I have iPhoto 8.1.2 and a library with 16,437 photos in it. When I click on the iPhoto icon in my Dock, it takes about 23 seconds of iPhoto opening before I can actually interact with it and use it. The main window opens very quickly, but after 6 seconds my mouse pointer becomes a spinning wait cursor!
Any suggestions? Is this normal for a library of my size?
iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.2), iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2010) 12GB RAM
Your problem sounds vey much like one I had for a while. User houseboats posted the following fix a while ago in the 2dd page of this topic: : spinning beachball suddenly every time...: Apple Support Communities. It worked for me.
I just called Apple Support for the same problem, and it is now working great.He had me delete my SystemConfiguration folder and reboot...
The folder in question controls your network settings etc....
It is found.... Macintosh HD/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration
Macintosh HD being your computer root... not the user.
WARNING: Go into the System Preferences and check under sharing what your Mac is called. That name will be removed and replace by a generic name. It can mess up any syncing functions you may have setup. Just rename your Mac to what it was before you removed that file and rebooted.
If that's doesn't help post back as we have a couple other potential fixes.
OT
Thanks for that. Interestingly, when I turn Wi-Fi off, iPhoto launches almost instantly. So this massive delay upon opening is clearly related to network stuff.
If I delete that SystemConfiguration folder, will I lose anything important? Is it safe?
No. All that's changed is the name you gave the Mac in the System/Sharing preference pane:
It'll be changed to Macintosh HD and that can mess up any auto syncing or sharing setup you may have using the original name you put in there.
Also turn off sharing in iPhoto's preferences.
Hi. I followed your instructions, but it didn't solve the problem. iPhoto still takes 24 seconds before I can actually start using it.
Deleting that SystemConfiguration folder actually lost all of my Energy Saver settings in System Preferences, in addition to the Computer Name (like you said).
If I turn off my Wi-Fi now, and click on iPhoto in my Dock, I can start interacting with it instantly. But, that doesn't seem like a great solution. I don't want to have to turn my Wi-Fi off every time I open iPhoto.
It appears that iPhoto is doing something with something else when it can reach it
In the iPhoto preferences turn off all external links (sharing, web site syncs, etc) and see if that helps. Then you can turn the ones you want on one by one until you hit the one causing the slow launch
LN
Thanks. I've done that. I've unticked everything under Sharing and Web. I've disconnected all iPhones, SD cards and Cameras from my iMac. But I've still got the same problem; when I launch iPhoto 8.1.2, it still takes 24 seconds before I can start using the app.
Try this: launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and create a new, test library. Import some photos and check to see if the same problem persists. if it doesn't then your current library is the culprit. It it does then it could either be the applicaiton or something in your account.
Log into another user account on your Mac and run iPhoto to see if it takes that long or not. If it does then try reinstalling iPhoto. To do so you'll have to delete the current application and all files with "iPhoto" in the file name with either a .PKG or .BOM extension that reside in the HD/Library/Receipts folder and from the /var/db/receipts/ folder,
Then install iPhoto from the disk it came on originally.
If iPhoto runs smoothly in the other user account it could be something in your account that's the problem. If that's the case make a temporary, backup copy (if you don't already have a backup copy) of the library and try the following:
1 - delete the iPhoto preference file, com.apple.iPhoto.plist, that resides in your
User/Home(
)/Library/ Preferences folder.
2 - delete iPhoto's cache file, Cache.db, that is located in your
User/Home()/Library/Caches/com.apple.iPhoto folder.
Click to view full size
3 - launch iPhoto and try again.
NOTE: If you're moved your library from its default location in your Home/Pictures folder you will have to point iPhoto to its new location when you next open iPhoto by holding down the Option key when launching iPhoto. You'll also have to reset the iPhoto's various preferences.
If that fails continue with the following: apply the two fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
Select the options identified in the screenshot.
Fix #2
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
Note: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments but not books, calendars or slideshows. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
Most comprehensive and useful solution. Thanks Old Toad. This really helped me.
I haven't tried that big solution yet, but I think the thing that's making iPhoto slow to launch is the maps imagery used by Places.
When I turn Wi-Fi off and launch iPhoto, it opens really fast with no delays. But if I click the "i" button on one of the photos, the grey panel that flips out just shows a generic map of the whole World.
When I turn Wi-Fi on and launch iPhoto, it opens really slowly with a long delay. But if I click the "i" button on one of the photos, the grey panel that flips out shows an accurate map with full imagery.
I did a clean install of Mountain Lion and did not migrate anything.
When I opened Iphoto it obviously had an empty library and when it opened I got the spinning ball for several seconds.
As noted in this discussion I quit iphoto, turned off wireless, restarted iphoto and got no spinning ball.
With the spinning ball condition ocurring on an empty iphoto library and wireless turned off does this help anyone who's trying to determine why this is happening ?
Go into iPhoto's preference panes and turn off any file sharing, PhotoShare and Look up Places Automatically. Then reconnect to the internet and try again. If it still just spinns it might be your email accounts in the iPhoto preferences. Make sure they are working outside of iPhoto, delete them in iPhoto and add back.
Well, I'm not on Mountain Lion yet (still on Lion) but upgrading to the latest version of iPhoto '11 solved the problem for me. iPhoto '11 opens really fast, with no delays. It's a shame Apple messed up all the editing controls in the iPhoto 9.3 update, but that's another discussion.
Just tried those ... no joy
In another post it was suggested by an apple technician to delete the folder SystemConfiguration (Macintosh HD -> Library -> Preferences)
That does work though it knocks down your wireless connection and you have to reconfigure it again. But after a while that folder SystemConfiguration gets recreated and Iphoto goes back to the spinning ball again on the next startup.
Yes, I remember that fix. It renames your Mac back to Macintosh HD and, as you mentioned, messes up all sharing, etc. You need to go into the System/Sharing preference pane and rename your Mac back to what it was.
So no problem when wifi is off .... and there is the problem with the spinning ball when wifi is on.
Deleting the SystemConfiguration folder which has network "stuff" in it temporarily fixes the problem.
So doesn't it suggest that iphoto is trying to do something involving the network and when it finishes/fails doing whatever the spinning ball stops.
The only 2 obvious network options in iphoto preferences are:-
Sharing -> Look for shared photos
General -> Check for iphoto updates automatically
Both are unchecked now ... but made no differences to fixing the problem.
iPhoto 8.1.2 Slow To Launch
