Pictures in iPhoto unavailable

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Level 1

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Pictures in iPhoto unavailable

When in iPhoto, the thumbnails of some events and pictures keep disapearing. When I try to view these photos, there's an unavailable sign, but the preview on the lower bar still shows. I can't find them in the iPhoto Library. Here's what's happening:

The thumbnails of the events don't appear.

When I go to an event the thumbnails of the pictures don't appear as well.

When I open a photo, this is what I see, even though the photo's preview is down there.

What's happening? What can I do? Are the photos gone forever?

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2010), Mac OS X (10.6.8), iPhoto 11, version 9.2.3

Posted on May 1, 2013 1:53 PM

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Answer 1

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,320 points

May 1, 2013 2:02 PM in response to celinasl

The ! turns up when iPhoto loses the connection between the thumbnail in the iPhoto Window and the file it represents.

In other words, iPhoto can't find the photos.

Have you been "tidying up" recently?

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Answer 2

celinasl Author

Level 1

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May 1, 2013 2:08 PM in response to Yer_Man

No, I haven't, and that's exactly why I'm worried...

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Answer 3

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,320 points

May 1, 2013 2:21 PM in response to celinasl

Simple, fast solution: Restore from your back up

If that's not possible... well you're learning a lesson I guess.

Go to your Pictures Folder. Is there an iPhoto Library there? What size is it?

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Answer 4

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

May 1, 2013 2:22 PM in response to celinasl

Then Back up your iPhoto library, Depress and hold the option (alt) and command keys and launch iPhoto - rebuild your iPhoto library databasse

LN

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Answer 5

celinasl Author

Level 1

0 points

May 1, 2013 2:27 PM in response to Yer_Man

There is, it's 22.47GB. And how exactly do I restore from the back up?

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Answer 6

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,320 points

May 1, 2013 3:26 PM in response to celinasl

Well that shows some hope.

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.

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