Missing Old Pictures in Photos

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Level 1

134 points

Missing Old Pictures in Photos

Hi:

Major disaster here. My Mac started crashing all the time so I restored it from backup. Restoration went fine except some pictures won't load/show up after completing the restore.

All of the recent pictures are just fine, only some of the more recent ones show up, and with rare exceptions, none of the old ones appear. My Library looks like this:

Any ideas what would cause this, and, more importantly, how to fix it?

Many thanks!!!

Mac Studio 2022 (M1) running OS 13.3.1 and Photos Version 8.0 (541.0.120)

Mac Studio (2022)

Posted on Apr 25, 2023 2:17 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

CharPatton Author

Level 1

134 points

May 29, 2023 3:43 PM in response to Russ New Boy

As always, thanks to you both for trying!

How do I make this ~50GB file the default library that is used when I open Photos Version 8.0 (541.0.120)? Do I just delete the weird ~7GB file and rename the 50GB one to the name for the 7GB one?
Will this fix the fact that newly taken photos on my iPhone and iPad synch between those 2 devices but not with my Mac?

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Answer 2

CharPatton Author

Level 1

134 points

May 13, 2023 3:35 PM in response to léonie

Thanks to all for helping out; I really appreciate it! My Mac has pictures going back 20 years from when the kids were little, so the memories are priceless!

Apologies because I am not the smartest nor the most computer-literate individual.

I tried your option startup trick above and chose a different library and the photos were there :)

The 2nd library down in the list is ~50GB and has everything intact:

So, given my ignorance, how

Do I make this the default library that is used when I open Photos Version 8.0 (541.0.120)?
Do I mirror this to iCloud so that we can open any photo from any device? (I'm willing to pay for more storage if necessary.)

I have a good backup strategy for my Mac, but don't understand if the photos are stored in the Cloud or on the Mac???

Again, thank you for showing me that family photos are not lost!

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Answer 3

léonie

Level 10

195,141 points

Jun 2, 2023 1:51 AM in response to CharPatton

Great, that you could get your photos back! You're welcome 😊 . The download from iCloud is limited to 1000 items at a time. That is safer - otherwise any temporary network problem could kill the complete download.

But as you are having a Mac, you could use the Photos.app on your Mac to export the photos to folders on your Mac or to folders on an external drive.

I am regularly exporting my new originals this way to archive them outside photos with the original filenames, organized in yearly folders

Try this:

create a smart album (File > New smart album) based on a date range, for example "Date Captured > is in the range ..."

Open the album and select all photos in this album with ⌘A and export them:
- File > Export > Export unmodified originals
- I am using these export settings:

The option "IPTC as XPM" will write a sidecar file with the metadata (titles, captions, keywords, dates, locations). this will save the all the tags yyou have added and Photos can restore them from the XPM files, when you import the photos back, other DAMs may be able to use the as well.
Filename> use filename will save the files with the original filename created by the camera.
Subfolder > Moment name will enclose the exported files in subfolders named by the date and the location. This will make it easier to find your photos, if you need to retrieve a photo from the exported photos.

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Answer 4

léonie

Level 10

195,141 points

May 3, 2023 1:04 AM in response to CharPatton

You seem to be using iCloud Photos. Did you use "optimize Storage" at the time, when you made the backup? The blank thumbnails seem to be indicate incomplete versions, where the originals have been removed by the "Optimize" feature.

If all your photos are still in iCloud, it would be better to restore your Photos Library from iCloud and not from your backup. Try the following:

On your Mac launch Photos, while holding down the options key ⌥.
Keep holding down the ⌥ key until the dialog to select a library appears. Then select to create a new library.
When the empty, new library opens in Photos, open the Photos > Settings > General and click on "Use as System Photos Library".
Then click the iCloud tab in Settings and enable "iCloud Photos"

Now wait for your photos to download from iCloud to your mac. This should work, if your Photos are already in iCloud. The only thing you cannot get back from iCloud Photos are your projects (Photo books, Slideshows), as they are not syncing with iCloud.

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Answer 5

CharPatton Author

Level 1

134 points

May 14, 2023 6:19 PM in response to léonie

As always, many thanks for helping out!

The second library on the list is currently stored here, in the Pictures folder:

The contents of this Pictures folder looks like this:

What does the weird icon next to the ~7GB folder named "Photos Library.photoslibrary" mean? Could this be part of the problem?

PS The ~50GB file with intact images named "Photos Library photoslibrary" is actually named "Photos Library XXphotoslibrary", where XX is my initials; I just cropped the initials out in a Public post.

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Answer 6

léonie

Level 10

195,141 points

May 3, 2023 5:24 AM in response to dukedukem

Good idea. If just the thumbnails are broken and the originals are still there, it should suffice to select several gray thumbnails at once and then rotate them back and forth with ⌘R and ⌥⌘R. That will force the rendering of new thumbnails.

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Answer 7

léonie

Level 10

195,141 points

May 14, 2023 12:36 AM in response to CharPatton

Where is the second library on the list currently stored? When you click it in the list you will see the location at the bottom of the panel.

Is it also in your Pictures folder or somewhere else, perhaps on an external volume?

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Answer 8

léonie

Level 10

195,141 points

May 15, 2023 2:26 AM in response to CharPatton

I have never seen this curved arrow next to a Photos Library. It might indicate, that the library is currently being rebuild and cannot be used. Or the library has been copied from a different drive and the copying is still in progress.

Has the library been on an external volume and you moved it?

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Answer 9

May 16, 2023 2:11 PM in response to léonie

Leonie I experienced the 'curved arrow' recently. I was trying to copy the entire library from an external connected drive to the Pictures folder on my Mac. The copying process was almost complete and then I got an error message saying 'A library with the same name already exists in this folder', even though it didn't. So it left the file in this incomplete state. If you right click it you get the option to resume copying, but you can't without getting the same error. So in the end I deleted the file.

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Answer 10

léonie

Level 10

195,141 points

May 30, 2023 2:12 AM in response to CharPatton

Photos will always open the last library you have used as a default, unless it cannot access it.

So, if you just open your 60GB library in Photos it should be the new default. You don't have to rename the library. Where is this library now? Is it in your Pictures folder or on an external volume?

To be able to use this library in other applications and to sync it with iCloud Photos, you have to make it the System Photos Library.

When this library is open in Photos, open the Photos > Settings, then the "General" tab of the Settings and click "Use as System Photos Library".

Then click the "iCloud" tab and enable "iCloud Photos" and wait for the syncing to resume.

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Answer 11

CharPatton Author

Level 1

134 points

Jun 1, 2023 5:54 PM in response to léonie

Hi Leonie:

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

For your expertise and clear, simple instructions.

I will be forever grateful.

I now have access to our almost 3 decades of photos, and the library is synched across my two iOS devices and 2 Macs.

Much appreciated!!!

One final question. Since I obviously don't understand the intricacies of Apple's Photos App, I would like to download the presumed high-fidelity photos from iCloud to our main Mac as a duplicate backup safety measure. But when I go into Photos in iCloud in Safari to download the 17,000+ photos, it says that it can only do 1000 at a time. Is there a way to do this download in one fell swoop, or do I need to do 18 separate operations?

Again, thank you so much for your help over this process :)

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