Ley Fey

Q: entire iPhoto pictures missing from external hard drive.

Hello, I have already posted this problem but I'm not sure it was clear enough and not getting the response I needed. I had a Jan 2011 white laptop came with snow leopard, and I upgraded to Lion. A good few months ago, my daughter splashed a small amount of water on it, whilst it was turned on and open. I dried off the water I could see, and the mac was still working so I assumed it was ok. (At this time it had a very low battery and was not connected to a power source) Later on in the afternoon, forgetting about the incident, I did the unthinkable and plugged in the power lead. Result: nothing, the laptop would not boot up, I tried a few times, even holding down the power key for extended time but nothing. I eventually gave up  and got myself a new macbook 10.9.2 then two days ago, took the old burnt out laptop to a place to get them to remove the hard drive and fit it in a case for me with a usb connection. They done this, I  got home and connected the external hard drive off my old mac into my new mac, success I could see it but when I tried launching I photo from the external HD (old lap top) on my new mac. (I didn't realise there would be a software issue which is obvious now)The new mac with mavericks said it could not open iphoto. So I tried searching for the photo files manually on my external hard drive (but there was nothing)  The user files were completely empty. It showed hardly any bytes (indicating I had nothing) My itunes files where gone too, and I could find no files I needed that were originally on my old (mac/ now external harddrive) The only items that were intact were the documents in the documents folder and the applications. I took the external hd back to the repair shop and they said they could not find them. They said they would charge me £100 for an attempted recovery  of data which I 'm now not sure what to do, as I'm unsure what has happened. I desperately would like to get some of the data back, i;e (some files from desktop and photos)  as frustratingly  it was not backed up....

 

My questions are:

1.Would trying to open iphoto, and itunes from my  external HD with earlier software in  10.9.2 Mavericks cause me to lose data (including desktop files) ?

2. Could the water damage be the issue for destroying the data? (although other data is still there)

3. Is it likely the files are still on my external hd and I just can't see them (although the low bytes seems to indicate perhaps not)

4. Is there a reliable data recovery program out there someone can recommend I can get and use that may recover the files, and do I download it on my new mac, and direct it to the external hd?

5. Would apeture locate the missing iphoto picture files  from the external HD and integrate it into the library on my mavericks?

6. Could the problem be caused by leaving the HD in my old(water damaged) laptop for so long before I tried rescuing it?

 

Any light on situation much appreciated. Apologies if this issue already been aswered, I did scour but did not see help I needed.

 

Thanks in advance

MacBook

Posted on Apr 13, 2014 12:38 AM

Close

Q: entire iPhoto pictures missing from external hard drive.

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

Page 1 Next
  • by Terence Devlin,Helpful

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Apr 13, 2014 12:38 AM in response to Ley Fey
    Level 10 (139,532 points)
    iLife
    Apr 13, 2014 12:38 AM in response to Ley Fey

    1. No.

     

    2. Unlikely that it would do so in such a selective manner - i.e it's more likey that you would see an iPhoto or iTunes library but not be able to open it or parts of it.

     

    3. It is possible that they are hidden, though as you say, if the amount of disk space used is low, that suggests otherwise.

     

    To this end, there are various ways of make hidden items visible - easiest one such being Forklift (http://www.binarynights.com/forklift/) download a free trial and use the View -> Show Invisible Items command.

     

    4. There are a few. I've had good results with File Salvage - you can download a free trial and it will scan the disk for you and tell you with might be recoverable. Actual recovery will require that you purchase the app. There may be many files with the same or similar names. Always recover the largest file size.

     

    There are other such apps. DataRescue springs to mind. Search on Macupdate or the App Store.

     

    5. No and Yes. No it will find a misisng or damaged library, but yes it can be used to merge two libraries. That said, you can also merge libraries with iPhoto Library Manager and that's less expensive.

     

    6. Impossible to tell with any degree of certainty.

  • by Ley Fey,

    Ley Fey Ley Fey Apr 13, 2014 10:20 AM in response to Terence Devlin
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 13, 2014 10:20 AM in response to Terence Devlin

    Hi,

    Thanks for all your useful advice. I'm very concerned now however with the very low bytes and I'm wondering if the files are truly gone.

     

    Its just strange that documents and applications are there but not the music and photo files and files that were on my  desktop.

    I will check out some of the links you suggested and report back

  • by Ley Fey,

    Ley Fey Ley Fey Apr 13, 2014 2:44 PM in response to Ley Fey
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 13, 2014 2:44 PM in response to Ley Fey

    Hi Again,

    I did not find the free trial download on these links, I will revisit but wondered if you could give me some advice on the below first please.

     

    I have found Carbon Copy Cloner under my apps on my old external HD I must have downloaded ages ago.

    So I dragged it onto the desktop of my new mac and I selected my new HD as destination folder, and my old HD as the source to be copied from.

     

    IN  THE OLD HD

    under the users folders there are 4 folders one called shared. one a strange duplicate with nothing and two with old user names for my mac HD. In one  with my old user name for my HD were folders called pictures, movies, music ect. When I click on it normally it shows nothing and is empty except for Ichat icons but when I click on it and the other folders within the CCC app it shows a small icon like a blackish screen  with ".localised" beside it. Could this be my photos and data or something that may lead to my photos and other data?

    I am slighlty nervous of cloning anything off this old hard drive onto my new hard drive for obvious reasons and it does not seem straight forward as I don't really want to clone everything off my old HD onto my new mac but I am unsure how to get the files I need.

    Do you know what .localised means/signifys please.

    Do you think  I  should abandon this idea  and go with data recovery?

    Sorry for not just going for it, but I want to make sure I do the right thing and as much as I can for free before I spend yet gain more money...

     

    I forgot to add that, under one of the user subfolders that shows nothing, within CCC it shows something that says .autodiskmounted with the same screen icon before it.. Could this have some hidden files there?

  • by Terence Devlin,Solvedanswer

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Apr 13, 2014 3:56 PM in response to Ley Fey
    Level 10 (139,532 points)
    iLife
    Apr 13, 2014 3:56 PM in response to Ley Fey

    I have no idea why you think Carbon Copy Cloner will help. Even if the files are invisible cloning them won't make them visible...

     

    The localised file is not your data. It's a metadata file to do with allowing other language formats to name folders. Typically they are zero bytes.

     

    On the Forklift page there's a rather large button marked 'Download', right beside the one for 'Buy'.

     

    On the File Salvage page there's an even larger green button with two yellow arrows, also marked Download in a most helpful fashion.

     

    Though not as large as the other two, there's also a button marked Download, complete with a helpful green arrow pointing down on the Library Manager page. It's right opposite the heading 'iPhoto Library Manager. Also, at the bottom of the page in the silver bar there's a link that says 'Download Free Trial'

  • by Ley Fey,

    Ley Fey Ley Fey Apr 13, 2014 4:07 PM in response to Terence Devlin
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 13, 2014 4:07 PM in response to Terence Devlin

    Hi,

    Ok, thanks for clarifying the CCC app. I was not sure what it was showing me. I checked out the file salvage free download, but it wanted to install some extensions on my mac. If I choose custom install and de-check all the extensions it wants to add, will it be a basic clean installation with no add ons ect.  Sorry, can't help all the questions, I am treading new waters and learning on the job so to speak and with this very new machine I do not want to mess it up. Just want to be certain I am not going to do something else I will regret as I know nothing about data recovery.

  • by Ley Fey,

    Ley Fey Ley Fey Apr 13, 2014 5:53 PM in response to Ley Fey
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 13, 2014 5:53 PM in response to Ley Fey

    Update:

    I must have went to a wrong site for that download. I downloaded again from the link you gave, and got the trial to work, but it was so so slow, and nothing seemed to be recovering, but your advice spurred me on, and I decided to give stellar pheonix  photo recovery a try to help recover my pics and audio, and video. And the good news is, it seems to have found 1861 jpg photos so far. What they are I don't know yet as its still scanning but it looks hopeful I may get something back and at the moment I am only working in trial, so thanks a lot for all your helpful advice and support!!  I may try run  the file slavage trial again overnight to see what it comes up with.

     

    Thanks again!

  • by Ley Fey,

    Ley Fey Ley Fey Apr 15, 2014 5:31 AM in response to Ley Fey
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 15, 2014 5:31 AM in response to Ley Fey

    Well , Stellar Pheonix did not work!. It seemed to show lots of jpeg and tiff files and music files but when I tried to view them it seemed they may have been corrupted or something. When I used the jpeg repair software that came with S Pheonix, it did not repair  and I got the message that just said 'invalid file' whatever that indicates...

    Anyway I am beat trying to think what could have happened to those files and why they are not on the hard drive along with everything else that is there. I am now beginnning to suspect that the Simply Fix It the shop I took it too to remove the hard drive and encase it, may have formatted it, or removed the files in some way.. As it seems unlikely (but  not impossible) that they were erased after the water damage especially when there are some other image files and documents and all the applications are intact on my hard drive.

     

    QUESTION 1:: Is there a possibility that mavericks updated my  old iphoto library to the present one on my mavericks system when I tried to open Iphoto from my old connected hd? (thus my files have been overwritten?)

     

    I ask because whilst I have the external old mac HD attached to my new mac (mavericks) some strange things happen as if files are mixed up on my new mac. I:E under the user folders on my new mac, I have a user folder that comes from my old mac, which should not be there.. and similar other strange mix ups as if the two hard drives are sharing information..

     

    Who knows?

     

    Q2.

    There is some consolation. I have an old powerbook from 2002,  and the hard drive is intact and fine, but the screen broke on it. I never got round to getting it fixed.It probably has some photo files on iphoto which I could salvage. However I'm really nervous about getting the hard drive removed and encased incase the same thing happens. As I know that the hard drive is 100% fine as it was checked after the breakage. Could someone please recommend a reliable source to extract the information from it. Is it best to take to apple repairs? I'm based in Edinburgh Scotland if anyone could recommend a good source

     

    Thanks in advance.

  • by Terence Devlin,

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Apr 15, 2014 8:54 AM in response to Ley Fey
    Level 10 (139,532 points)
    iLife
    Apr 15, 2014 8:54 AM in response to Ley Fey

    1. Mavericks won't update anything in an iPhoto Library. The only thing that will update an iPhoto Library is a nerwer version of iPhoto, and that will warn you before hand.

     

    I:E under the user folders on my new mac, I have a user folder that comes from my old mac, which should not be there.. and similar other strange mix ups as if the two hard drives are sharing information..

     

    Where is that, exactly? In the sidebar of a Finder window? Within the Home Folder? Can you post a screenshot?

     

    I'm in Ireland so can't help you with Edinburgh

  • by Ley Fey,

    Ley Fey Ley Fey Apr 15, 2014 4:29 PM in response to Terence Devlin
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 15, 2014 4:29 PM in response to Terence Devlin

    Hi  T,

    Thanks again for reply.  Just checked my mac for the first time without the external HD attached. I had a hard time trying to get back into this site on my new mac. Now I keep getting a pop up that says (https:// discussions.apple.com bad gateway) with ok button every every 30 secs or or something after that I can't type except if I click ok. Prior to that I had some message telling me something about proxy server gateway no access or something. Not happenign on other sites so perhaps just a random error, (hope I have now not picked up a bug or another insidious thing from some site whilst trying to resolve my old HD probs....)

     

    Extremely annoying!!

     

    Well I checked as you asked. This is the process.(if you can tell me how to take a screen shot I will do it, but at moment I don't know how to do that exactly)

     

    At the moment I have got my HD showing on my desk top Top RH corner, like they used to in the good old days before it all changed. I do this, because everything is conveniently placed in one place. Call me old fashioned I guess..

     

    (Not to change the thread but this pop up thing is driving me mad...)

     

    If I doubleclick on that by default it opens with five folders in it, I;E applications, library, system, user information, users.


    When I click on Users.

    It is here I find the user  file  with a user name that I have NEVER entered into this new mac, (especially with old MAC HD attached as I did not want any confusion) I even re-named my  old HD (OLD mac HD)

     

    This new user file even has the icon of  a HOUSE instead of a folder, which is something off older OS as far as I know, I never saw it in mavericks before attaching this encased contraption which is just a metal box as far as I see that holds my old HD, but annoyingly done by someone that may not have known what they were doing..

    Why the heck is it there? It should not be there!

     

    When I click on this old (home folder) as that is what it used to be, and that was the name of my OLD HD before it got the name (old mac HD) which now I think of it, was not changed by me by default... which is a thought.. I only added the word OLD to it..

    Well it has all my default folders such as desk top, docs, movies, pictures ect.. When I click on pictures I  have my new iphoto library and another folder called root which has the salvaged files I saved there from the recovery software Stellar Pheonix which I downloaded a couple of days ago but can't actually open with preview anyway. I tried to do it with an old version of CS 5 photoshop to see if that would work, but I could not get photoshop to open in mavericks even after java update)

     

    The interesting thing is is: if I go to system preferences in my dock I click on users it only has the user folders I specified that should be there on my new mac.

     

    now peeved.  and this annoying pop up.....Situ does not seem to be getting any better!

     

    Instructions please how to post screenshot..

     

    PS sorry about LONG POST

     

     

     

     

     

     

     


  • by Ley Fey,

    Ley Fey Ley Fey Apr 15, 2014 5:10 PM in response to Ley Fey
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 15, 2014 5:10 PM in response to Ley Fey

    had a thought,

    Perhaps that new home folder with the old photographs got moved there by the  Stellar Pheonix recovery software.. Should I remove it, I dont' really want it there, but I could do with salvaging some of the jpg files to see if I can open them someother way other than preview.

     

    The fork lift was brilliant btw and worked flawlessly unlike the others I tried.. Thanks it seemed to indicate however that there were no files to be found Makes me wonder about Stellar Pheonix... its had a lot of negative press.. Found out AFTER I purchased it. got a refund though.

     

    OH DEAR::: Just checked the fork lift app again without external OLD MAC HD attached and my default user folder for my new mac

     

    has been replaced with the old user folder (from the old mac) and I did not put it there knowlingly... HELP, I think I'm going mad.

  • by Ley Fey,

    Ley Fey Ley Fey Apr 15, 2014 5:10 PM in response to Ley Fey
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 15, 2014 5:10 PM in response to Ley Fey

    had a thought,

    Perhaps that new home folder with the old photographs got moved there by the  Stellar Pheonix recovery software.. Should I remove it, I dont' really want it there, but I could do with salvaging some of the jpg files to see if I can open them someother way other than preview.

     

    The fork lift was brilliant btw and worked flawlessly unlike the others I tried.. Thanks it seemed to indicate however that there were no files to be found Makes me wonder about Stellar Pheonix... its had a lot of negative press.. Found out AFTER I purchased it. got a refund though.

     

    OH DEAR::: Just checked the fork lift app again without external OLD MAC HD attached and my default user folder for my new mac

     

    has been replaced with the old user folder (from the old mac) and I did not put it there knowlingly... HELP, I think I'm going mad.

  • by Ley Fey,

    Ley Fey Ley Fey Apr 15, 2014 5:11 PM in response to Ley Fey
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 15, 2014 5:11 PM in response to Ley Fey

    had a thought,

    Perhaps that new home folder with the old photographs got moved there by the  Stellar Pheonix recovery software.. Should I remove it, I dont' really want it there, but I could do with salvaging some of the jpg files to see if I can open them someother way other than preview.

     

    The fork lift was brilliant btw and worked flawlessly unlike the others I tried.. Thanks it seemed to indicate however that there were no files to be found Makes me wonder about Stellar Pheonix... its had a lot of negative press.. Found out AFTER I purchased it. got a refund though.

     

    OH DEAR::: Just checked the fork lift app again without external OLD MAC HD attached and my default user folder for my new mac

     

    has been replaced with the old user folder (from the old mac) and I did not put it there knowlingly... HELP, I think I'm going mad.

  • by Ley Fey,

    Ley Fey Ley Fey Apr 15, 2014 5:11 PM in response to Ley Fey
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 15, 2014 5:11 PM in response to Ley Fey

    had a thought,

    Perhaps that new home folder with the old photographs got moved there by the  Stellar Pheonix recovery software.. Should I remove it, I dont' really want it there, but I could do with salvaging some of the jpg files to see if I can open them someother way other than preview.

     

    The fork lift was brilliant btw and worked flawlessly unlike the others I tried.. Thanks it seemed to indicate however that there were no files to be found Makes me wonder about Stellar Pheonix... its had a lot of negative press.. Found out AFTER I purchased it. got a refund though.

     

    OH DEAR::: Just checked the fork lift app again without external OLD MAC HD attached and my default user folder for my new mac

     

    has been replaced with the old user folder (from the old mac) and I did not put it there knowlingly... HELP, I think I'm going mad.

  • by Ley Fey,

    Ley Fey Ley Fey Apr 15, 2014 5:12 PM in response to Ley Fey
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 15, 2014 5:12 PM in response to Ley Fey

    had a thought,

    Perhaps that new home folder with the old photographs got moved there by the  Stellar Pheonix recovery software.. Should I remove it, I dont' really want it there, but I could do with salvaging some of the jpg files to see if I can open them someother way other than preview.

     

    The fork lift was brilliant btw and worked flawlessly unlike the others I tried.. Thanks it seemed to indicate however that there were no files to be found Makes me wonder about Stellar Pheonix... its had a lot of negative press.. Found out AFTER I purchased it. got a refund though.

     

    OH DEAR::: Just checked the fork lift app again without external OLD MAC HD attached and my default user folder for my new mac

     

    has been replaced with the old user folder (from the old mac) and I did not put it there knowlingly... HELP, I think I'm going mad.

Page 1 Next