HT201769: iPhoto 6 and later: Rebuilding the iPhoto library

Learn about iPhoto 6 and later: Rebuilding the iPhoto library
belluschi7

Q: guys help ALL my photos since January 12 are lost after the upgrade! it didn't warn me about backing up before the upgrade and i don't have a back up at all. I am going crazy right now please tell me how to fix it

guys i lost ALL my photos after upgrading iphoto today. I am going crazy help me fix it i don't have a back up

Posted on Jul 16, 2013 6:05 AM

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Q: guys help ALL my photos since January 12 are lost after the upgrade! it didn't warn me about backing up before the upgrade and i d ... more

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  • by Terence Devlin,

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Jul 16, 2013 6:06 AM in response to belluschi7
    Level 10 (139,490 points)
    iLife
    Jul 16, 2013 6:06 AM in response to belluschi7

    If you want help you’ll need to give us more information. There are 9 different versions of iPhoto and they run on 8 different versions of the Operating System. The tricks and tips for dealing with issues vary depending on the version of iPhoto and the version of the OS. So to get help you need to give as much information as you can. Include things like:

     

    - What version of iPhoto.

     

    - What version of the Operating System.

     

    - Details. As full a description of the problem as you can. For example, if you have a problem with exporting, then explain by describing how you are trying to export, and so on.

     

    - History: Is this going on long? Has anything been installed or deleted? - Are there error messages?

     

    - What steps have you tried already to solve the issue.

     

    - Anything unusual about your set up? Or how you use iPhoto?

     

    Anything else you can think of that might help someone understand the problem you have.

  • by belluschi7,

    belluschi7 belluschi7 Jul 16, 2013 6:07 AM in response to belluschi7
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 16, 2013 6:07 AM in response to belluschi7

    i can only see my photos before January 12!

  • by Terence Devlin,

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Jul 16, 2013 6:11 AM in response to belluschi7
    Level 10 (139,490 points)
    iLife
    Jul 16, 2013 6:11 AM in response to belluschi7

    For help you're going to have to give more information.

  • by belluschi7,

    belluschi7 belluschi7 Jul 16, 2013 6:16 AM in response to belluschi7
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 16, 2013 6:16 AM in response to belluschi7

    ok so i am running os x lion version 10.7.5 and iPhoto 11 version 9.4.3. This morning i had about 15000 photos i believe and then i shutted it down to go to work. When i got home and turned it on it started normally and when i tried to open iphoto i got a very short message that in order to be able to see my photos i had to upgrade the system. if i remember correctly it was a 11 steps upgrade, so i waited for about 2 minutes and after it restarted i was only only to see photos before January 12!!!

  • by Terence Devlin,Solvedanswer

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Jul 16, 2013 6:27 AM in response to belluschi7
    Level 10 (139,490 points)
    iLife
    Jul 16, 2013 6:27 AM in response to belluschi7

    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 early versions of Library Manager it's the File -> Rebuild command. In later versions it's under the Library menu.)

     

    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.  

     

    Regards

     

     

    TD

  • by belluschi7,

    belluschi7 belluschi7 Jul 16, 2013 6:54 AM in response to Terence Devlin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 16, 2013 6:54 AM in response to Terence Devlin

    none of the above worked. any other thoughts? is it possible it deleted 2 years photos permanently?

  • by Terence Devlin,

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Jul 16, 2013 7:07 AM in response to belluschi7
    Level 10 (139,490 points)
    iLife
    Jul 16, 2013 7:07 AM in response to belluschi7

    Go to your Pictures Folder and find the iPhoto Library there. Right (or Control-) Click on the icon and select 'Show Package Contents'. A finder window will open with the Library exposed.

     

     

     

    Look there for a Folder called Masters.

     

    Are your photos inside?

  • by belluschi7,

    belluschi7 belluschi7 Jul 16, 2013 7:17 AM in response to Terence Devlin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 16, 2013 7:17 AM in response to Terence Devlin

    Finally!! i restarted it after the rebuilding was over and everything seems to be working perfectly! thank you so much for the help