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iPhoto '08 Painfully Slow

B

bamaworks

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 9, 2007
391
1
Lexington, KY
I just installed iPhoto '08 and, as said in the title, it is PAINFULLY slow. I am running OSX 10.4 with all the latest updates, and I updated iPhoto fully as well. I had no trouble with iPhoto '06. It ran like a dream. When the photos are zoomed in a bit larger it runs quite a bit faster, but if I try to display too many photos on the browsing pane (zoom out) it bogs down and just puts along. This is somewhat depressing since I have 4000+ photos and don't like to view only 9 on my screen when browsing. Does anyone know why this might be?

Just an FYI, specs:

iMac
PPC G5 1.8Ghz
1GB Ram

Running programs: Finder, Dashboard, Mail, Safari, iChat, iTunes, Assorted Widgets.
 
Your hardware is probably the problem. Without more system specs it's hard to say, but it looks like you're computer is just at the level of the minimum requirements for the iLife '08 suite. More RAM might help -- if often does with laggy programs.
 
What other specs would you need?

Machine Name: iMac G5
Machine Model: PowerMac8,2
CPU Type: PowerPC G5 (3.0)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 1.8 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 1 GB
Bus Speed: 600 MHz
Video: ATI Radeon 9600 128mb
 
More RAM, then. I think that model can take up to 2 GB. You've got a lot of apps running for only 1 GB of RAM, especially if your "assorted widgets" are numerous. Either that, or stop running so many apps while using iPhoto to see if that helps.
Another thing is the sheer size of your iPhoto library. If you've got a 4000+ photo collection, it may be bogging on trying to peek at them every time you're using the program.
Try ridding yourself of any duplicate images, either by sorting them yourself or by using a helpful little program such as Duplicate Annihilator.
You might also consider dropping a chunk of your photo library onto an external drive. This would free up HD space (always a good thing), and give you a backup in case of a drive malfunction.
Finally, if you're still having issues after all this, why not uninstall '08 and go back to the '06 version that worked for you?
 
Well, since i payed for it, I'd like to try what I can to get it to work. Perhaps that is the main reason I would rather not reinstall '06. Not to mention the iPhoto upgrade is better (IMO) than the previous version when it works at full speed. I'll look into RAM. I do backup my photos on one of two externals HDs :).
 
bamaworks said:
...I do backup my photos on one of two externals HDs :).
Click to expand...

Backup is good, but have you removed those photos from your iPhoto library altogether?
I don't know the proper terminology, but iPhoto "indexes" your photos in order to produce the small images you flip through when you're running the program. If iPhoto is trying to "index" your 4000+ photos in order to produce the small display images, that could explain the laggy performance.
 
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