iPhoto can't read JPG files????

[rebhaf]

I must be missing something here because I don't see anyone on these forums having this problem. What I'm trying to do is so terribly basic and it doesn't work...

Can anyone help...?

I have a bunch of photos from a PC and they're all in simple JPG format -- nothing fancy. These folders are now on my iBook G4. No matter what I try to do, I can't get iPhoto to recognize them.

Every time I try to drag them (or launch them) into iPhoto, it tells me something like... "Files unreadable: The following files were not imported (they may contain data that is invalid or it is impossible to recognize the data type)."

Unreadable? Invalid? These are JPG files!

Can anyone please tell me what I'm doing wrong?

 

[rockstarjoe]

Are you sure there aren't any weird files mixed in with your photos? For example the Windows "thumbnail" file or any .avi files that your camera might have saved? I know from personal experience that if I try to import a batch of pictures and they contain a non-photo file iPhoto will crash HARD.

 

[rebhaf]

Are you sure there aren't any weird files mixed in with your photos? For example the Windows "thumbnail" file or any .avi files that your camera might have saved? I know from personal experience that if I try to import a batch of pictures and they contain a non-photo file iPhoto will crash HARD.

I don't think they contain anything weird. They're all just saved as JPGs. My iBook recognizes them and lets me view and open them in other applications; just not iPhoto. I can even transfer photos directly, with no problem, from the same digital camera all the other photos were taken from. My wife edited all these old photos in some PC application, but they're all saved as simple JPG files now. At least, I think. If they do have weird files mixed in, I wouldn't know how to find out.

The thing is, I don't even want to re-edit these photos with iPhoto. I just want to get them on my iPod (which is configured to my Mac, and I believe that the only way to get photos on Mac-configured iPods is via iPhoto).

 

[Passante]

Are they compressed? You will get that message because iPhoto can't read the non-jpeg files that XP adds to a folder.

Try importing by using the File: import to library command

 

[rebhaf]

Are they compressed? You will get that message because iPhoto can't read the non-jpeg files that XP adds to a folder.

Try importing by using the File: import to library command

The file/library comand didn't work either. It gives me the same error message. I don't think they're compressed. They're just simple low-res photos (about 650K) that I can open and/or paste into just about any application on my Mac. When I click on one of these JPG photos and select "Open with" it offers me Preview (by default), QuickTime Player, Safari and ColorSync. I can even insert them into MS Word and PowerPoint (for Mac) pages. Everything seems to work except iPhoto.

 

[Passante]

Try graphicConverter to change one to a jpeg. If it still doesn't work you have a problem with iPhoto. Trash your iPhoto prefs file and see if that helps.

 

[rebhaf]

Try graphicConverter to change one to a jpeg. If it still doesn't work you have a problem with iPhoto. Trash your iPhoto prefs file and see if that helps.

I was just searching through Google and I saw someone else propose graphicConverter. Now here's a stupid question... Is that something already on my Mac? If so, I can't find it (I have latest OS X Tiger and iLife '05).

While searching I also found this, which is scary...
http://archives.macusers.org/thread/t-1012.html
Some guy had this problem in 2003 and nothing worked, not even GraphicConverter. But when he upgraded to iPhoto 2, it worked fine.

 

[rebhaf]

It works!!!

Thanks everyone for your help. Here's what was wrong...

I tried a few experiments with other JPG photos that my wife did NOT take/edit and they all worked fine. So, at first, I figured that the problem was something she did (always easier to blame a PC-using wife).

Wrong.

It dawned on me that these photos that ARE working are also saved rigiht on my desktop, whereas the two folders I brought over from my PC (all the ones I've been trying to import for months) were saved in a folder called "iPhoto Library." So I just dragged these two folders onto my desktop and tried again. Worked with no problem.

I can't believe iPhoto wouldn't recognize these just because they were stored in that folder.

Months ago when I decided to drag these folders from my external hard drive onto my Mac, it never occurred to me that by putting them into a folder called "iPhoto Library" I wouldn't be able to import them into iPhoto.

 

[benornoel]

Five months later and this thread has helped me!

I'm not so sure it was the folder name as much as its location. I was in the same boat - folder full of jpg files that iPhoto couldn't read. Mine, however, had no iPhoto or Library in the name. But it was originally in a folder other than the Desktop. I moved it into the Photos folder, the iPhoto Library folder, etc. to no avail. After coming across this thread though, I moved it to the Desktop and it worked like a charm. Don't know why it doesn't like folders not on the Desktop, but go figure.

Thanks!

 

[poppe]

I have a problem maybe all you can solve.

I have a MBP 17" C2D and a HP Photosmart E427 and I have 166 pictures on the camera. I plugged it in and turned it on and iPhoto started doing the importing. It got to 68 photo's left when all of a sudden I got the beach ball of death, and then iPhoto sat for a couple of minutes. After the long stall I got an error message saying iPhoto couldn't read the files.

I am a little confused on what I should do since it is all the files are coming from the same day on the same memory card from the same camera.

Thanks

 

[CanadaRAM]

Don't know what the exact issue is in your case, but I make it a practise never to let an application work directly on flash (or floppy) media. I always drag files to the hard drive first, eject the card, then import or work on the files on the hard drive.

It could be as simple as one of the files is actually corrupt on th card.

 

[poppe]

Don't know what the exact issue is in your case, but I make it a practise never to let an application work directly on flash (or floppy) media. I always drag files to the hard drive first, eject the card, then import or work on the files on the hard drive.

It could be as simple as one of the files is actually corrupt on th card.

Hmm interesting. So how do I see the files on my computer then with out iphoto? The camera itself never pop's up on the desktop.

Also just as a note: My girlfriend imported the exact photos last night with the same camera and had no problems...

 

[CanadaRAM]

Hmm interesting. So how do I see the files on my computer then with out iphoto? The camera itself never pop's up on the desktop.

Also just as a note: My girlfriend imported the exact photos last night with the same camera and had no problems...

Get a $9 USB card reader and forget cabling up the camera. Faster and more reliable.