Rebuilding iPhoto library causes issues with iTunes photo sync I recently had a nasty problem with my iPhoto library that I corrected by rebuilding it. This restored missing/corrupted photos and fixed several other inconsistencies, so iPhoto is working properly again.

But now, iTunes is the one that's having problems. Whenever I connect my iPhone and visit the Photos pane, it tells me that my iPhoto library contains 0 photos (and, since I sync selectively, it says the same next to every item I've checked). It reported all the right counts before I rebuilt my iPhoto library.

Not only that, but whenever I sync for the first time after connecting, the photos will mysteriously disappear from my iPhone and I'm forced to resync them, even when I don't make any changes (not even outside the Photos pane). The photos then stay on my phone as usual, but once I connect and sync again, the same thing happens. I don't have a large photo library so it's only an extra couple of minutes of waiting, but it's still something I shouldn't have to put up with every single time I connect and sync my device.

I'm using iTunes 11.0.1 and iPhoto 9.4.2. My computer runs OS X 10.8.2, and my iPhone runs iOS 6.0.1. All are at their latest versions as of this writing.

What can I do to make iTunes read and sync my iPhoto library properly again?
Hopefully you have the run of the mill, the iPod Photo Cache is now stale issue which is easily remedied.


iTunes: Understanding the iPod Photo Cache folder - TS1314


Since you are on Mountain Lion, this is just a folder in the "iPhoto Library" and you can right click on it, and show package contents. Just drag that folder to trash and then quit both iPhoto (and Aperture if you have it) as well as iTunes.

A re-launch of iTunes should see that the folder is missing and clear any sync tokens, and proceed to rebuild a list of pictures, albums and events. Usually, there isn't a second step needed as this folder is designed to be safe to delete at any time to save space on a drive and exists to speed up syncing.

As always, kicking off a backup when looking into deleting things is never a bad idea in case the corruption is deeper than expected or just a sign of a failing storage device.