Can't load or rebuild iPhoto library

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Can't load or rebuild iPhoto library

My iPhoto library hasn't been appearing. I've tried going through the 4 repair options (that show when I open with Command+Option) and have tried the rebuild a few times now. Each time I try to rebuild, it stalls at the same place (pic attached). From there, nothing happens and my photos are trapped in the library.I have also tried moving the library to an external hard drive and loading it into iPhoto from there and it simply does nothing. If i open the application again, it goes to the regular "get started" page.

I have a large library of 280GB. I'm not sure how many images are in there.

Can anyone help me restore my library? Should I be using Aperture for a library this size?

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.2)

Posted on Apr 18, 2014 6:44 PM

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Answer 1

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LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Apr 18, 2014 7:40 PM in response to punwick

28 GB is tiny - mine is over 10 times that large - and Aerture and iPhoto use exactly the same libray - so your guess is no it

download iPhoto Library Manager - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ - and use e free trial's rebuild command to create a totall new library leaving the exsting one for any required future use

LN

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Answer 2

punwick Author

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Apr 28, 2014 8:18 AM in response to LarryHN

Thanks LarryHN,

I've gone through this now with some success. However the library is now 167GB down from 280GB. With that many photos, I can't easily tell if anything is missing. Is there any reason for such a large drop in size of the library? I thought maybe it was stripping duplicates but I couldn't have had more than a few duplicates.

Also, the rebuild stripped the division of photos into 'events'. Is that normal?

Thanks

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Answer 3

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Apr 28, 2014 8:50 AM in response to punwick

No and no - was this rebuild stricely using the iPhoto first aid rebuild?

LN

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Answer 4

punwick Author

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Apr 28, 2014 9:49 AM in response to LarryHN

I had tried to rebuild in iPhoto (as per original post) but that failed. So I downloaded the iPhoto Library Manager, selected "Rebuild Library" and it went through rebuilding. It looks to have worked quite well except I have lost over 100GB of data and the events are no longer defined. I'm still trying to work out what the lost data are.

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