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can see all thumbnails in iphoto but can not see any photos

hello. i went to open a photo today and when i clicked on the thumbnail, i got a blank black screen. a flag pops up for a second, to flag the photo, but there is no photo to flag. i then checked all my photos and they all seem to have the same issue. any ideas of what may be going on and what a fix may be?


thanks!

Posted on Dec 12, 2013 9:40 PM

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13 replies

Dec 12, 2013 10:58 PM in response to Jennifer Feikin

There are several possible causes for the Black Screen issue


1. Permissions in the Library: 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. Include the option to check and repair permissions.


2. Minor Database corruption: 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.


3. A Damaged Photo: Select one of the affected photos in the iPhoto Window and right click on it. From the resulting menu select 'Show File (or 'Show Original File' if that's available). (On iPhoto 11 this option is under the File -> Reveal in Finder.) Will the file open in Preview? If not then the file is damaged. Time to restore from your back up.


4. A corrupted iPhoto Cache: Trash the com.apple.iPhoto folder from HD/Users/Your Name/ Library/ Caches...


5. A corrupted preference file: Trash the com.apple.iPhoto.plist file from the HD/Users/ Your Name / library / preferences folder. (Remember you'll need to reset your User options afterwards. These include minor settings like the window colour and so on. Note: If you've moved your library you'll need to point iPhoto at it again.)


If none of these help: As a Test:


Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Create Library'


Import a few pics into this new, blank library. Is the Problem repeated there?

Dec 13, 2013 7:53 AM in response to Yer_Man

hi terence,


before i got your email, i did some research and tried part of option one -- the check and repair permissions. that did not fix the issue. i also tried part 3 of the dialogue box -- it found one recovered photo (out of about 7,000), that was it. so i am concerned about going so far as to rebuild the library, as i'm not sure it's the same issue others have gotten with the big explanation point in the screen. mine is just blank with a flag popping up, and given that it allows me to flag it, it seems to be a different issue.


moreover, i took a couple new photos with my iphone, downloaded them, and it's just like all the others in iphoto - you can see the thumbnail and not the photo. so that leads me to believe it's not a library issue since it's happening with new photos as well? could that be right?


does that lead you to any other conclusions? i hope? 🙂

Dec 14, 2013 9:32 AM in response to Jennifer Feikin

ok, one new clue...if you're not already sick of me. 🙂 so, now when i log out of iphoto and log back on, it opens up with a full photo image of whatever the last thumbnail image i had clicked on was. but, when i try to move to other thumbnails on the bottom scroll, the intial image stays up even though i click on different images in the thumbnail scroll. a couple times, the aspect ratio of the photo image changed as i scrollled thru other thumbnail images, but it still stayed as the same image. then when i shut down iphoto and re-launch, it opens up with the photo of whatever image i had last clicked on. so, the photos are clearly there. hmmm?

Dec 14, 2013 11:07 AM in response to Jennifer Feikin

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

Dec 16, 2013 8:57 PM in response to Yer_Man

hi terence,


thanks so much for your help. option one almost worked! repair database didn't work, so i ended up doing the rebuild database step. sadly, it looked the same. so i unplugged my mac mini and hoofed it to the genius bar. well, what do you know...it worked when i got there! they said it was the combo of the rebuild database PLUS unplugging it. something about an internal reset that happens upon unplugging and then plugging it back in. so, that's a good extra step to suggest to others in the future.


thanks again!!


jf

can see all thumbnails in iphoto but can not see any photos

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