Restoring iphoto but missing files

The problem is not restoring a properly made backup - and it is not an iPhoto problem - it is restoring a CrashPlan backup - you need tech support from CrashPlan (and it is very possible that their service is not compatible with the iPhoto library which must alwasy be on a volume formatted Mac OS extended) whatr service are you using and what is the format of the volume containing the backup?

LN

Hmmmm . . . well, I'm surmising that Crash Plan knows how to properly make a backup. They don't have a clue either about the missing files. LOL The name of the service IS CrashPlan. So maybe they are NOT compatible with Mac; although, when he 'shared' my computer, he was very familiar with working his way around the Mac. I'll have to ask them specifically.

It's too late now, but when you say the iPhoto library must always be on a volume formatted Mac OS extended, what do you mean?

It's mainly the videos that are missing the .dv files and will no longer play.

Again the issue is that the iPhoto library must always be on a volume formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) - I'm not sure what part of that you do not understand - it will not work if it is stored on a volume wth a format other than Mac OS extended (journaled)

And Crash Plan has serveral services including a local backup to a local hard drive and a cloud backup - again what service are you using? Have you contacted their custome support? Again this is not an iPhtoo issue or even a Mac issue - it is a CrashPlan issue

Do you have any other backups of your iPhoto library?

LN

Well, the part of that which I do not understand is storing on a volume? a volume? of what? with a format other than Mac OS extended? have no clue what 'extended' (journaled) means. So yeah, there's a lot of that which I don't understand. Don't understand how I get a VOLUME with an EXTENDED format or a JOURNALED format. Sorry, but I don't understand.

But no trouble. I'll just have to figure it out.

I'm using the backup to a remote server CrashPlan -- their server.

Yes, I contacted them.

But I thought I'd ask here to see if someone else was familiar with it.

I'll figure it out. Thanks for your time.

A Volume is a Hard Disk, or a partiton on a Hard Disk.

Hard Disks can be structured in different ways to hold the data, and iPhoto requires a Disk/Volume that is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled). If the library is on a disk with a different format then the data won't be stored in an appropriate structure.

I'm 99.999% certain that Crashplan's server is not formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled). VIrtually no servers are.

So, when you write the iPhoto Library to that server the data is not structured properly, and that's why you have problems when you restore.

It should be noted that ordinary files won't have a problem, in this sense they are Mac compatible. But an iPhoto Library is not an ordinary file. It's a complex ecosystem of interlinked databases, caches, metadata files plus you images. This is also true of Aperture and 3rd party apps like DevonThink Office and so on.

The best you can hope to do is get everything down from Crashplan first, and then see about cleaning up the mess.

Thank you Terrence for explaining that to me. Makes more sense now. I DID contact Crash Plan and asked them about the discussion we're having in this thread.

Their comments were:

******We're actually a Mac shop; that's all we use here. CrashPlan simply backs up the data. It does not convert anything to a different format or make changes to it. Bits go up, and bits get restored. Since the formatting had already been done on your computer (OS X having been installed) the only application that would run on your computer is one that is formatted for the Mac, which was installed. We run CrashPlan on our computers.

iPhoto is not meant for videos (however Apple will let it play its own videos). The data is still there and we could try and restore that separately, and we would more than likely not get that error message. To play them, you probably need a plugin to watch it, which again, iPhoto is not going to have, so you will have to find that one on the internet. *********

So, looks like the problem doesn't lie with CrashPlan, which is good to know, and possibly CrashPlan may be able to restore those files separately. I'll attempt that after the restore, as this is quite a tedius process.

Thank you again for your detailed explanation. It really helps when you understand what is being said. So thank you. I appreciate your taking the time to do that.

Oh dear, if Crashplan is a Mac shop they're not an especially knowledgeable one.

iPhoto is not meant for videos (however Apple will let it play its own videos).

iPhoto will import, manage and export a wide range of video and not just Apple's own...

DId these dv files play in iPhoto before? If so then they should play after... and if they don't?

Ohhhhh dear, really? Yeah, they played BEFORE the store and restore. Ugh.

Well, what's done is done now. I can't change anything other than not backup to CrashPlan in the future!

Maybe when I get this mess straightened up, I'll see if they can really "search for the missing files" and FIND them! and make the videos work again!