amandainthebarn

Q: My iphoto library has disappeared. How do I find it?

Hi

 

When I click on iPhoto it asks me to select a library.

 

What iPhoto library do you want iPhoto to use?  To open, iPhoto needs a photo library.  Select a library from the list etc.

 

There is just a blank box.  I have a folder on my desktop called iPhoto Library (don't know how it got there) but it only contains

file://localhost/Users/amandaking/Desktop/iPhoto%20Library/AlbumData.xml

file://localhost/Users/amandaking/Desktop/iPhoto%20Library/AlbumData2.xml

file://localhost/Users/amandaking/Desktop/iPhoto%20Library/iPhoto.ipspot

file://localhost/Users/amandaking/Desktop/iPhoto%20Library/iPod%20Photo%20Cache/

file://localhost/Users/amandaking/Desktop/iPhoto%20Library/Metadata%20Backup/

 

How do I find my iPhoto library?  Does anyone know?

 

Thanks

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Feb 6, 2012 10:39 AM

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Q: My iphoto library has disappeared. How do I find it?

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  • by etanbf,

    etanbf etanbf Sep 11, 2014 5:02 AM in response to amandainthebarn
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 11, 2014 5:02 AM in response to amandainthebarn

    Forgive me if this has already been covered, but this happened to me where my Iphoto account was empty and seeming to start from new, if while in Iphoto

    You go to File then switch to library it should reboot with all your photos!

     

     

    woot!     

  • by gdrumm,

    gdrumm gdrumm Nov 22, 2014 10:01 AM in response to etanbf
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 22, 2014 10:01 AM in response to etanbf

    Why doesn't someone just point to the location of the library on the hard drive instead of discussing all of this theory about why it moved?  Something like "Go to \etc\libraries\iphoto (not that this is the correct path)... If we knew the name of the library we could just do a hard drive search couldn't we?

     

    Just wondering.

  • by Terence Devlin,

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Nov 22, 2014 12:03 PM in response to gdrumm
    Level 10 (139,485 points)
    iLife
    Nov 22, 2014 12:03 PM in response to gdrumm

    The name of the Library is... iPhoto Library. By default it's in the... Pictures Folder.

     

    The reason why folks explore other options is because the cannot find the Library, either searching by name or looking in the Pictures Folder. That's why.

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Nov 22, 2014 12:27 PM in response to gdrumm
    Level 10 (84,217 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Nov 22, 2014 12:27 PM in response to gdrumm

    Gee - maybe you should read the answers - the very first answer is

     

    It should be in your Pictures Folder.

    LN

  • by William Keele,

    William Keele William Keele Mar 3, 2015 12:50 AM in response to amandainthebarn
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Mar 3, 2015 12:50 AM in response to amandainthebarn

    So apparently I'm the latest victim of the disappearing iPhoto library--iPhoto 9.6 (910.29).  I was preparing for a job interview today and selecting a few photos for my portfolio.  Decided I should use a few good ones in iPhoto after milling through some from external HDs in CS6 Bridge.  In Bridge I noticed there were only two Photo Streams from March and April of 2014 available -- totalling 10 photos -- in my entire library.  I was pushing almost 35,000 yesterday to give you an idea how dramatic this is. 


    I opened iPhoto directly, and the same thing.  Let's say I was a little frustrated and cursed technology--there's a reason I got a Mac finally back in 2007. 


    Anything new on this front?


    I have a Time Machine, but that's a completely separate frustrating issue. 

     

    Just from doing a Spotlight Search, it appears the photos are still on my computer, just not in iPhoto--well, 10 are.  Here's the thing that got me wondering.  In April 2014, my car was broken into (when I was broken down in Douglas, Wyoming), and my MacBook Pro was stolen (among many other important things when you're living out of your car while moving across country).  Bought a used MacBook Pro, which I'm on right now sans 35,000 photos in iPhotos.  Coincidence that the only photos remaining are from when I hit the road up until the break-in?  Probably.  But that's the situation.  I have a brand-new MacBook Pro in the box next to me, but before I transfer everything over, I need to solve the duplicate files issue I have since restoring this MacBook--mainly because I need too and there are ~150GB of duplicate files.  Did I mention my Time Capsule wrote over my backup when I turn Time Machine on this computer (the used bridge MacBook from the stolen one to the brand new one) for the first time?  Yup, had to have files recovered and with almost 1TB of data, it got ugly. 

     

    Anyways--can't say this has ever happen in almost 8 years of MacBook Pros and iPhoto.  I'm running OS 10.10.2.

  • by allegra.weston,

    allegra.weston allegra.weston Oct 21, 2015 1:15 PM in response to amandainthebarn
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 21, 2015 1:15 PM in response to amandainthebarn

    We are all used to pictures in our iPhoto library saving to a folder titled "Photos".  When Time Machine backs everything up, they automatically move them to the "Pictures" library.  It's then very easy to overlook the folder in your search. You can then restore that folder back to your mac as well.

  • by billfromaustintown,

    billfromaustintown billfromaustintown Oct 21, 2015 1:18 PM in response to amandainthebarn
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 21, 2015 1:18 PM in response to amandainthebarn

    check youdownloads on ur app store maby it got removed

  • by moosey,

    moosey moosey Jan 24, 2016 8:50 PM in response to bittergrape
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 24, 2016 8:50 PM in response to bittergrape

    I just had the same thing happen to me, iPhoto library just disappeared. No problem I though I will just get it back off my Time Capsule but when I went back to last weeks backup (when I last added photos), the iPhoto Library flashes up and then promptly disappears before I can restore it.

    Mounting the TC drive and manually searching for it comes up blank yet I know it has been backing it up forever. So even with backups it appears it has disappeared into thin air. I have now got 40gb of extra space on my drive which would indicate that it has gone gone gone.

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Jan 24, 2016 9:55 PM in response to moosey
    Level 10 (84,217 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jan 24, 2016 9:55 PM in response to moosey

    please start a new thread with the reverent details of your specific issue - Writing an effective Apple Support Communities question

     

    LN

  • by Richardfromon,

    Richardfromon Richardfromon Feb 7, 2016 5:25 PM in response to beijaflor22
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 7, 2016 5:25 PM in response to beijaflor22

    I found an easy solution for my similar problem. In i photo at the top right is a magnifying glass. Click on it. Type in i photo library. Options will appear as to where you want to find the info. I chose "finder". My old library appeared. I clicked on it and voila. My entire old library appeared with all albums.

    Another site, "Scan Your Entire Life" also gives very good advice as to other methods of recovery.

  • by Richardfromon,

    Richardfromon Richardfromon Feb 7, 2016 5:38 PM in response to moosey
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 7, 2016 5:38 PM in response to moosey

    For sound advice go to "Scan Your Entire Life" for some very good options. It's free. You probably won't have to pay for a service for other help either. Your pictures are in your computer somewhere. They would not be deleted unless you purposely did so. Don't waste your time with these amateurs who ask you for more detail on what you did wrong.

    For me this worked: on the top right corner of i photo is a magnifying glass. I clicked on it and typed in "i photo library'. You then have options as to where you want the info. to appear. i chose "finder". In finder was my old library. I clicked on it and voila, my old iphoto was back with all the albums. Somehow I possibly had done something that reverted to a library that did not have all my more recent albums.

    Hope this works for you.

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Feb 7, 2016 9:25 PM in response to Richardfromon
    Level 10 (84,217 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Feb 7, 2016 9:25 PM in response to Richardfromon

    Sounds like a SPAMmer pushing software for profit - be very careful about using such posts - especially people who attack successful problem solvers but they  have never solved a singe issue

     

    LN

  • by Richardfromon,

    Richardfromon Richardfromon Feb 8, 2016 1:35 PM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 8, 2016 1:35 PM in response to LarryHN

    Thank you Larry for the caution but the site is legitimate. The gentleman is selling nothing. He gives very good directions with graphics to show one exactly what to do. He certainly helped me. If trying what he suggests doesn't work, he directs you to both free and not free download programs to search for the missing files which I also checked out but didn't need. He knew exactly what to do to solve the problem. It was so simple. There are a number of testimonials to his success.

  • by Saoluis,

    Saoluis Saoluis Mar 26, 2016 5:18 AM in response to bittergrape
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iPad
    Mar 26, 2016 5:18 AM in response to bittergrape

    I am also an IT professional and I have lost some very VERY dear photos and videos for my life.

    I will NEVER trust apple again to safeguard important stuffs NEVER.

    I have lost pictures of family close to my heart.

  • by Terence Devlin,

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Mar 26, 2016 10:48 AM in response to Saoluis
    Level 10 (139,485 points)
    iLife
    Mar 26, 2016 10:48 AM in response to Saoluis

    Obviously, as an IT professional you will have a comprehensive back up system, as, let's face it, that's really really basic. So, just restore from that.

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