Lost system photoslibrary

Question

Level 1

8 points

Lost system photoslibrary

Hi!

Yesterday I detected issue with my photos. I simply lost my photos for last 2 years (30Gb)!

Photos are just disappeared. I haven't bucked up anything (( I see 30Gb more free on my drive, but I haven't deleted anything to free up so much place!

Now by opening Photos app I see message aka choose new photos library, but in library list I see only iPhoto library. In Pictures folder I see only iPhoto and Media Booth libraries, but not Photos library. Where is it gone?

MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2012), OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Sep 8, 2016 10:41 PM

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Answer 1

léonie

Level 10

200,705 points

Sep 8, 2016 10:57 PM in response to julynaza

, but I haven't deleted anything to free up so much place!

But what have you done yesterday or before the photo library vanished? Have you run any cleaning applications like CleanMyMac or similar? Have you installed any new software or updated to newer software?

Perhaps you just moved your Photos Library somewhere else and did not delete it.

Search with SpotLight for "Photos Library.photoslibrary". And if Spotlight cannot find it, download and search with FindAnyFile:

The trial is free:

http://apps.tempel.org/FindAnyFile/index.html

If you cannot find the library all, you could try to migrate your iphoto Library again to Photos to recover the older photos. But without a backup you can only use expensive data recovery software to recover the newer photos. Most data recovery software has a trial version. Test it before you purchase it. if you need recovery software, stop using the Mac immediately. using the Mac will overwrite more and more files that might still be recovered.

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Answer 2

julynaza Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 8, 2016 11:25 PM in response to léonie

Nothing found.

I updated OS X on Monday.

I imported iPhoto library but there are only old photos.

I will try smth to scan my files asap.

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Answer 3

léonie

Level 10

200,705 points

Sep 9, 2016 12:11 AM in response to julynaza

Did you have any external drives connected, previously? Photos may have used a library on an external drive, if you migrated an iPhoto library from an external drive. Check any external drives you used recently.

How did you updatethe OS? Did you install the update on top of yor current system or did you clean install?

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