topher707

Q: No photos after time machine restore

Accidentally deleted my photo library from the pictures folder (thought I was deleting a backup that failed on my external, then emptied the trash, I know I'm an idiot).  Used time machine to restore pictures folder. First try failed, said not enough storage.  Deleted some large movie/tv shows from other folders and tried again.  This time it worked but...

 

I now have two photo libraries in the pictures folder (prior to my accidental deletion there was only one). 

One ending in ".photoslibrary.photoslibrary" (iPhoto icon)and

One ending in ".photoslibrary.photolibrary" (Photos icon) both of them 73.73GB.

 

No photos show up when I attempt to open either in Photos or iPhoto. I tried the command + option launch to repair the library in Photos, which only gives one option to repair the library.  Repair finishes, still nothing visible.  I tried the same thing in iPhoto, which gives 4 options. First two options don't help. Repairing the library or rebuilding the library both freeze after a few seconds, both at 29% and then I get the color wheel, let it sit for two hours, nothing.

 

I have tried removing both of the ".photoslibrary.photoslibrary" extensions and reopening with iPhoto & Photos.  iPhoto opens and shows nothing.  Photos opens, prepares the library for about 30 seconds, then shows nothing... this also created another copy of the 73 GB photo library in the pictures folder.  I figure this is how I ended up with two 73 GB photo libraries after the restore.

 

Any ideas??

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.1)

Posted on Nov 29, 2015 8:19 PM

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Q: No photos after time machine restore

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  • by jeffd55,

    jeffd55 jeffd55 Dec 1, 2015 7:30 AM in response to topher707
    Community Specialists
    Dec 1, 2015 7:30 AM in response to topher707

    Hello topher707,

     

    Thank you for using Apple Support Communities. 

     

    I see you are having difficulties in restoring your photo library from a Time Machine backup. Take a look at the following article for the steps to restore from Time Machine. There might have been one or two that you may have missed that is preventing it from being recognized. The possibility that iPhoto was open when you tried restoring seems possible. 

    iPhoto ‘11: Restoring from Time Machine with iPhoto ‘11 (9.2 or later) and OS X Lion 10.7.2 (or later)

     

    Regards

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Dec 1, 2015 7:41 AM in response to topher707
    Level 10 (106,799 points)
    iLife
    Dec 1, 2015 7:41 AM in response to topher707

    I now have two photo libraries in the pictures folder (prior to my accidental deletion there was only one). 

    One ending in ".photoslibrary.photoslibrary" (iPhoto icon)and

    One ending in ".photoslibrary.photolibrary" (Photos icon) both of them 73.73GB.

    That is weird.  The library with the extension .photoslibrary should have the Photos icon and the library with the extension .photolibrary the iPhoto icon.

     

    Ctrl-click the library with the Photos icon and select "Show Package Contents".  Does the folder that opens show a file com.apple.Photos.plist  ? If yes, then that is your Photos library.   Change the double file extension to  .photoslibrary

    Then double-click the library and try to open it again.