After upgrade, my 132GB iPhoto library appears empty.

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After upgrade, my 132GB iPhoto library appears empty.

Hi. I recently did a clean install of Mavericks on my 2008 MacBook Pro. Everything seems to be running well, and my last step was to add back iPhoto. I purchased the new version of iPhoto '11 (v.9.5) from the app store today and installed it. I opened iPhoto holding down option and showed it my existing library from my external hard drive (full back up, uncompressed, not a time machine version). iPhoto opened just fine, but with no data. No pictures, no events, no information, as though there was no existing library. I get a welcome screen that says "To get started with iPhoto, do any of the following: Connect a camera or memory card, drag photos into iPhoto, Choose File>Import to Library" as though there was no existing library.

I have tried:

* copying the entire library into my "Pictures" folder on my hard drive and opening it that way.

* opening iPhoto holding down opt and cmd and using Photo Library First Aid and rebuilding/repairing everything possible, including the database (seems to do nothing).

* importing the library (the backed up library is greyed out and I can't select it).

* opening iphoto and dragging my library into it.

* downloading iPhoto Library Upgrader (post date 10/22/13) and running that on my library. That just reduced my library from 132 GB to around 8 GB, but it still wouldn't allow the library to load or show me anything in iPhoto. (I have a few back ups of the library, so I just got back my original one.)

* I've looked at the package contents of the library, and everything seems to be there.

I googled a lot and read a lot of seemingly helpful discussions, but none that solved my problem.

I really don't want to go photo by photo, or even folder by folder through 132 GB to get my library into iPhoto.

The last version of iPhoto I was using was 7.1.5.

There is definitely enough room on my hard drive for the iphoto library, as I have 214 GB free and did a clean install, so there's nothing hanging around I don't know about.

Can someone tell me how to get my library to load effectively into my new iPhoto, please? Thank you in advance for your help.

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Nov 5, 2013 11:00 AM

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Answer 1

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Old Toad

Level 10

207,733 points

Nov 5, 2013 11:14 AM in response to thechak

The last version of iPhoto I was using was 7.1.5.

That required you to run the library upgrader. Look inside the library folder/package of the convertered library to see if the sub folders in the Masters folder contain files.

Where is you backup library located and how was it backed up? What format is the external HD? It should be OS X Extended (journaled).

* importing the library (the backed up library is greyed out and I can't select it).

* opening iphoto and dragging my library into it.

Both of those method are verbotten. Will only produce a mess of a library with thumbnail files being imported as origianls. Never import one library into another.

Give the following a try:

Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library

Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.

Click on the Add Library button,

and select the library you want to add from those in the selection window.

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

In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.

Click on the Create button.

Note 1: 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.

Note 2: Your current library will be left untouched for further attempts at a fix if so desired.

If all else fails and you have a copy of the iPhoto 7 library do the following:

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 and later) 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.

OT

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Answer 2

thechak Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 5, 2013 11:33 AM in response to Old Toad

Thank you for replying, Old Toad.

I just used the upgrader on my existing library. I got a message that said "Your library can be opened with the current version of iphoto and does not need to be prepared with this tool." I don't know why it didn't do what it did the first time with shrinking the library (I threw that copy away, but had a fresh copy of the back up, which is what I'm working with now).

The back up of my library is on an external hard drive that is formatted for MacOS Extended (Journaled). The way I made this back up is before I did the clean install, I dragged the library over to it from my old Pictures folder. Prior to the clean install, I tested it by opening my iPhoto holding down option and using the backed up library. It worked and i had all of my data, so I thought I was safe. Did I not back up enough parts of the library? I can go into my old time machine back up and grab whatever I need if there is something missing.

I have a full time machine back up as well, so if I didn't get all of the information I need, I have that as well. I am kind of crazy about backing up.

Regarding the iPhoto Library Manager from Fatcat, I like that it will keep all of my keywords, events, comments, etc., but I would like to keep the books I've made if possible. Is there something else I can try first before going that route?

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Answer 3

Old Toad

Level 10

207,733 points

Nov 5, 2013 12:05 PM in response to thechak

You're well covered for backups.

All I can suggest is boot into the Recovery volume (boot with the Command + R keys held down) and launch Disk Utility to repair disk permissions and the disk. Then reboot.

Now copy the backup library again to the MBP but this time leave it on the Desktop. Run the updater on it and then open with iPhoto 9.5. See if that will get you thru this bottleneck.

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Answer 4

thechak Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 6, 2013 10:08 AM in response to Old Toad

Thank you so much, Old Toad! That was the answer!

I'll outline exactly what I did in the event that someone else has the same issue.

1. I booted from a recovery disc (I had made a bootable usb drive with Mavericks before I installed it).

2. Ran Disk utility on my MacBook Pro hard drive and repaired permissions.

3. Using Disk Utility, I erased all free space on my hard drive (it took around 2 hours for it to run).

4. Moved an old version of iPhoto library from a Time Machine copy on an external hard drive to my desktop (this took about an hour - it's 132 GB).

5. Used the updater (mentioned above) to update my library (This time it did it! Why this wouldn't work before, I don't know.) - This took about an hour.

6. The updater opened iPhoto and prompted me to further update the library through iPhoto, which I did (this took about 20 or so minutes).

Everything is fine. All the photos are there, all the keywords, the events, the projects (books, etc.), albums, everything.

Thank you so much!

Final musings:

1. Who would have thought my permissions were screwed up since I fully reformatted the hard disk and did a clean install last week and still haven't added my files back to the internal drive! (I may leave them on the external drive and back them up from there. I don't know.)

2. Now that I'm using the new iPhoto '11 (version 9.5), I really miss seeing keywords below the photo in the preview pane. I have Titles, Ratings and Keywords checked in the View menu and I can see the number of stars the photo has, but the keywords aren't there. The keywords are applied, because if I open the keywords window, they are accurately highlighted. Are we not able to see keywords under the photo in the preview pane like we used to in older versions of iPhoto? Just wondering.

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Answer 5

Old Toad

Level 10

207,733 points

Nov 6, 2013 10:19 AM in response to thechak

I really miss seeing keywords below the photo in the preview pane.

We all do. Send a feature request to Apple via http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphoto.html

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Answer 6

thechak Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 6, 2013 10:24 AM in response to Old Toad

I just saw your posting about this on another discussion and just send in my feedback form to apple! You rock, Old Toad!

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Answer 7

Dec 22, 2013 4:46 AM in response to thechak

hi thechak

i'm writing from Lisbon, Portugal. I found your post because i'm having exactly the same problem with iphoto11, and I also tried to do all the steps you mentioned in your trouble description.

I have the new macbook pro since last week and tried to upgrade the iPhoto library 7.1.5 from the old macbook and the iphoto upgrade app message is "Your library can open with the current version of iPhoto and does not need to be prepared with this tool" (wich seems not to be true as I can't open it wiht the last version of iPhoto 11).

Could you help me please saying what exactly have you done to solve the problem (step by step, if it is not asking too much...), because I don't understand Old Toad's instructions. As far as I could get it, the problem is related to external disk permissions (where my library is for now).

Thank you and sorry about my bad english...

RL

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Answer 8

Old Toad

Level 10

207,733 points

Dec 22, 2013 11:29 AM in response to RogerlPig

With the amount of information you've provided it's impossible to offer a potential solution. We can't see your computer so we need to know the details of your problem and setup, i.e.:

what version of iPhoto are you now using? Did it come preinstalled on your MBA?
what system version are you running?
what exactly do you see when iPhoto opens?
what fixes have you tried?
where is your library located?
did you apply any updates or upgrades just prior to the problem occurring?
are you running a "managed" or "referenced" library?

how much free space on your boot drive?
do you have a backup copy of the library?

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Answer 9

Dec 23, 2013 3:42 PM in response to Old Toad

Awsers by the same order you ask:

iPhoto 9.5.1 (902.17) / yes

OS X 10.9.1

Nothing...only the usual yelow post it...

Rebuilt, upgrade, using backup from time machine and from library itself

The one I'm trying to read is on a external disk (368GB / 1TB)

No, as far as I can remember

iPhoto 11 is using a managed library (default)

Mac - 256GB / external disk - 1TB

More than one

Thank you Old Toad

RL

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Answer 10

Old Toad

Level 10

207,733 points

Dec 23, 2013 4:22 PM in response to RogerlPig

Is this what you see when you launch iPhoto?

That's what you see when there are no photo files in the libary. How big is the library as reorted by the Finder? A new but empty library will be about 7.45 MB in size. What's yours?

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Answer 11

Dec 23, 2013 5:19 PM in response to Old Toad

7MB

But the one I'm trying to read (from external disk) is much bigger: 368GB. That's the one that iPhoto 11 is "ignoring" and iPhoto upgrader says that it can open with the current version of iPhoto (ando does not need to be prepared).

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Answer 12

Old Toad

Level 10

207,733 points

Dec 24, 2013 11:38 AM in response to RogerlPig

Try the following on your 368 GB library:

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.

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Answer 13

Dec 25, 2013 11:59 AM in response to Old Toad

Thank you Old Toad.

Your tip works well for importing originals. But I still need to "import" the albums and most importantly, the thousands of edited pictures I have in the Modified folder.

When I try to import it, as I expected, they are import as jpg files in separate Events.

My goal is simply keep the same structure of Events/Albums/Edited Photos I had until now in my old Macbook/previous iPhoto.

Is this possible or the only way is to uninstall iPhoto'11 (and forget future upgrades, shared library with Aperture and other nice features I would have acess to with the new Mac) and install the older version...?

Thanks again

RL

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Answer 14

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Dec 25, 2013 12:12 PM in response to RogerlPig

Starting over with a new library does not give you anythin gexcept your original photos

given the two different questions mixed in this thread it is confusing to see exactly where things are

Try this - switch back to the large library on the external drive - I believe that is the one that yoyu can not upgrade and try again

If that does not work Back up your iPhoto library, Depress and hold the option (alt) and command keys and launch iPhoto - rebuild your iPhoto library database

if that does not work download the trial version of iPhoto Library Manager - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ - and use its rebuild command

Hopefully one of these steps will give your old library back working

Hope things are good in Lisbon - just returned from there - Evora - Sintra - Lisbon - great area and many, many things to see and do

LN

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Answer 15

Dec 25, 2013 4:12 PM in response to LarryHN

Hi Larry

As I told Old Toad, my original library was created in iPhoto' 08 (7.1.5) on a Macbook running OS X 10.6.8, and it works just fine.

The problem is that I can't "read" it with iPhoto 11 (9.5.1) on my new MacBook Pro OS X 10.9.1. I select it (from an external disk) but after a few seconds, iPhoto shows the welcome message and that's it, even tough I still see all photos in "show package contents" option, originals and the modified as well.

Trying to understand where the problem is, I've installed the same old iPhoto version in the new Mac and with it I can see all the photos, albuns, etc. just like in the old Mac. By this, it seems that is not a OS problem.

If it's not a OS compatibility problem nor a library damage, why doesn't iPhoto 11 seems to "ignore" my library?

Thank you for your tips.

I'm glad you enjoyed your stay in Portugal!

RL

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