iPhoto (old-- version 8?) won't import photos from iPhone 5. Very buggy.

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iPhoto (old-- version 8?) won't import photos from iPhone 5. Very buggy.

I have an old version of iPhoto that is very buggy (we have an 06 iMac, to be replaced next month). Admittedly, when I've been prompted to rebuild the cache, I don't (what does that do, anyway?). Lately, my problems have been: 1) Certain photos from my iPhone 5 continually re-import even though I check "Don't import duplicates." 2) Most concerning, photos from the past three months on my iPhone won't import to iPhoto. I get an ominous error message after iPhoto takes about an hour to go through the import process. On occassion, random photos (1 or 2) will import. Sometimes an image from a video (but not the actual video). My photos are trapped on my phone, currently not backed up. I have 1000+ photos on my iPhone, as I am sentimental and paranoid and don't want to delete them. Also--our photos are on an external hard drive. We also use TimeMachine and back up on a remote server through a service. I could live with losing everything on my Mac...but not my photos. The over 10K photos are painstackingly organized by folder and albums. Help me!!!

iMac

Posted on Mar 14, 2014 7:22 AM

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Answer 1

Old Toad

Level 10

207,457 points

Mar 14, 2014 9:43 AM in response to BexWB

Apply the two fixes below in order as needed:

Fix #1

Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.

Select the options identified in the screenshot.

Fix #2

Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library

Download IPhoto Library Manager 4 for OS XC 10.6.8 and iPhoto 8.1.2 and later or iPhoto Library Manager 3 (for OS X 10.5.8 and iPhoto 7.1.5 and earlier) and launch.

Click on the Add Library button, navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.

Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the File ➙ Rebuild Library menu (iPLM 3) or Library ➙ Rebuild Library menu (iPLM 4) 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: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments but not books, calendars or slideshows. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.

OT

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Answer 2

BexWB Author

Level 1

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Mar 14, 2014 10:35 AM in response to Old Toad

Thanks for the quick reply! Is there any possibility of losing any pic files in either of the fixes? Also, in Fix #1, how do I make a backup of the library before rebuilding?

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Answer 3

Old Toad

Level 10

207,457 points

Mar 14, 2014 10:43 AM in response to BexWB

No. But the insurance is if you follow the circled suggestion and have a backup copy of the library beforehand.

The easiest way to to copy the iPhoto library to another hard drive or volume. If you don't have another hard drive and have enough space on your boot drive just make a temporary copy of the library in the Pictures folder. It can be deleted later if not needed.

If you don't have a current backup strategy I strongly suggest you enable one. The easiest is to user an external HD with Time Machine (included with your other applications).

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