I am upset...and apple dumb....

I've lost all my pictures entire iphoto library. I'm sitting at apple for the third time!I thought icloud kept all copies. NOT there.

I'll bet there is a whole lot more to this story that you aren't telling us ... to put it mildly.

And just for the record, there is absolutely noplace on any Apple page or anywhere else on earth that says that iPhoto backs up to iCloud. Reason: because it never did. So it's Apple's fault that they don't have a (completely impractical) feature that you imagined they did?

The user is responsible for backing up their data. If you had been using a Time Machine (a MAJOR and WELL advertised feature of all the recent OS X releases that is as easy and automatic as plugging in an external drive) you would have a backup and whatever you did to lose your pictures originally would not be an issue.

I certainly hope you can get your pictures back, but I think you are shifting blame unfairly to be blunt.

nnacona said:

I've lost all my pictures entire iphoto library. I'm sitting at apple for the third time!I thought icloud kept all copies. NOT there.

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Tell us exactly what happened. There is a good chance your photos are still there unless you intentionally deleted them.

Anyway go step by step through what happened and we'll see if we can ge them back for you.

Sorry to hear that. While I wasn't sitting over your shoulder to witness what specifically happened to cause the loss of this data, one has to wonder why you haven't made a backup?

There's an old adage in the realm of computers that goes something like this:

"There are two kinds of users in this world, those who have lost data, and those who will..."

The best way you can prevent this is to keep a backup. Fortunately, Apple makes this pretty easy with Time Machine. You simply connect an external hard drive and turn Time Machine on. Then, everything you do is instantly backed up (even revisions) and you are relatively well protected from data loss.

As mentioned...a backup strategy would certainly have gone a long way as a "safety net" in this situation.

- Nick

I'm sorry but...

chas_m said:

I'll bet there is a whole lot more to this story that you aren't telling us ... to put it mildly.

And just for the record, there is absolutely noplace on any Apple page or anywhere else on earth that says that iPhoto backs up to iCloud. Reason: because it never did. So it's Apple's fault that they don't have a (completely impractical) feature that you imagined they did?

The user is responsible for backing up their data. If you had been using a Time Machine (a MAJOR and WELL advertised feature of all the recent OS X releases that is as easy and automatic as plugging in an external drive) you would have a backup and whatever you did to lose your pictures originally would not be an issue.

I certainly hope you can get your pictures back, but I think you are shifting blame unfairly to be blunt.

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What! Did you not see apple dumb. I went into my hard drive thinking that I had music files in my documents so I deleted them so I thought! I erased all my kids baby photos somehow and all my documents from ipad,ipod and macbookpro. My teenagers are better at this than me but I am now finding myself at the Apple store again. If its still there, WHERE CAUSE I GOTTA HEADACHE AND I STILL DO NOT KNOW HOW TO USE TIMEMACHINE. Please don't hate me for liking the best but not knowing how to operate it or having time for an Apple class to learn!

nnacona said:

What! Did you not see apple dumb. I went into my hard drive thinking that I had music files in my documents so I deleted them so I thought! I erased all my kids baby photos somehow and all my documents from ipad,ipod and macbookpro. My teenagers are better at this than me but I am now finding myself at the Apple store again. If its still there, WHERE CAUSE I GOTTA HEADACHE AND I STILL DO NOT KNOW HOW TO USE TIMEMACHINE. Please don't hate me for liking the best but not knowing how to operate it or having time for an Apple class to learn!

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Never mind chas_m. Apparently he doesn't realize this is the Switcher Hangout and that flaming isn't appropriate here.

Chances are, if you simply deleted some files, they are still in your Trash (unless you emptied it). Look toward the bottom-right of your screen. See the Trash can? Click on it and see if there's any files in there.

Also, in addition to the advice from cwa107 there is software that can undelete things that have been deleted and removed from the Trash. Stop using your Mac (the hard drive) until you can determine if it's possible to get your photos and music back. Continued use may result in overwriting deleted items which will make it very difficult and expensive to recover. The folks at your local Apple store should be able to help you with that.

nnacona said:

What! Did you not see apple dumb.

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Yes, but there's more than one way to read that. I think I (incorrectly) interpreted it as you blaming Apple for the problem. Another way of reading that could be "I am upset [and I am not yet competent on Macs]" -- which may be what you intended to communicate. If so, I misread your intention and apologize.

I erased all my kids baby photos somehow and all my documents from ipad,ipod and macbookpro. My teenagers are better at this than me but I am now finding myself at the Apple store again.

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You say "again" but didn't mention why you had ever been there before. Can you elaborate on that?

If its still there, WHERE CAUSE I GOTTA HEADACHE AND I STILL DO NOT KNOW HOW TO USE TIMEMACHINE.

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I'm sorry you have a headache. Believe me I *do* understand the frustration involved in possibly losing important files. I have definitely been there, and it was entirely my own fault.

cwa107 had one good suggestion, but if they're not there I concur with chscag ... leave the machine alone and let the pros see what they can do.

Please don't hate me for liking the best but not knowing how to operate it or having time for an Apple class to learn!

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Nobody hates you. We're all trying to help in the only way we can from a distance, but being constrained by a text medium, sometimes what you intended to say and what people understood are not the same thing.

As I said last time, I sincerely hope you are able to recover the files. There are professional data-recovery services that may be able to help if all else fails, but they are extremely expensive and should be considered a last resort. If you haven't used the computer since you deleted those important files, chances are good for partial or even full recovery.