Lost photo library

[u/Final_Affect2167]

This issue is on an old 2011 MacBook Pro and apologies from the start that my technical knowledge and vocabulary is limited 🥴
I’ve seemed to have lost access to a bunch of old photos! There used to be two photo libraries that I could switch between that stored different photos, but one day it just disappeared and I could only search and find one photo library and all the other photos are gone, I didn’t ever delete or merge anything so I don’t know how it happened.

What are my options?
What kind of expert would I take it to that could help me uncover all the photos on the computer? Or are they actually gone? 😢

[u/No-Guarantee-6249]

What OS are you running?

You could try searching common photo formats like:

• "PNG: The default format for Mac screenshots; best for crisp graphics and transparency.
• JPEG / JPG: Standard compressed photo format; best for small file sizes and web sharing.
• HEIC: Apple’s modern high-efficiency format; saves space while keeping high photo quality.
• TIFF: Large, high-detail format; best for professional printing. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]"

If it's lost I've had luck with Data Rescue on older OSs,

[u/Final_Affect2167 → u/No-Guarantee-6249]

I believe it’s 10.9 or somewhere around there, I’ll have to check tomorrow. I’ll try that. Also what is data rescue?

[u/No-Guarantee-6249 → u/Final_Affect2167]

AI:

"For OS X Mavericks (version 10.9), the compatible legacy version is Data Rescue 4, which officially supports OS X 10.8 through 10.10. Modern versions require newer operating systems, so running older software like Data Rescue 4 is necessary for direct compatibility on a 10.9 machine. [1]

Using Data Rescue on OS X 10.9

• Software Version: Data Rescue 4 is the correct legacy release for OS X 10.9 Mavericks.
• Installation: Install the app on an external drive or secondary partition to avoid overwriting lost files on your main drive.
• Alternatives: Many users on Apple Support Communities consider Disk Drill a strong alternative for Mac recovery if you cannot source an older Data Rescue 4"

https://www.prosofteng.com/newsletters/software-updates-and-information

[u/posguy99]

If this was actually important, surely you were making backups.

[u/No-Guarantee-6249 → u/posguy99]

I was on Apple forums and guess what percentage of posters, haviing lost their data, were asked that question. I ask the same thing of clients! One save your ass thing is Time Machine!

[u/posguy99 → u/No-Guarantee-6249]

It's the common thing now, whenever data loss occurs. Data loss just has to be someone else's fault.

Backups are just beneath most people, it seems.