Does a Time Machine back up iPhoto with default settings? Because my (TM) did not back up iPhoto? I was shocked to find this out after my iMac crash!

This is a known issue with Time Machine. I suggest backing up iPhoto Library separately and not rely on Time Machine to do so. In fact if it were up to me I would not let you use Time Machine. I would recommend using one of the following for your regular and scheduled backups:

Suggested Backup Software

1. Carbon Copy Cloner

2. Get Backup

3. Deja Vu

4. SuperDuper!

5. Synk Pro

6. Tri-Backup

Others may be found at VersionTracker or MacUpdate.

Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.

TM should be backing up your iPhoto library - however it does not if iPhoto is running, only when it is not running

I love TM since it gives me the ability to go back in time and often by the time one notices a problem with a normal backup (CCC< SuperDuper, etc) one por more backups have run and all you have is the bad data to restore

I run Time Machine and Carbon Copy CLoner so I have the time based backups of TM and the single point in time back of a daily clone - plus I keep all of my photos on the source SD card for at least a year and also do an occasional off site backup

LN

Larry,

I'm sure you know that many good backup utilities have archiving capabilities. Although not like what Time Machine is doing, still functionally similar - saving old files that are being replaced in the backup. CCC has such a feature although the archive is a temporary one. But it will also replace an old copy with a new one, but keep the old copy in the same location.

Personally, I'm rarely in need of such, so I simply rely on maintaining backups over different time periods -daily, weekly, and monthly so there's always an older version around should something get damaged.

They may not be as slick as Time Machine but they also don't screw up like Time Machine.

Which is why I do both TM and CCC

I have just expereinced the same problem. a stolen computer, ipad, ipod and kindle but i thought my pics should be ok because i neurotically backup with time machine. Nope, not ok. Same problem. I have just lost an entire year of images. Images I use heavily for my work in the safari business. Apple , you have let us down. If you had just warned me about this issue I would have done something but nowhere did I see any kind of warning that by having iphoto running my most important files on my computer would not be backed up. If this site was ok with obscenities I would use many of them to describe how I am currently feeling. instead I will just say that I hope you fix this problem so that other users do not experience what myslef and tecman1977 have.

james christian

karisia walking safaris

kenya

I found my photos! At first I didn't have any pics in my Photos app after using Time Machine backup, after a Hard drive crash.

I found them by going into one of the backup files, under my user name> Pictures> Photos Library.

Right clicked on Photos Library, selected Show Package Contents.

Clicked on Masters and all my photos were there.

I then dragged them into the Photos application to be downloaded.

It doesn't look like it remembered my Albums, but much better than loosing them all!

This just happened to me, I did a time machine backup before I R&R my SSD and RAM on a 2011 macbook pro, loading up the time machine backup to my new SSD, I found the time machine backup did not have the iphotos library on it, had to get an enclosure for the old hardrive and load it on the new hard drive, tragedy narrowly averted