Photo corruption, images altered

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Level 1

59 points

Photo corruption, images altered

I came across something odd today on iPhoto 7.1.3 (though I'll update to iPhoto 8 I'm sure it won't help - read on).

I noticed in my Photo Library that some thumbnails don't display (a black box). When I double click the black thumbnail, it opens the original photo, but with the thumbnail view inside the original photo.

It has become tainted with the thumbnail view. Difficult to explain, see this screenshot I made: http://l-rs.org/img/iphoto_corruption.jpg

The photos are physically altered - i cannot "Revert to Original". From a quick glance I can tell it's random, but mostly older photos that I've had quite some time in my library. It has about 3000 photos - the newer imports are as of yet untouched.

Anyone have similar problems or an idea what causes/could've caused this?

Cheers,
Lars

24" iMac Core 2 Duo, Mac OS X (10.5.2), 3 GB

Posted on Jul 26, 2008 11:48 AM

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Answer 1

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Old Toad

Level 10

207,367 points

Jul 26, 2008 1:36 PM in response to Lars Pasveer

Lars:

iPhoto 7.1.3 is iPhoto 08. However, you might try running the latest updates for the iApps and iLife Support that are on the Apple Downloads page. Then reboot and try again.

My guess that you have a damaged library database file. The next step, if needed, would be to launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys depressed and follow the instructions to rebuild the library. Select the first three options.

If the rebuild doesn't resurrect the library you can rebuild using iPhoto Library Manager as follows:

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 User/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: It may take some time to create the new library if you have a lot of photos. Report back on how long it took and how many photos you have in the library so we can give other users an idea of how long it may take.

This creates a new library based on the AlbumsData.xml file which will keep your Events, keywords, titles, but no albums, slideshows, etc. Your old album will remain untouched for further testing if needed.

TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier) 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 created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger or later), 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 6 and 7 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

Note: There now an Automator backup application for iPhoto 5 that will work with Tiger or Leopard.

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Answer 2

Lars Pasveer Author

Level 1

59 points

Jul 28, 2008 2:15 PM in response to Old Toad

Hey, thanks for your suggestion.

I rebuilt the library with the suggested program, but it made many duplicates (maybe my own fault since I said "import" where I thought it would overwrite the existing photo.

The corrupt pictures simply weren't in the new library. I am now on 7.1.4 (I got confused by the version numbers for a minute). The picture I linked above will probably 403 the first time, since I have set up my webserver against hotlinking.

Just press enter again and it'll load fine.

So I'll stick with my original Library for the time being. It took about one hour to completely rebuild my Library, which contains 3010 items - some of them large RAW files from my digital slr.

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Answer 3

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,260 points

Jul 28, 2008 2:24 PM in response to Lars Pasveer

Lars

Try create a new library and see if you can replicate the issue in it - simply add a few pics and explore. This will help us discover if the problem is with the Application or something specific to one library.

When you rebuild with iPhoto Library Manager it creates a new library so there is no risk of overwriting.

Regards

TD

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Answer 4

Lars Pasveer Author

Level 1

59 points

Aug 13, 2008 1:38 AM in response to Yer_Man

More investigation: when viewing photos they load, but are then instantly overlayed with thumbnails. It would seem that photos perhaps aren't physically altered (don't know for sure) but that there's some kind of corruption in iPhoto (7.1.4 build 371) on my system.

I haven't had time to try rebuilding the library again, I'll report back when I have.

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Answer 5

Old Toad

Level 10

207,367 points

Aug 13, 2008 11:20 AM in response to Lars Pasveer

What do those photos look like when opened in Preview?

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Answer 6

Lars Pasveer Author

Level 1

59 points

Sep 20, 2008 5:37 AM in response to Lars Pasveer

Just a quick note to let everyone know that after upgrading to 10.5.5 the corruption issue has vanished. Though not quite the truth, I'll say this question has been answered.

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