All Thumbnails Are either Black Or Blank

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All Thumbnails Are either Black Or Blank

I have done a clean install of Yosemite after I originally did a Yosemite update from 10.9 - 10.10.3 and subsequently done a full restore from my Time Machine. Unfortunately Mac Photo App is not displaying any thumbnails - the majority of my 29,000 photos are either blank or black. The metadata seems to be there and if I select the blank or black thumbnail the full size image opens.

You used to be able to get iPhoto to do a thumbnail re-build by doing the Command /Option key press routine, however in Photos seems you don't get any options, just does a repair of your Photo's library which hasn't helped.

Any suggestions?

iMac (27-inch Mid 2011), OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on Apr 28, 2015 2:47 PM

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Answer 1

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Old Toad

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Apr 30, 2015 3:19 AM in response to Nathan Hill1

Are you still able to use iPhoto on your iPhoto Library? If so run the first aid on that library with iPhoto and apply Options #1, Repair Library Permissions, #2 - Rebuild Thumbnails and #4 - Rebuild Library Database.

Then open that "fixed" library with Photos to create a new Photos library. See if that will bring the thumbnails back.

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Answer 2

Nathan Hill1 Author

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Apr 28, 2015 3:16 PM in response to Old Toad

Many thanks for your prompt response.

Haven't got iPhoto anymore as unfortunately when I finally updated to Yosemite a couple of weeks back it automatically replaced my iPhoto Application with Apple's "New Improved Photos", seemingly with out asking if I wanted to or not. I guess I could use Time Machine to Restore the old iPhoto library, however HD space is an issue (can I restore to an external HDD?) and I'm not sure iPhoto is either compatible with Yosemite or now available on the App store.

Bit stumped!

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Answer 3

Old Toad

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Apr 28, 2015 3:48 PM in response to Nathan Hill1

it automatically replaced my iPhoto Application with Apple's "New Improved Photos", seemingly with out asking if I wanted to or not.

What actually happened is that the new Photos app was installed along with the system and replaced iPhoto in the Dock only. Your iPhoto application will still be in the Applications folder.

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Answer 4

Nathan Hill1 Author

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Apr 28, 2015 3:59 PM in response to Old Toad

In my case that doesn't seem to have happened - I have the iPhoto App listed in the Applications folder but with the cross through the icon. When I click on it I get the message "In order to open “iPhoto.app”, you need to update to the latest version.along with an option to Search the App Store which then links to the App Store with the Meaage "Item Not Available". Strange, as my iPhoto, prior to updating to Yosemite, was up-tp-date - possibly that's part of the problem that I never has a version of iPhoto which was Yosemite compatible?

I kind of hoped that due to the large size of my photo library it was slowly creating thumbnails, however no change all evening and Activity monitor doesn't suggest Photos is doing anything.

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Answer 5

Old Toad

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Apr 30, 2015 3:19 AM in response to Nathan Hill1

See if you can download the latest versions following the instructions in Terence Devlin's post:

Terence Devlin including Apple logo changes for feature 126 Apple image including Apple logo changes for feature 126 Apple image ends here

Apr 14, 2015 11:21 AM

Re: Is Iphoto gone ? i want it back!

in response to Johannes666

Recommended

[DocumentBodyStart:d25bf602-029a-4466-b895-2ab6c98bb4c9]

Go to the App Store and check out the Purchases List. If iPhoto is there then it will be v9.6.1

If it is there, then drag your existing iPhoto app (not the library, just the app) to the trash

Install the App from the App Store.

Sometimes iPhoto is not visible on the Purchases List. it may be hidden. See this article for details on how to unhide it.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4928

One question often asked: Will I lose my Photos if I reinstall?

iPhoto the application and the iPhoto Library are two different parts of the iPhoto programme. So, reinstalling the app should not affect the Library. BUT you should always have a back up before doing this kind of work. Always.

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Answer 6

Nathan Hill1 Author

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Apr 30, 2015 3:24 AM in response to Old Toad

Many thanks Old Toad, your advice has greatly helped me.

I deleted the incompatible iPhoto from my Applications then located it in my purchase history on the App Store and re-installed which gave me the latest Yosemite compatible version. Have now got iPhoto working as before with all my thumbnails etc - just planning to do a bit of house keeping and then see if I can successfully migrate my newly trimmed iPhoto library over to Photos. Anyway, the important thing is I now have the thumbnails back and my photo library is intact.

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