How to Recover iPhoto Library and Photos from iPhoto on Mac
"My iPhoto library disappeared!!! Does anyone know how to recover iPhoto library after the update? I don’t know how it happened, but everything messed up. There are so many family photos. I need to recover photos from iPhoto on Mac. My friend suggested I try to restore from Time Machine, but I don’t know how to do it, please help!". - Susan
It has bothered many people that they delete photos from iPhoto library or the iPhoto library disappeared regularly. However, if you know any of the following 4 ways, you’ll recover iPhoto library or recover photos from iPhoto on Mac easily. Let’s check them out now!
- Quick Navigation
- Way #1. Recover iPhoto Library with iPhoto Recovery software
- Way #2. Restore Deleted Photos from iPhotos from Time Machine
- Way #3. Recover Deleted iPhoto Library from "Recently Deleted" on Mac
- Way #4. Restore Missing Photos with iPhoto Library First Aid
Way #1. Recover iPhoto Library with iPhoto Recovery software
The moment your iPhoto library disappeared, the first and most efficient way to restore iPhoto library on Mac is trying iBeesoft Data Recovery. It is a professional data recovery tool designed especially for people to quickly and completely recover lost files under macOS. It can also recover formatted drive on Mac. It has a separate version for Mac versions. Here are the main features for recover iPhoto library software:
Your Professional & Effective iPhoto Recovery software
- Quick Scan saves time and Deep Scan ensures a better iPhoto recovery result.
- Recover photos from iPhoto on Mac from various scenarios, like accidentally deletion, emptying trash, macOS crash/update, formatted drive, virus attack, etc.
- Recover more than 500 file types in videos, photos, audio files, documents, emails and more.
Using iBeesoft Data Recovery to recover deleted photos on Mac in the iPhoto library will reduce the chance that you lose all the photos permanently. It is the first Aid you can make full use of. Here are the steps for how to recover photos from iPhoto on Mac
Step 1. click the download button to get the trial version of recover iPhoto library. Install it on your Mac like you install other types of software. The only difference is that It's not published on the App Store. But, it has the digital certificate issued by Apple, please feel free to use.
Step 2. Launch the iPhoto Library recovery tool. From the main window, only keep the "Pictures" selected and uncheck other types of file. It will save you time in scanning for deleted data. Click "Start".
Step 3. In the next window, select the hard drive where your iPhoto library is and click "Scan" to analyzing the drive and recovering deleted photos from iPhoto on Mac.
Step 4. It takes a while for the software to scan for all the deleted photos from iPhoto library. When it found them, select the needed photos and click "Recover" to save them on your Mac again.
Way #1 is the best way to prevent iPhoto library data lost. You can also try your luck by using the following recover deleted iPhoto library photos ways.
Way #2. Restore Deleted Photos from iPhotos from Time Machine
Time Machine is offered by Apple officially as a way to recover deleted files on Mac. If you have Time Machine run before you deleted the iPhoto Library, then you can restore deleted iPhoto Library with Time Machine. The only drawback is that it will overwrite the latest existing data on your Mac.
1. Connect your Time Machine drive to your Mac.
2. In the Finder, click it and open your pictures folder and select iPhoto library.
3. Enter Time Machine in the Dock or in the /Application folder and select the Time Machine backup file
4. Navigate to the desired location on a hard drive to save iPhoto library.
5. Select the iPhoto library and click on the "Recover" button to restore deleted photos from iPhoto on Mac.
Way #3. Recover Deleted iPhoto Library from "Recently Deleted" on Mac
If you’ve used iPhoto for a long time, you must know that there is an option "Recently Deleted" in iPhoto library on Mac. Launch iPhoto, then click "Albums", you can see the "Recently Deleted" trash icon. You can click to open it and recover deleted photos from iPhoto trash on Mac.
- 1. "Recently Deleted" photos are kept there for only 40 days. If you’ve deleted the photos more than 40 days, you can’t get them back.
- 2. "Recently Deleted" only available for OS X Yosemite, El Capitan, and macOS Sierra. If you’re using other macOS, please try the "trash" icon on the left side panel.
Way #4. Restore Missing photos with iPhoto Library First Aid
First Aid is developed for users to repair iPhoto library. You can try it to recover iPhoto library photos on Mac.
Step 1. Go to the Application folder on the Dock, find and select the iPhoto icon.
Step 2. Press the Command + Option keys and double click on iPhoto icon. It will bring a window, asking you whether to repair the iPhoto library or not. Click "Repair" and confirm the action. When it completed, you can check out the iPhoto library.