Help! Ive lost 3,000 photos! Ever since upgrading to OSX on IMAC

Question

Level 1

0 points

Help! Ive lost 3,000 photos! Ever since upgrading to OSX on IMAC

I've noticed little glitches with Iphoto since updating my IMAC and Macbook to OSX. For instance, the program jamming up, extremely slow response, suddenly closing out entirely, playing hide and seek with photos (they download, and then cannot be retrieved when searched for by file name), and recently, something completely unforgivable, deleting my photos. It seems that some of them, a meager 1,000(which includes 4 copies of each photo recovered) of my original 3,000 downloaded have been retrieved. Of course I deleted the originals from the source (Iphone 5).

Is there a fix for this bug? Seems to be somewhat common. Is it possible to retrieve any more photos? Does Iphoto have a storage capacity limit to be able to operate smoothly?

This happens mostly on the IMAC, but also noticing it on the Macbook, as far as photos downloading, then not able to be found. I tried to re-download (this time SD card), thinking there was a problem with the initial download and the photos claim to have been downloaded, but do not appear in any event.

This is so frustrating. I've been trying to complete a calendar for 3 months now, because my photos keep disappearing! I'm ready to switch to Microsoft.

Please help!

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Feb 25, 2015 8:59 PM

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Answer 1

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Feb 25, 2015 9:23 PM in response to carrledlane

Sorry you need to calm down and provide coherent, revelent facts - and since we are all volunteer users just like you threatening us has no positive effect

Lets start with the version of iphoto and of the OS that you have and what you upgraded from (note OS X has been around for over ten years - if you just upgraded from OS 9 to OS X then you did not perviously have iphoto on your Mac)

Try again with no editorial comments and a clear description of what you have and what your problem is

see Writing an effective Apple Support Communities question for help

LN

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Answer 2

carrledlane Author

Level 1

0 points

Feb 25, 2015 9:48 PM in response to LarryHN

Calm here.

What further information do you need? The name of my first born child? (Joking)

I assumed that since I entered the model and operating system info on my inquiry, that you could see that. I guess it only appears on my end of the inquiry.

So Macbook, we're talking OS X 10.6.8, Iphoto 9.2.3 and for the guiltiest culprit... Imac OS X Yosemite, Iphoto 9.6. Any other information needed? I'm obviously not very versed in computers, but I think I provided pretty much everything else in my original inquiry.

Let me know if I missed something. (Other than my photos)

Does Iphoto have a limit to how many photos it can hold while operating smoothly? Or is it simply restricted by the memory available on my computer? I'm wondering if this is the issue with the Imac, even though I've experienced similar problems on both systems.

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Answer 3

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,260 points

Feb 25, 2015 10:49 PM in response to carrledlane

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.

iPhoto has a limit of 1,000,000 items. You should always have about 10 gigs of free space on your Hard Disk

Regards

TD

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Answer 4

Old Toad

Level 10

207,367 points

Feb 26, 2015 8:34 AM in response to carrledlane

Download and run Etrecheck. Copy and paste the results into your reply. Etrecheck a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here (and recommended by Apple Support personnel) in the ASC to help identify the more obvious culprits which can add to slowdowns.

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Answer 5

carrledlane Author

Level 1

0 points

Feb 26, 2015 11:14 AM in response to carrledlane

Macbook: (I think my problems are mostly user related here. Found my files. They were assigned an incorrect date. But included this as there were multiple items in red (start up items, user launch agent, time machine, Top processes by memory: Firefox, and Virtual Memory Information: Page-Outs. Thanks!)

EtreCheck version: 2.1.8 (121)

Report generated February 26, 2015 12:25:25 PM EST

Download EtreCheck from http://etresoft.com/etrecheck

Hardware Information: ℹ️

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2010) (Technical Specifications)

MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro7,1

1 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2-core

4 GB RAM

BANK 0/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Battery Health: Normal - Cycle count 511

Video Information: ℹ️

NVIDIA GeForce 320M - VRAM: 256 MB

Color LCD 1280 x 800

spdisplays_display_connector

System Software: ℹ️

Mac OS X 10.6.8 (10K549) - Time since boot: 12 days 15:2:13

Disk Information: ℹ️

TOSHIBA MK2555GSXF disk0 : (232.89 GB)

- (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 249.72 GB (146.91 GB free)

MATSHITADVD-R UJ-898

USB Information: ℹ️

Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

Generic Mass Storage Device 7.4 GB

NO NAME (disk1s1) /Volumes/NO NAME : 7.94 GB (2.07 GB free)

Apple Internal Memory Card Reader

Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

Startup Items: ℹ️

HP IO: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HP IO

Startup items are obsolete in OS X Yosemite

Problem System Launch Daemons: ℹ️

[not loaded] org.samba.winbindd.plist [Click for support]

Launch Daemons: ℹ️

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.versioncueCS3.plist [Click for support]

User Launch Agents: ℹ️

[failed] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[...]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist

User Login Items: ℹ️

AdobeResourceSynchronizer Application (/Applications/Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional/Adobe Acrobat Professional.app/Contents/Support/AdobeResourceSynchronizer.app)

HP Scheduler Application (/Library/Application Support/Hewlett-Packard/Software Update/HP Scheduler.app)

Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️

Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.4.4.2 [Click for support]

FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 16.0.0.305 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 13.9.8 - SDK 10.6 Check version

Flash Player: Version: 16.0.0.305 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

AdobePDFViewer: Version: 8.1.0 [Click for support]

CouponPrinter-FireFox_v2: Version: Version 1.1.6 [Click for support]

QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.6.6

Silverlight: Version: 5.1.20125.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0 - SDK 10.7

Audio Plug-ins: ℹ️

iSightAudio: Version: 7.6.6

3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️

Adobe Version Cue CS3 [Click for support]

Flash Player [Click for support]

Flip4Mac WMV [Click for support]

Perian [Click for support]

Time Machine: ℹ️

Time Machine information requires OS X 10.7 "Lion" or later.

Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️

7% firefox

4% WindowServer

3% plugin-container

0% fontd

0% iPhoto

Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️

1.41 GB firefox

322 MB iPhoto

64 MB WindowServer

34 MB plugin-container

34 MB mds

Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️

65 MB Free RAM

2.40 GB Active RAM

1.13 GB Inactive RAM

431 MB Wired RAM

5.62 GB Page-ins

1.30 GB Page-outs

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Answer 6

carrledlane Author

Level 1

0 points

Feb 26, 2015 11:25 AM in response to carrledlane

IMac: This machine is so sluggish and programs frequently abruptly quit on me. IPhoto is the worst. It started after several updates to the OS. She worked fine before on her dinosaur software. :/ Could it all be due to insufficient memory? What is the best way expand the memory? Thanks!

EtreCheck version: 2.1.8 (121)

Report generated February 26, 2015 at 2:05:05 PM EST

Download EtreCheck from http://etresoft.com/etrecheck

Click the [Click for support] links for help with non-Apple products.

Click the [Click for details] links for more information about that line.

Hardware Information: ℹ️

iMac (20-inch, Early 2008) (Verified)

iMac - model: iMac8,1

1 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2-core

2 GB RAM Upgradeable

BANK 0/DIMM0

1 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

1 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Video Information: ℹ️

ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro - VRAM: 256 MB

iMac 1680 x 1050

System Software: ℹ️

OS X 10.10.2 (14C109) - Time since boot: 2 days 1:26:33

Disk Information: ℹ️

ST3320820AS_Q disk0 : (320.07 GB)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 319.21 GB (12.83 GB free) (Low!)

Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

USB Information: ℹ️

Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub

Apple, Inc Apple Keyboard

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Gatekeeper: ℹ️

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions: ℹ️

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.seagate.driver.PowSecDriverCore (5.1.1) [Click for support]

/System/Library/Extensions/Seagate Storage Driver.kext/Contents/PlugIns

[not loaded] com.seagate.driver.PowSecLeafDriver_10_4 (5.1.1) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.seagate.driver.PowSecLeafDriver_10_5 (5.1.1) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.seagate.driver.SeagateDriveIcons (5.1.1) [Click for support]

Startup Items: ℹ️

HP IO: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HP IO

Startup items are obsolete in OS X Yosemite

Launch Agents: ℹ️

[running] com.seagate.SeagateStorageGauge.plist [Click for support]

Launch Daemons: ℹ️

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.versioncueCS3.plist [Click for support]

User Launch Agents: ℹ️

[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist [Click for support]

[running] com.memeo.Memeod.plist [Click for support]

User Login Items: ℹ️

AdobeResourceSynchronizer Application (/Applications/Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional/Adobe Acrobat Professional.app/Contents/Support/AdobeResourceSynchronizer.app)

iTunesHelper Application Hidden (/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)

HP Product Research Application (/Library/Application Support/Hewlett-Packard/Customer Participation/HP Product Research.app)

HP Scheduler Application (/Library/Application Support/Hewlett-Packard/Software Update/HP Scheduler.app)

Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️

FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 16.0.0.305 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

Flash Player: Version: 16.0.0.305 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

AdobePDFViewer: Version: 8.3.1 [Click for support]

Default Browser: Version: 600 - SDK 10.10

CouponPrinter-FireFox: Version: Version 1.1.5

Silverlight: Version: 5.1.30514.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0

3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️

Adobe Version Cue CS3 [Click for support]

Flash Player [Click for support]

Time Machine: ℹ️

Skip System Files: NO

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

Macintosh HD: Disk size: 319.21 GB Disk used: 306.39 GB

Destinations:

FreeAgent GoFlex Drive [Local]

Total size: 499.97 GB

Total number of backups: 1

Oldest backup: 2014-12-14 07:21:59 +0000

Last backup: 2014-12-14 07:21:59 +0000

Size of backup disk: Too small

Backup size 499.97 GB < (Disk used 306.39 GB X 3)

Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️

3% WindowServer

1% Safari

0% SystemUIServer

0% makewhatis

0% fontd

Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️

223 MB softwareupdated

133 MB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

118 MB iTunes

64 MB Safari

37 MB Acrobat

Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️

42 MB Free RAM

767 MB Active RAM

741 MB Inactive RAM

314 MB Wired RAM

4.89 GB Page-ins

61 MB Page-outs

Diagnostics Information: ℹ️

Feb 24, 2015, 12:34:05 PM Self test - passed

Feb 23, 2015, 05:27:52 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/LegacyFileVaultMessageTracer_2015-02-23-172752_ [redacted].crash

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Answer 7

carrledlane Author

Level 1

0 points

Feb 26, 2015 11:27 AM in response to Yer_Man

Thank you for your time and wisdom. I'll have to get a bigger external drive and try these.

Thanks again!

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Answer 8

Old Toad

Level 10

207,367 points

Feb 26, 2015 2:17 PM in response to carrledlane

Your Macbook Pro:

First reboot. You've been up over 12 days and a reboot can clear caches and temp files.

You're getting a lot of Page-outs (1.30 GB) which indicates you don't have enough memory. That model can use up to 16 GB of memory. Crucial.com is the best supplier to get Mac memory. I would upgrade to a minimum of 8 GB (two 2 GB modules) or more if the budget allows.

You iMac:

Also you shouldn't need the Seagate software to use the Seagate external HD. It just gets in the way of the OS X.

Do you have File Vault encryption activated?

Memory - 2 GB is just not enough memory to run Yosemite and any other app efficiently. The iMac is capable of using 6 GB of memory. Upgrade at Crucial.com to 6 GB with a 4 GB and a 2 GB module.

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Answer 9

crysdaye

Level 1

8 points

Feb 26, 2015 4:05 PM in response to carrledlane

Since I updated to Yosemite and updated iPhoto I can find pictures under my events or iPhoto if looking but some of my files are more hidden as they are under other files. When I go to iPhoto from Facebook or from my email box looking for a picture, I pick photos and then I get iPhoto pictures to select but it now does NOT have my selection of files. I may have 50 files of pictures now labels as logos', friends, family, NEDSCO etc. Without the files I can't find the picture I want, and if it was there it may take me an hour to find it. I did find the tag files but I have not tagged my pictures so only a select few are tagged under these files. I'm so upset as I can't find the pictures I want when I need to find them. I went through all pictures at one time and not all are there... for sure. Yet I know they are there as I can go direct to iPhoto move the picture to my desk to find it when I want it. But this is extra work.

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Answer 10

crysdaye

Level 1

8 points

Feb 26, 2015 4:13 PM in response to carrledlane

I'm like you in having this problem since the update. I use my photos more than anything on my computer so this is a major problem. I can even do my job with this problem.... I use these pictures in my advertisements. I want to undo updates to go back to the way things were now. I'm asking myself why I am having to tag everything new now too??? I don't know how to tag old pictures either if I go directly to iPhoto. I am naming them on my desk top... but many of my pics have numbers given by iPhoto,

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Answer 11

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Feb 26, 2015 4:13 PM in response to crysdaye

Do NOT go directly to your photos - that is not supported, is difficult, and is dangerous

either access your photos using iPhoto or the media browser - see How to Access Files in iPhoto

LN

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Answer 12

carrledlane Author

Level 1

0 points

Feb 26, 2015 7:21 PM in response to Old Toad

Ok. More questions...

How do I activate File Vault? (It didn't come up when I searched my computer. :/)

Is it worth it to go for SSD?

Can I really install the memory myself? This idea seems crazy to me. I can't even find File Vault.

THanks!

Reply

Answer 13

carrledlane Author

Level 1

0 points

Feb 26, 2015 7:34 PM in response to crysdaye

I feel your pain. What I do, which is a PITA, is to open IPhoto, search for the photos I want, then copy the file name. So when I'm working on a project, I open IPhoto within the search then paste the file name. Saves you from scrolling through ALL of your photos.

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