnajewicz mnajewicz Oct 18, 2012 6:27 PM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 18, 2012 6:27 PM in response to John Galt

    OS X 10.7.5 How do you boot OS X Recovery?

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Oct 18, 2012 8:46 PM in response to mnajewicz
    Level 8 (49,127 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 18, 2012 8:46 PM in response to mnajewicz

    Easy - restart your Mac while holding ⌘ R.

     

    When it boots you will be presented with the OS X Utilities screen. Select "Restore from Time Machine backup". Connect your Time Machine backup drive, and select the correct backup.

     

    Restoring your MBP may take an hour or more, depending on the size of the backup.

     

    That should fix it for you.