Photos missing after migrations; thumbnails still visible in iphoto library

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Photos missing after migrations; thumbnails still visible in iphoto library

I replaced the hard drive on my 2012 MacBook Pro (OSX 10.9.5, 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 4 GB 1600 MHz DDR3) after the hard drive died.

I have a daily time machine/time capsule backup, which is what I migrated from.

The only issue I've noticed is that I can't see any of my photos in iPhoto. My library is divided into events and albums as it should be. There are dotted outlines where the photos should be, and when I click on a (missing) photo it opens to a triangle with an exclamation point. However, all the thumbnails are visible along the bottom when I have a single (missing) photo open.

I have tried the following from iPhoto:

1. restore permissions - no change

2. repair library - no change

3. rebuild library - no change

Then I tried the iPhoto Library Manager rebuild - the rebuild had 0 photos

Then I tried the following:

1. restoring just the iphoto library from time machine - same as before

2. restore a different back up entirely from time machine completely - same as before

Lastly, I just viewed the contents of iPhoto Library and it does not have "Old Masters/Modified/Originals" files, as was suggested in another conversation I read. I did not think that was it, but figured I would mention it.

Please help!

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2012), OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)

Posted on Jun 1, 2015 9:09 AM

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Answer 1

léonie

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Jun 1, 2015 9:15 AM in response to nemeamy

Lastly, I just viewed the contents of iPhoto Library and it does not have "Old Masters/Modified/Originals" files, as was suggested in another conversation I read. I did not think that was it, but figured I would mention it.

But is there a folder Masters, and does this folder contain your missing photos, when you dive into the nested folders inside? Or are no photos at all in the Masters folder?

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Answer 2

nemeamy Author

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Jun 1, 2015 9:20 AM in response to léonie

It appears to be empty

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Answer 3

léonie

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Jun 1, 2015 9:39 AM in response to nemeamy

Then no repairing of the library will help.

Try to go further back in time with Time Machine, to check, if the Masters folder will have more content, if you restore from an older backup.

Open the Masters Folder as shown in your screenshot, then enter Time Machine, and go back in time by clicking the time line at the right border of the window. Will your original image files appear, if you go further back in time?

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Answer 4

nemeamy Author

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Jun 1, 2015 9:59 AM in response to léonie

If I go back over a year I get folders inside these folders, but there are no photo files inside these folders.

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Answer 5

léonie

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Jun 1, 2015 10:23 AM in response to nemeamy

What happens, when you go back only a few weeks?

Time Machine may have already deleted the older backups to reclaim space.

If you cannot find any photos in the Masters folder, Time Machine may never have made a complete backup, because iPhoto was always open when Time Machine was running, or the photos have been deleted. Have you ever been running cleaning applications to save space?

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Answer 6

nemeamy Author

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Jun 1, 2015 10:36 AM in response to léonie

I went back through each backup and those folders showed up when I got to last March. They aren't there a few weeks ago. I know I don't leave iPhoto open all the time though; I always close it after I import and edit my photos. I doubt it was open every time Time Machine was running.

As for cleaning applications - like MacKeeper? No, I've never used any of those.

If I can't find the Masters does that mean they are just gone?

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Answer 7

léonie

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Jun 1, 2015 1:06 PM in response to nemeamy

If I go back over a year I get folders inside these folders, but there are no photo files inside these folders.

That means that the photos most have been deleted from your iPhoto Library about a year ago.

Perhaps they have only been moved from the library but not erased. Search your Mac for any jpeg file you can find.

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Answer 8

léonie

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Jun 1, 2015 1:16 PM in response to léonie

You can use the search in the Finder to search for photos.

Bring the Finder forward and enter ⌘F
Set the search to "Kind Image" and JPEG.

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Answer 9

nemeamy Author

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Jun 1, 2015 7:58 PM in response to léonie

Great! Thank you! I have found 2 things - an intact iPhoto library masters folder that goes through 2011 in this file:

And then I went through my time machine backups looking at iPhoto Library file size and they were all around 1.5GB, except on Nov. 10 2014 when it was 217.46GB. I'm hoping this is intact up to Nov 6.

So my question is should I just go ahead and restore this file?

If so, what about the other library?

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Answer 10

nemeamy Author

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Jun 1, 2015 8:15 PM in response to nemeamy

Also, I know I looked through earlier looking at the Masters files. I was rushing and panicked then. This time I took my time and let each one calculate size, so I may have missed it earlier. That's what I'm hoping anyway.

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Answer 11

léonie

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Jun 1, 2015 10:46 PM in response to nemeamy

So my question is should I just go ahead and restore this file?

If so, what about the other library?

Do you have enough storage to keep both? Then rename your other library, before you restore the November version. This way you can compare them and look for missing newer photos.

But restore using the Starwars display by entering Time Machine and not by browsing the backup directly in the Finder, or the restored library may not link the originals properly.

an intact iPhoto library masters folder that goes through 2011 in this file:

Restore that folder as well. You may find earlier photos inside.

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Answer 12

nemeamy Author

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Jun 2, 2015 5:35 AM in response to léonie

Well, that didn't work. I restored it by entering time machine and opened it with iPhoto. As soon as I opened it the file size changed from 217GB to 1.32GB

So I went in through Finder to look at the file - backup on the left, current on the right

Big difference in Size from the outside, but when I View Package Contents they are identical except for AlbumData.xml in the current file.

Any ideas?

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Answer 13

nemeamy Author

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Jun 2, 2015 5:37 AM in response to nemeamy

Oh, and I had a screenshot that showed that it said 217GB after I restored it, but I opened and cropped that in preview and then got this when I tried to use it:

I doubt that is related but it is new and different so I'm mentioning it.

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Answer 14

léonie

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Jun 2, 2015 6:50 AM in response to nemeamy

Great! Thank you! I have found 2 things - an intact iPhoto library masters folder that goes through 2011 in this file:

Did you restore that folder? What is inside?

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Answer 15

nemeamy Author

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Jun 2, 2015 8:29 AM in response to léonie

This folder is on my hard drive already in an Adobe folder and does contain my photos through 2011, at least. I found it searching for JPEGs, as you suggested, so thank you very much for that suggestion.

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