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Upgraded to OS X El Capitan and lost my whole iPhoto library

Hi,


I had a huge bank of photos and videos in my iPhoto library going back years and years. For some reason, when I updated from Yosemite to El Capitan then my whole iPhoto library was wiped. The day before I updated then I uploaded photos to iPhoto and it all worked fine. Everything was there from all those years ago, all happy. Then, soon as I updated the OS, poof! all the photos are gone. The iPhoto app is still there alongside the Photos app, but when I click on it it asks me to select a library from an empty list (I can no longer find any iPhoto libraries on my computer) or create a new library. Where have all my photos gone?? Please help.


Thanks,

Jack

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11)

Posted on Oct 2, 2015 4:56 AM

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Posted on Jan 6, 2017 10:28 AM

So true. I consider it a slap in the face from Apple, considering how much I've invested in their products over the years. There is no easy fix, and if you wait to upgrade your machine too long, there will be no fix for a number of similar problems. In any case, the amount of time it would take to remedy the problem if your system is out of date is an additional insult. It's like having your best friend burn your family albums. What is the result? Simple, I'm migrating to Linux.

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Jan 6, 2017 10:28 AM in response to jack-h

So true. I consider it a slap in the face from Apple, considering how much I've invested in their products over the years. There is no easy fix, and if you wait to upgrade your machine too long, there will be no fix for a number of similar problems. In any case, the amount of time it would take to remedy the problem if your system is out of date is an additional insult. It's like having your best friend burn your family albums. What is the result? Simple, I'm migrating to Linux.

May 18, 2017 11:28 AM in response to jack-h

This happened to me when I upgraded from OS 10.6.8 (yes, you read that correctly) to Sierra. All of my albums and photos disappeared. None were in Photo. I tried the conventional approaches suggested on how to find the iPhoto library, etc, but nothing worked. Nor could I open the iPhoto app as some had suggested. It was "grayed out." I had backed up my iPhotos, but discovered that the port on my new MacBook Pro wouldn't accept my flash drive or backup drive (Yes, I know there is a fix for that). But, in desperation, I kept trying things. I went to my old applications file (where the iPhoto application was grayed out), and clicked on the iPhoto folder, and then on "Contents." I started clicking on everything. the "Library" folder availed me naught, but I clicked on the "MacOS" folder and then on a blacked-out square called "iPhoto." Miraculously, iPhoto opened. There were all my albums and photos. But how to get them to Photo? I tried all of the usual suggested routes and nothing worked. Finally, I exported all of the pictures in each album to separate folders on my desktop. Then I was able to import them to Photo and create a new album for each set of pictures.


Convoluted? Yes. But when you've tried everything else you were told would work...


I hope this helps some poor low-tech schmuck like me.

Oct 2, 2015 3:05 PM in response to Yer_Man

Thanks Terence, I've tried all of these.


There is nothing called 'iPhoto Library' on my computer. Nothing in Pictures, nothing in the Trash. I've searched all drives using the EasyFind app and it shows nothing.


I tried digging into my Time Machine vaults for the last backed up iPhoto Library also. I've used it before, I know where it should be. On every single backup I've ever made on this computer, dating back to November 2014, the 'iPhoto Library' in Macintosh HD/Users/User/Pictures is missing. It's bizarre, I've no idea where it's gone. It was definitely there when I made my last upgrade from Mavericks to Yosemite some 6-7 months ago, and I guess must have been there until the upgrade to El Capitan because it was the library in use.


Strangely, the external hard drive has not lost the iPhoto Library in the Time Machine backups I made for a different laptop back in 2013. It's only disappeared in the backups I've made on this computer over the last two years or so.


Where could the iPhoto Library have gone? Is there any way I can recover it? A lot of photos are missing here...


Thanks for your help.


Jack

Oct 3, 2015 3:33 AM in response to kjanx

Lol I know it fixes most things, but I tried the manual reboot a few times. Shutting it down changed nothing. Still only the photos that were stored on iCloud (the ones on my phone) are in Photo. They date back only to October 2014. All my photos from the years before that (the ones that were in iPhoto a few days ago) are still missing. Still no 'iPhoto Library' file anywhere on my computer or Time Machine backups.


I don't know what to do... They've just disappeared into thin air... How could this happen?

Oct 7, 2015 8:22 AM in response to jack-h

Exactly the same happened to me (as well as losing all my emails) and this solution may have worked for me.


In Finder, browse to your Photo folder and then to the location of your original iPhoto library. Select 'Open With' and chose Photos (not iPhoto). It then opens a window saying 'Preparing Library' (I think it may have done this when I first upgraded in which case it may well fail, but I'm giving it another go).


20 minutes in and it's at 8%. I'll leave it to run and see if it works.


Interestingly, when I selected 'Open With' I did have the option of iPhoto. I went back and tried to open my iPhoto library with iPhoto, but couldn't as I had already started the 'Preparing Library' process in Photos and couldn't come out of it. I wonder if I had just tried this if I would have had iPhoto back???


If this works then I'll move on to trying to get my emails back.


Will post back later with results.

Oct 11, 2015 12:28 PM in response to rayk1011

Thanks for your help, this sounds like it's worth a shot.


Please though, I don't fully understand what you mean. By 'photo folder' do you mean MacintoshHD/Users/Me/Pictures? Because that was the location of my original iPhoto library and it's not there any more. The file that was called 'iPhoto Library' has mysteriously disappeared from my computer and all of the backups on my hard drive. Still no idea where it's gone. What do I select for 'Open With' if there's no original library?

Nov 14, 2015 6:28 AM in response to jack-h

Any luck? Did you find them?. Same just happened to me. I did a search for 'masters' which is the folder where iphoto actually stores your jpegs. I found my 5 years worth of pictures here. Then found they were in 'pictures' but this wouldn't open before. So from 'file' then 'get info' I found that it was padlocked bottom right corner I unlocked it and under the 'open with' choice menu I chose the new app 'photos'. It's loading the library now so hope this works.....if not I will copy all the 'masters' folders onto my desktop and put them into photos manually. Hope this helps!

Upgraded to OS X El Capitan and lost my whole iPhoto library

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