Deleted Photos Still on Computer?

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Level 1

9 points

Deleted Photos Still on Computer?

I've been using iPhoto for several years now.

I recently imported my latest batch of photos from my camera into a new event. I made some edits to a few pictures and deleted some others. I do this often. When you press the delete button in iPhoto it no longer shows up in the event and is in the iPhoto trash. I empty the iPhoto trash and have emptied OSX trash. However, I discovered that the files I thought I had been deleting are still in an iPhoto folder. Do I have years of deleted pictures on my hard drive? If so, no wonder I keep having to get bigger hard drives.

For example, I have one picture called IMG_1050.jpg. If I search in spotlight it shows up as a picture in the iPhoto folder. When I found the folder containing IMG_1050.jpg, I realized that all the pictures I had just deleted are still there.

If I open iPhoto and click on photos on the left side where you can see all your photos at one time, and do a search for 1050, you can't find a photo with that number. Help!

MacBook Pro (15-inch Late 2008), Mac OS X (10.7.4)

Posted on Apr 5, 2013 12:27 AM

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Answer 1

mnbinth Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 5, 2013 12:29 AM in response to mnbinth

I should also add, that the only picture files I want are the pictures you can see in the iPhoto app. If I've edited a picture, I want to keep the edit. I could care less about the original if there is still a copy of that. Is there any software that deletes all pictures in the iPhoto folder that aren't already seen in the iPhoto app.

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Answer 2

mnbinth Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 5, 2013 12:34 AM in response to mnbinth

I should also add that when I click on IMG_1050.jpg in spotlight, it tries to open iPhoto, I get the spinning beach ball, I have to force quit and then wait for iPhoto to repair itself.

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Answer 3

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,396 points

Apr 5, 2013 12:41 AM in response to mnbinth

Failure to delete the photos from the HD is usually a symptom of a damaged database.

Not wanting to keep the original is a failure to use the correct application 😉. iPhoto is a designed to specifically maintain the original image. If you don't want that feature then the logical and sensible thing is to use an app that is designed to work the way you want, and not one designed to work in exactly the way you don't want.

There is an app out there called Clean My Mac 2 which claims to remove the original and replace it in the iPhoto database with the iPhoto Preview. This app costs about $40. Wouldn't it be just cheaper to use another app?

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Answer 4

mnbinth Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 5, 2013 12:47 AM in response to Yer_Man

1. How do I fix the database? iPhoto has been crashing a lot lately and it takes 30 minutes to repair. I figured it was my aging 2008 MBP.

2. Which application do I want? I really love the way photos are displayed in iPhoto.

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Answer 5

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,396 points

Apr 5, 2013 12:49 AM in response to mnbinth

Option 1

Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Choose to Repair Database. If that doesn't help, then try again, this time using Rebuild Database.

If that fails:

Option 2

Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. (In Library Manager it's the FIle -> Rebuild command)

This will create an entirely new library. It will then copy (or try to) your photos and all the associated metadata and versions to this new Library, and arrange it as close as it can to what you had in the damaged Library. It does this based on information it finds in the iPhoto sharing mechanism - but that means that things not shared won't be there, so no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your events, albums and keywords, faces and places back.

Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one.

Decide what features you want - and editor with a nice display? and search.

Regards

TD

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Answer 6

mnbinth Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 5, 2013 12:54 AM in response to Yer_Man

The only editing I need can be done in iPhoto but perhaps Aperture is a better alternative. Does aperture keep duplicates of everything like iPhoto?

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Answer 7

mnbinth Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 5, 2013 12:59 AM in response to mnbinth

I'm almost to 30,000 photos if that makes any difference.

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Answer 8

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,396 points

Apr 5, 2013 1:07 AM in response to mnbinth

Aperture and iPhoto use the same Library now. It works on the very same basis as iPhoto but with more features and more of a learning curve. 30k is not a large number of photos these days.

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Answer 9

mnbinth Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 5, 2013 1:11 AM in response to Yer_Man

Looks like my only option is to repair then. Thanks for the help.

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Answer 10

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,396 points

Apr 5, 2013 1:16 AM in response to mnbinth

There are lots of photo editors from the heavyweights like Photoshop to lightweight and easy to use. There are lots of photo viewers. Search on MacUpdate

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