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I was having trouble opening iPhoto so I deleted the application and reinstalled it on my Macbook Pro. Stupidly I was of the impression that all of the photos I had uploaded to iphoto were also being uploaded simutaneously in my pictures file. I lost about 5,000 photos. I don't have Time Machine. Is there any other way to restore deleted photos on my Mac?
MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4)
The photos are not in the application but are in the iPhoto Library package which is located in your Pictures folder.
Once you get the iPhoto application reinstalled apply the two fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
1 - launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
2 - run Option #4 to rebuild the database.
Fix #2
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
1 - download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
2 - click on the Add Library button and select the library you want to add in the selection window..
3 - Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the Library ➙ Rebuild Library menu option.
4 - In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
5 - Click on the Create button.
Note: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments. However, books, calendars, cards and slideshows will be lost. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
OT
The photos are not in the application but are in the iPhoto Library package which is located in your Pictures folder.
Once you get the iPhoto application reinstalled apply the two fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
1 - launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
2 - run Option #4 to rebuild the database.
Fix #2
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
1 - download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
2 - click on the Add Library button and select the library you want to add in the selection window..
3 - Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the Library ➙ Rebuild Library menu option.
4 - In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
5 - Click on the Create button.
Note: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments. However, books, calendars, cards and slideshows will be lost. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
OT
I tried both options and it recovered about 300 pictures but I'm still missing a couple thousand more. Is there anything else I can do?
Yes:
Starting over from scratch with new library
Start over with a new library and import the Originals (iPhoto 09 and earlier) or the Masters (iPhoto 11) folder from your original library as follows:
1. Open the library package like this.
2. Launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and, when asked, select the option to create a new library.
3. Drag the subfolders of the Originals (iPhoto 09 and earlier) or the Masters (iPhoto 11) folder from the open iPhoto Library package into the open iPhoto window a few at a time.
This will create a new library with the same Events (but not necessarily the same Event names) as the original library but will not keep the metadata, albums, books slideshows and other projects.
Note: your current library will be left untouched for further attempts at a fix if so desired.
Note you do have time Machine - it is on every Mac
You simply made a poor choice not to use it - you need a large external hard drive 8about 2 1/2 times the size of your data) and to start using TM ASAP - without a backup you will lose everything including your photos sooner or later
LN
It is a bit unclear what you did. Did you delete the iPhoto Library file in your pictures folder? Is there a large file in your pictures folder that might be your original library? Re-installing the application should not have touched the library.
I'm aware that I have it LarryHN but I need to get the external hard drive. I know. Thanks.
When I would attempt to open iPhoto it would start to launch and then shut off. I tried restarting the computer and that didn't help. I moved the application to the trash and subsequently emptied it. I then re-installed the application believing that my photos were still on the computer. Upon doing so only about 1,500 of the 5,200 photos that I had on iphoto before are on the application now. I do have a 14.6GB file in my pictures but I can't seem to figure out how to open it to extract them if that's even possible.
Something is missing since
The photos are not in the application but are in the iPhoto Library package which is located in your Pictures folder.
Do you have an iPhoto library in yoru pictures folder? What size is it? Have you followed Old Toad's instructions for starting over?
LN
I did follow Old Toad's instructions. It still only imports about 1,600 photos. I'm still missing a significant amount of photos. I'm quite bummed. Thanks for your help guys.
Have you tried restoring the library from Time Machine from a time just before this happened?
Restore photos from iPhoto without Time Machine
