Iphoto trash issues!

First, let me say that I have 23,404 photos in iphoto trash. Until recently when I filled my hard drive and one of the suggestions I found online was to delete iPhoto trash, I didn't realize there was a separate trash for iPhoto. I've been simply pressing 'delete' to remove photos from iphoto since about 2008... and haven't ever emptied the trash on iPhoto.

I cannot open trash without the program freezing - I end up having to force quit. I saw the suggestions for restoring the photos or deleting them a hundred or so at a time. I cannot do anything once I click on trash, so these aren't really an option.

It goes without saying that I cannot empty the trash by holding control and clicking the trash. Not only have I found out that deleting more than a thousand at a time in this manner is not suggested, but as soon as I control-click, the program freezes before ever giving me the option of deleting.

Please tell me there is a folder somewhere that I can manually empty?

First of all messing around with the iPhoto Library is the best way I know to lose all of your photos. I absolutely do not reccomend that.

Since you already have an external HD and backup (you mean you don't? You really should!) . . . backup your files to the external and verify the iPhoto Library is present intact and functional by navigating to the iPhoto Library and double-clicking on it. This will launch iPhoto with your backup/copy of your Library as the default. At this time, I would empty the iPhoto trash for your copy. When it is done, look around, open events and albums etc.

Once you are certain all of your photos are there and everything is great, exit iPhoto, navigate back to your internal HD and delete your iPhoto Library.

Next launch iPhoto while holding down the Option Key. Choose to create a new Library and then import from your backup library on your external HD.

Well, I don't use iphoto to store or manage my photos. About all I use it for is to import photos from my camera, then export them to my pictures folder in a manageable size. I then click on the photo group and delete it completely... thus bringing me to the problem of having 23,404 photos which are actually larger duplicates than the ones I saved in my 'photos' folder. lol.

I do have an external ordered and on the way. My mac has never crashed or behaved stupidly like all the windows OS I've used in the past, so until I filled my HD I had no reason for one, IMO. Doing a backup is planned upon arrival.

If you truly have no use for your iPhoto Library (not storing pics, albums etc) then I believe all you have to do is drag the entire Library to Trash and then empty Trash.

Relaunch iPhoto holding down the Option Key and create a new Library and you should be good to go.

As far as Mac reliability/stability and need for Backups. Unfortunately Macs use HDs just like PCs and those are prone to fail. If you value your pics and personal data backup backup backup.

Where would the library be located?

Turns out if I leave iPhoto alone for a really long time, it loads all 23,404 pictures, lol. I restored them to my and am slowly going to go about permanently deleting them...

Nevermind, found the library. Silly me, it was in my pictures file.

Ahhh, much better - freed up a nice 56 GB!

Very good!