Missing iPhoto Library

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Missing iPhoto Library

I keep my iPhoto library on an external hard drive (because I have so many photos) and last night I accidentally pulled out the drive without ejecting it first, so this morning when I plugged it back in and opened iPhoto, it said the library needed to be repaired, so I clicked "repair". I have done this many times and while it usually takes a while, it always works. Today after clicking repair, another pop-up said something about an update so I clicked that as well and when it was done loading (after maybe 10 minutes), it said there were no files in my library. I opened the "Show package contents" and there is nothing under "Masters", "Thumbnails", or "Previews" but there are photos under "Old Masters", "Old Thumbnails", and "Old Previews". I don't know if these are all of my files since I have so many, but I am hoping so. Could this have something to do with it? I plugged my hard drive into my mac desktop hoping something was just wrong with my macbook iphoto and not my actual library, but it still showed that there were no photos in the library. How do I get these (10,000+) photos back into my iPhoto?!

In case you need more info -- I have a 15" Retina Macbook Pro, with 16 GB 1600 MHz and I am using OSX Yosemite, version 10.10.1. I believed my iPhoto was fully updated (it says it is 9.6) so I'm not sure why it said I needed to update while it was repairing my library.

I also checked to make sure I didn't open or create a new library. When I selected "switch library", there was only one library option (the library from my external drive).

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Yosemite (10.10.1), null

Posted on Feb 28, 2015 10:22 AM

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Answer 1

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LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Feb 28, 2015 10:31 AM in response to ktggfan813

This is a significant bug with iphoto 9.6 and Yosemite - Best solution is to restore your backup from before you made this error

and report the bug to Apple - iphoto menu ==> provide iphoto feedback and Detailed and Effective Bug Reporting

LN

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Answer 2

ktggfan813 Author

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Feb 28, 2015 11:09 AM in response to LarryHN

Thanks for the advice. Since my iphoto library is on an external drive, though, I unfortunately do not have a back up of it. I restored my iphoto (the app, not the library) from a few days ago but nothing changed. Do you have any suggestions?

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Answer 3

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Feb 28, 2015 11:19 AM in response to ktggfan813

1 - start backing up - choosing not to backup is a bad decision and assures that sooner or later you will lose your photos - Time Machine and other backup software works just fine backing up external drives

2 - you can try using the free trial's rebuild command in iPhoto Library Manager - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ - this creates a new library from the old one salvaging what ever it can leaving the existing one untouched for any future needs

3 - Restoring the Application will not help - this is not a software problem but a data problem caused by user error

LN

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Answer 4

Old Toad

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207,601 points

Feb 28, 2015 2:41 PM in response to ktggfan813

There is a fix that one user used that worked but it's not guaranteed. See zaxes' post in this topic: Yosemite, iPhoto 9.6 upgrade, large photo library is not recognised.

As always make sure you have a backup copy of the library before starting the process.

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Answer 5

cdk3law

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Feb 28, 2015 5:54 PM in response to ktggfan813

I have a similar experience regarding "repair" and "update" prompts...however my external iPhoto library seems to be fine on my external HD. When I opened iPhoto for the first time (after the repair and update)...I was promoted like it was a new program with no pictures or database associated with it (it gives 3 choices on a yellow sticky-note type of screen...to drag and drop, import, + ?...). I realized it wasn't connecting with my iPhoto database on the external hard drive, so I closed iPhoto and reopened it with the option key pressed and it gave me the option to choose the database on my external HD (it has a unique name so I know it is the one to use). I figured "OK, it knows or sees it"...so I selected it, clicked "choose". It returns to the iPhoto start screen however instead of loading up my database it instead goes to the original same 3 prompts...as if I had never selected the database from the option prompt. So, I don't know what to do or try next.... It is possible my database is corrupted without knowing it?

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Answer 6

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Feb 28, 2015 6:03 PM in response to cdk3law

I have no idea - and since you are threadjacking a thread about a totally different problem and give no context for your question it is impossible to guess

start a new thread with your specific information - see Writing an effective Apple Support Communities question - an more information about your system and the problem and less redundant narrative would help us follow hat yu are saying

LN

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