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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Rescuing Photos From Iphoto Trash
Artist_Ken - Oct 1, 2005 - 6:47 pm
God, please help!!
Simple, generic question: Is there any way to rescue images emptied from IPhoto's trash?
I've heard that you "think" you've emptied trash, but you really haven't, and there is a way to get stuff back if not too much time has passed and too many other things aren't thrown away on top of it.
(My computer knowledge/"technical level," by the way, is fairly low.)
Here's what happened:
I have IPhoto 2.0.1 and am just getting used to it. (I know, I should have the latest 5.0, but this is what came with the used G4 I recently got.) I wanted to make various Albums from my master Photo Library. So I made a new Album, named it, and dragged photos from the Library over to the Album icon.
From Mac experience, I know that when you're moving something from one OS to another and a little green circle with a white "plus" sign appears, it's being COPIED. So I knew that the images I was moving over to the new album were being copied, not just moved, right?
When finished, I opened up the Album, and there were the photos. I carefully double-checked to make sure they were copied well and not just thumbnails. I enlarged and checked rez on a few of them, etc.
I now have an Album with COPIES of a bunch of pictures, right?
The original images were still there in the master Library, of course, which I no longer needed. As I knew the images had been COPIED and not just moved/transferred, I moved the unneeded pics from the Library into the trash.
Not being foolhardy, I then AGAIN checked the new Album to make sure the pics hadn't disappeared or something. They were still there.
Knowing the images were safe and sound in their new Album, I then emptied the trash.
Why wouldn't anyone?
To my absolute horror, the images have vanished from the Album!!
I read in the "Help" that putting images into Albums does not remove them from the master Library, but nowhere can I find a WARNING that copying images into an Album is NOT REALLY COPYING THEM AT ALL and warning us NEVER TO TRASH AN IMAGE FROM THE LIBRARY OR IT WILL BE LOST FROM THE ALBUM AS WELL.
Assuming that the apparent lack of images in my newly created Album was some glitch (when I KNEW I had copied them all into it), I closed everything down and rebooted.
Alas, my albums (actually I made two before I discovered this, with some 65 missing/lost images) still say "No Photos."
Are my trip and family photos really gone forever?
Ken
Simple, generic question: Is there any way to rescue images emptied from IPhoto's trash?
I've heard that you "think" you've emptied trash, but you really haven't, and there is a way to get stuff back if not too much time has passed and too many other things aren't thrown away on top of it.
(My computer knowledge/"technical level," by the way, is fairly low.)
Here's what happened:
I have IPhoto 2.0.1 and am just getting used to it. (I know, I should have the latest 5.0, but this is what came with the used G4 I recently got.) I wanted to make various Albums from my master Photo Library. So I made a new Album, named it, and dragged photos from the Library over to the Album icon.
From Mac experience, I know that when you're moving something from one OS to another and a little green circle with a white "plus" sign appears, it's being COPIED. So I knew that the images I was moving over to the new album were being copied, not just moved, right?
When finished, I opened up the Album, and there were the photos. I carefully double-checked to make sure they were copied well and not just thumbnails. I enlarged and checked rez on a few of them, etc.
I now have an Album with COPIES of a bunch of pictures, right?
The original images were still there in the master Library, of course, which I no longer needed. As I knew the images had been COPIED and not just moved/transferred, I moved the unneeded pics from the Library into the trash.
Not being foolhardy, I then AGAIN checked the new Album to make sure the pics hadn't disappeared or something. They were still there.
Knowing the images were safe and sound in their new Album, I then emptied the trash.
Why wouldn't anyone?
To my absolute horror, the images have vanished from the Album!!
I read in the "Help" that putting images into Albums does not remove them from the master Library, but nowhere can I find a WARNING that copying images into an Album is NOT REALLY COPYING THEM AT ALL and warning us NEVER TO TRASH AN IMAGE FROM THE LIBRARY OR IT WILL BE LOST FROM THE ALBUM AS WELL.
Assuming that the apparent lack of images in my newly created Album was some glitch (when I KNEW I had copied them all into it), I closed everything down and rebooted.
Alas, my albums (actually I made two before I discovered this, with some 65 missing/lost images) still say "No Photos."
Are my trip and family photos really gone forever?
Ken
Chuck Wehner - Oct 1, 2005 - 7:15 pm
Ken,
They should still be in your Pictures/iPhoto Library/2005 or whatever year and then one of the numerous folders. Check thru all until you find your deleted pictures.
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Chuck
They should still be in your Pictures/iPhoto Library/2005 or whatever year and then one of the numerous folders. Check thru all until you find your deleted pictures.
--------
Chuck
Artist_Ken - Oct 2, 2005 - 6:01 am
Chuck Wehner,
Many thanks for your quick reply.
I have only begun using my IPhoto 2.0.1 in the last two months or so. I have several hundred images in my "Photo Library" (all taken in summer '05) but only began organizing into a few "Albums" a couple of days ago (just a couple of albums, which now say "No Photos" since I emptied the trash). What "numerous folders" are you referring to?
The missing/lost images are definitely not in the master Photo Library nor in either of the two albums I made.
You say I should look in "Pictures/iPhoto Library/2005." I don't see an option for "Pictures," just "Photo Library." Can you be more specific: Where again should I look?
If I moved all the images that were "copied" to Albums from the Library into the trash, and emptied the trash, how could they still be in the Library?
Thank you for your patience. As I said, I'm no computer whiz.
Ken
Many thanks for your quick reply.
I have only begun using my IPhoto 2.0.1 in the last two months or so. I have several hundred images in my "Photo Library" (all taken in summer '05) but only began organizing into a few "Albums" a couple of days ago (just a couple of albums, which now say "No Photos" since I emptied the trash). What "numerous folders" are you referring to?
The missing/lost images are definitely not in the master Photo Library nor in either of the two albums I made.
You say I should look in "Pictures/iPhoto Library/2005." I don't see an option for "Pictures," just "Photo Library." Can you be more specific: Where again should I look?
If I moved all the images that were "copied" to Albums from the Library into the trash, and emptied the trash, how could they still be in the Library?
Thank you for your patience. As I said, I'm no computer whiz.
Ken
Chuck Wehner - Oct 2, 2005 - 11:52 am
Ken,
Your images are not in iPhoto, use the finder as described below to find your images. This information is from MacWorld.com
If you deleted the photo within iPhoto it’s possible that it’s still on your Mac. Follow this path: youruserfolder/Pictures/iPhoto Library and then rummage through the folder structure to find the picture. The structure is set up in this way: year/month/date. So, for example, if the picture was taken on October 1st of this year (and yes, iPhoto dates picture by their date stamp rather than when you added them to the iPhoto library) you’d follow this path youruserfolder/Pictures/iPhoto Library/2005/10/01 and look in that folder’s Originals folder. If you renamed the photo from something like DSC_1090.JPG to Blue Sky.jpg, you can find it even more easily by using Tiger’s Spotlight or the Finder’s Find command if you’re using an earlier version of the Mac OS.
If it doesn’t appear to be on your Mac, check your camera’s media card. If you’re like me you let old photos pile up on your media card until you absolutely have to erase it.
And, of course, if you’ve backed up your Mac like a good computing citizen should, the picture may be in that back up.
--------
Chuck
Your images are not in iPhoto, use the finder as described below to find your images. This information is from MacWorld.com
If you deleted the photo within iPhoto it’s possible that it’s still on your Mac. Follow this path: youruserfolder/Pictures/iPhoto Library and then rummage through the folder structure to find the picture. The structure is set up in this way: year/month/date. So, for example, if the picture was taken on October 1st of this year (and yes, iPhoto dates picture by their date stamp rather than when you added them to the iPhoto library) you’d follow this path youruserfolder/Pictures/iPhoto Library/2005/10/01 and look in that folder’s Originals folder. If you renamed the photo from something like DSC_1090.JPG to Blue Sky.jpg, you can find it even more easily by using Tiger’s Spotlight or the Finder’s Find command if you’re using an earlier version of the Mac OS.
If it doesn’t appear to be on your Mac, check your camera’s media card. If you’re like me you let old photos pile up on your media card until you absolutely have to erase it.
And, of course, if you’ve backed up your Mac like a good computing citizen should, the picture may be in that back up.
--------
Chuck
Artist_Ken - Oct 2, 2005 - 5:08 pm
Thanks, Chuck.
Okay, I understand. I found the folders in question, and they are empty.
When I emptied the trash, it appears to have deleted all record of the images. And my camera's card has long since been erased and reused several times.
So I'm back to my original question: Is there any way to RESCUE images from the trash?
I understand this is possible. Any advice on how to go about it? Who do I call?
This must be a real problem with the iPhoto set-up. I can't be the only one who's unwittingly thrown away unneeded photos from the Library after copying them over to individual albums. It's the intuitive, normal thing to do. And a VERY hard, painful lesson to learn.
iPhoto ought to provide major warnings about this.
Thank you again.
Ken
Okay, I understand. I found the folders in question, and they are empty.
When I emptied the trash, it appears to have deleted all record of the images. And my camera's card has long since been erased and reused several times.
So I'm back to my original question: Is there any way to RESCUE images from the trash?
I understand this is possible. Any advice on how to go about it? Who do I call?
This must be a real problem with the iPhoto set-up. I can't be the only one who's unwittingly thrown away unneeded photos from the Library after copying them over to individual albums. It's the intuitive, normal thing to do. And a VERY hard, painful lesson to learn.
iPhoto ought to provide major warnings about this.
Thank you again.
Ken
Chuck Wehner - Oct 2, 2005 - 6:57 pm
Ken,
I'm afraid you don't have many options left. DiskWarrior a drive repair application says it can recover lost files but I don't know if that means deleted files. There is also a data recovery company called drivesavers that may be able to help. Other than that I can put you back in the pool to see someone else can help.
--------
Chuck
I'm afraid you don't have many options left. DiskWarrior a drive repair application says it can recover lost files but I don't know if that means deleted files. There is also a data recovery company called drivesavers that may be able to help. Other than that I can put you back in the pool to see someone else can help.
--------
Chuck
Artist_Ken - Oct 3, 2005 - 2:55 am
Thank you, Chuck.
Yes, if you can please make our conversation a new "thread" that all can see, perhaps someone has had this experience and knows of a cure. Accidentally deleting images from iPhoto has to be a common problem. It was WAY too easy to do. This must have happened to others countless times.
In the meantime, I will look up "Drivesavers" and see if they know anything about Macs and iPhoto.
Thanks again,
Ken
Yes, if you can please make our conversation a new "thread" that all can see, perhaps someone has had this experience and knows of a cure. Accidentally deleting images from iPhoto has to be a common problem. It was WAY too easy to do. This must have happened to others countless times.
In the meantime, I will look up "Drivesavers" and see if they know anything about Macs and iPhoto.
Thanks again,
Ken
Drumhum - Oct 4, 2005 - 10:04 am
Ken,
I'm afraid your pictures have indeed been deleted from your hard disk. they will not be residing in any folder in your iphoto folder as suggested earlier. I commiserate with your iphoto experience and understand how you made this mistake. In defense of iphoto, if it did indeed always copy pictures when you moved them to albums you would use up disk space very quickly and it would become unmanageable. You can duplicate pictures in iphoto for whatever reason and even if you have extensively edited a picture you can always go back to the first, original version (both actions via a menu command).
You are now faced with a data recovery problem. The way mac os x works makes un-erasing files far more difficult than it was with OS9. There are companies that specialise in data recovery but they can be expensive and are generally only used when the data is particularly important or valuable. perhaps google to find such companies in your area?
Version Tracker discusses some software that might help you out. have a look at this...
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/24747
and the website of the software specifically...
http://www.subrosasoft.com/MacSoftwa...&products_id=1
You can download a 'trial' version of this software that you can use to see if the software can "find" your pictures. You'll need to buy the software though to recover them.
Sorry there isn't an easy answer!
Just remember that iphoto stores your pictures in the Library folder and albums are just a way of categorizing the pictures. Its like the albums store aliases of your pictures.
Also note that software such as DiskWarrior will not recover deleted files as suggested earlier. This software can only repair corrupted or "sick" disks. Its a Disk Utility similar (but better) to Apple's DiskUtility software.
If I can help you further feel free to get back to me
regards
Tom
--------
You will be asked for feedback once this query is closed. All us techs love to get feedback:-) Thanks for using macosx.com
I'm afraid your pictures have indeed been deleted from your hard disk. they will not be residing in any folder in your iphoto folder as suggested earlier. I commiserate with your iphoto experience and understand how you made this mistake. In defense of iphoto, if it did indeed always copy pictures when you moved them to albums you would use up disk space very quickly and it would become unmanageable. You can duplicate pictures in iphoto for whatever reason and even if you have extensively edited a picture you can always go back to the first, original version (both actions via a menu command).
You are now faced with a data recovery problem. The way mac os x works makes un-erasing files far more difficult than it was with OS9. There are companies that specialise in data recovery but they can be expensive and are generally only used when the data is particularly important or valuable. perhaps google to find such companies in your area?
Version Tracker discusses some software that might help you out. have a look at this...
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/24747
and the website of the software specifically...
http://www.subrosasoft.com/MacSoftwa...&products_id=1
You can download a 'trial' version of this software that you can use to see if the software can "find" your pictures. You'll need to buy the software though to recover them.
Sorry there isn't an easy answer!
Just remember that iphoto stores your pictures in the Library folder and albums are just a way of categorizing the pictures. Its like the albums store aliases of your pictures.
Also note that software such as DiskWarrior will not recover deleted files as suggested earlier. This software can only repair corrupted or "sick" disks. Its a Disk Utility similar (but better) to Apple's DiskUtility software.
If I can help you further feel free to get back to me
regards
Tom
--------
You will be asked for feedback once this query is closed. All us techs love to get feedback:-) Thanks for using macosx.com
Artist_Ken - Oct 4, 2005 - 7:40 pm
Tom,
Thanks so much for your time and detailed advice. I'm on the case. While the photos I accidentally deleted are important and meaningful to me, there is, of course, a limit to how much they are worth, cash-wise. We shall see.
< In defense of iphoto, if it did indeed always copy pictures when you moved them to albums you would use up disk space very quickly and it would become unmanageable. >
I understand. iPhoto shouldn't have the little "green disc with the white plus sign" pop up every time an image is dragged from the Library to an Album, telling users that the image is being COPIED. This is not only misleading but can be, as I found out the hard way, outright tragic.
Again, your help is much appreciated!
Ken
Thanks so much for your time and detailed advice. I'm on the case. While the photos I accidentally deleted are important and meaningful to me, there is, of course, a limit to how much they are worth, cash-wise. We shall see.
< In defense of iphoto, if it did indeed always copy pictures when you moved them to albums you would use up disk space very quickly and it would become unmanageable. >
I understand. iPhoto shouldn't have the little "green disc with the white plus sign" pop up every time an image is dragged from the Library to an Album, telling users that the image is being COPIED. This is not only misleading but can be, as I found out the hard way, outright tragic.
Again, your help is much appreciated!
Ken
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