Q: Iphoto won't open thumbnails

Sorry about the paragraphs.

(Yes, it says iPhoto 09 v8.1.2)

When I restored from time capsule earlier today (twice, from two different days, but I could go back farther...) iphoto opened and thumbnails appeared but the photos would not open. (which was my original problem)

Ok, so I went to iplm help, duh,  (per your instructions) and followed those instructions (as opposed to ones someone wrote out on this discussion board which didn't match what was on my screen). I chose the library to rebuild (on the left -- default library) and then chose rebuild library.

While that was going on, I kept getting many many messages saying "file can't be imported" or "copied" or something (wish I wrote it down).  Some were in groups -- numbers from 1 to 16 or so, maybe events with that many pictures in them?  That error message kept coming up and I kept clicking "ok" to proceed or continue... 

After all that was done, I opened iphoto and didn't even get thumbnails.

So then I restored iphoto from an earlier date (earlier then the previous two iphoto restore tries)  from time capsule and I still don't get even the thumbnails.

At least the thumbnails are still there in iplm default library, but default library (rebuilt) is blank (like iphoto).

If it would help to know the exact error message, I could rebuild the library again and write it down. [would I need to remove default library (rebuilt) first?]

Can I merge default library with default library rebuilt? 

Oh well, I seem to be getting deeper into a hole. :-(  But thanks for trying to help. :-)

Alice

Since there weren't any thumbnails, I wasn't sure what you meant, but I went into iplm and "right" clicked on a thumbnail in my default library, then chose "select in iphoto". When iphoto opened all my thumbnails were back. (I think that made it switch back to my default library?) I clicked on the thumbnail and got a blank screen in iphoto. Same problem as before.

Apparently, none of the photos transferred into the rebuilt library. I click on default library (rebuilt) in the left hand pane in iplm and the middle column under library, says 0 photos. The large preview area where thumbnails would be is blank. (Default library (not rebuilt) says 366 photos.)

Ok, so I went back to do another rebuild library and chose to scavange photos this time. Here's the error message that comes up in iphoto (same as last attempt to rebuild without scavange chosen):

"Unreadable files: 1"   "the following file could not be imported. (the file is in an unrecognizable format)" 

Here is an actual file name in the box under "unreadable files 1": /Users/alijaywec/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Originals/2008/Aug 20, 2008/DSCN2281.JPG

Then I click "ok" and got:

"unreadable files 3"... and in the box this is one of the three files:  /var/folders/pc/pcPKdrjHH7mFz9w7Rv8vO++++TI/-Tmp-/Pics 45/IMG_0066.JPG

iplm says it's importing events. Iphoto is saying it's importing photos. I got the error window in iphoto about 50-60 times, clicking "ok" each time.

This is what iplm said when it said rebuild complete:

No photos were imported

2 albums were copied

62 events were copied

1 photo failed to be successfully imported into the destination library by iPhoto

9 errors occurred during the transfer

Trying to be as complete as I can. Hope some of this helps. Thanks again.

Ok, I just tried that. When I tried to drag the folders (of years) from the originals folder, (from iphoto library, from pictures folder) -- when I tried to drag those folders to the open iphoto window I got the same error messages as beofre. "unreadable file...   ...unrecognizable format"  I hope it's ok to do this -- I'll reply to OT's message and reply to that thread to see what he says.  Thank you Terrence.  

Yes. Just to make sure I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing.... 

From pictures folder,  I "right click" on the iphoto library, (not iphoto library_2, that doesn't have "originals" folder)  click on show packages, originals, year, then attempt to drag individual pictures into iphoto that is opened with iphoto library_2, (which is blank with no thumbnails). 

Still get same error message.

I forgot to mention that I tried that. I first went to iphoto library_2 to find that originals folder, but iphoto_2 does not have an originals folder. I didn't know it was supposed to have an originals folder, so I just went to iphoto library and used that originals folder. 

An interesting note, though. When I tried to rebuild the library once again to make iphoto library_3, the same thing was not in the pictures folder. Iphoto_3 was a folder, not an icon. I "right" clicked on it, then opened it and all of it's contents one by one, and there was not any "show package contents" to be found.  Where as iphoto library and library_2 are icons in the pictures folder that I could right click on and have "show package contents" to then click on.

Also to reiterate, one of the things I did before writing here was to drag iphoto app to the trash, (then empty it) then reload it from the app install dvd that came with the computer. I also dragged it to the trash again and restored from time capsule two times (from two different dates). After each of those attempts opening iphoto brought up thumbnails but wouldn't load the pictures.

Thanks. You guys are really trying to help me with this and I very much appreciate it.

Alice

I was wondering if there is any more help out there to try to get iphoto working again.

This may be another interesting thing... I just tried to open a new jpg that I just got in an email, using iphoto, and I got the same message. "unrecognizable format".

What about trying again to drag the app from my app folder to the trash? Should I get it from an old time capsule backup or from the app dvd that came with the computer? (I have tried both those things already, but sometimes things just inexplicabley work the second time...  and sometimes they don't...)

If not, I will just forget about using iphoto, and use iplm and look at them in pdf.

But that kind of *****.

Would anyone like to guess what is likely to happen when I get a new computer and transfer files from this one?

Iphoto is destroyed on this computer beyond repair all becuase a tech downloaded ilife updates that I had chosen not to download?

Is it safe to just delete all the extra libraries?

I also thought it interesting that in my pictures folder iphoto library_2 is an icon (that has the ctr/click "show package contents") and iphoto_3 is a folder. I'm curious as to why that is, if anyone might know.

Thanks for any help.

"iPhoto_3 is not a valid iPhoto Library."

Ok, but it was there right under iphoto_2. (as a folder)  :-) That's what iplm named it.

And, yes, I did have 8.1.2

I trashed unwanted libararies and reinstalled app and downloaded update so I'm back to 8.1.2

I dragged iphoto app to the trash, removed the pkg files, emptied the trash, reloaded iphoto from app install disk that came with computer. (I retried the jpg from my email at this point, but got "unrecognizable format" again.

First time I tried to open iphoto it asked me which library to open (only gave me one, since I had discarded the others), then said "you can't open your current iphoto library using this version of iphoto", (I checked from the iphoto menu and it said 8.1). "You've made changes to your library using a newer version of iphoto." So I downloaded and installed 8.1.2.

Back to square one. I do have thumbnails in iphoto, but they won't open. And the new .jpg from my email gets the same message when I choose to open with iphoto.

It seems there isn't any left to try.