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I have bought a new Mac, and my old Mac had all of my photos in iPhoto 6. I now have no photos in my iphoto library, but they are still in images

How do I get iphoto 6 to repopulate instead of all of my folders being empty in iPhoto? i am on OS 10.6.8

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Apr 20, 2015 7:47 PM

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1 reply

Apr 21, 2015 12:24 AM in response to mothermary

Try these in order - from best option on down...


1. Do you have an up-to-date back up? If so, try copy the library6.iphoto file from the back up to the iPhoto Library allowing it to overwrite the damaged file.


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.


3. If neither of these work then you'll need to create and populate a new library.

To create and populate a new *iPhoto 6* library:


Note this will give you a working library with the same Rolls and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, modified versions, books, calendars etc.


Move the iPhoto Library to the desktop


Launch iPhoto. It will ask if you wish to create a new Library. Say Yes.


Go into the iPhoto Library on your desktop and find the Originals folder. From the Originals folder drag the individual Roll Folders to the iPhoto Window and it will recreate them in the new library.


When you're sure all is well you can delete the iPhoto Library on your desktop.


In the future, in addition to your usual back up routine, you might like to make a copy of the library6.iPhoto file whenever you have made changes to the library as protection against database corruption.

I have bought a new Mac, and my old Mac had all of my photos in iPhoto 6. I now have no photos in my iphoto library, but they are still in images

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