Hi Belinda

Do not know where you are located but Apple have stores where you would be able to get assistance if you were to visit them

http://www.apple.com/au/retail/

It is to my understanding that they also have classes on their products

Belinha you can make appointments with your local Apple Store to help you, you would need to take in both your IPad and MacBook or arrange a service, buy an external disc drive and they will do a complete back up for you.

I took the advice of both my daughter and son who use Apple IPads and Laptops professionally and back up to an external disc drive.

you can also activate ICloud and save your photos to that too off your  iPad thus making sure they are not deleted.

I guess if you have been synchronising your IPad and Laptop photos could have been stored onto your IPad from your Laptop?

There has apparently been a problem with the Graphics Card on some Apple Laptops don't know if that applies to yours. 

Best thing as I say is to make an appointment with an Apple Service Centre to help you.

Thank you so much!

...also Belinda, I have joined this forum:

 http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum/71

They have a lot of computer experts on board and may be able to help - they've helped me several times. Might save you a bit of money.

Thank you Peter - looks interesting

Burn your photos on to a disc 800MB or a GB disc. Then you have a back up of your photos. Make sure you have the photos on the disk ie you did it ok. After that you can delete your photos if thats the problem and replace them later from the disc.

Clearing your cache

How to Delete iPod Photo Cache Manually
Open a Finder window.
Head to your iPhoto Library (typically located in the Pictures folder).
Control+click on the iPhoto Library and select “Show Package Contents.”
Drag the iPod Photo Cache folder to the Trash. Note: Only drag this folder to the Trash.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6192949?tstart=0

The above may help also

I put all mine up to photobucket .,,

Well problem solved thanks to you wonderful people and one daughter, mainly you though.

1. Deleted iPod photo caches in iPhoto's and folders on desktop of photos all organised from windows PC prior to moving to Apple on Mac.

2. Did gulp a lead to lead sync as we only sync calendars via air, as hubby and I have different contacts, etc...It worked. 1000's photos off iPad. Thank you!

3. As only folders in IPhoto were holiday photos (still on desktop folders as well and backed up) but wanted to geotag these, as not well, because need to digitise all history for family from my grandma to current (thousands photos scanned) highly important for me to achieve this and have all backed up and organised. Then moved each event (one holiday) into Photo. I liked Photo but had problems with it. 

4. Currently going through IPhoto where by way photos still stay even when you move to Photo, double checking one event is all geotagged, batch labelling as appropriate, changing dates if Appropriate, deleting harshly roughly one in four photos, only editing here is to straighten, all else can wait.  

5. highlight all photos after opening holiday event and exporting to new desktop folder. This gives me opportunity to increase from Kb to mobs and in one case gbs.

6. Double check the two folders  (not sure how I got too lots but slight differences) I put on from windows available from finder in photos, then

step one, delete event from iPhoto 

delete folder I set up within IPhoto

delete album from Photos (new Apple photo)

delete same folder from the two folders linked to Photos under Finder originally from Windows 

have new folder on desktop at greater quality, sorted, named by title, folder date and name holiday, kept geotagging, all details except tees and faces (never used anyway).

Then daughter told me I can actually view all in Preview, see and edit if need be, but doesn't straighten, hence why do prior. This bit can wait till all folders moved.

back up constantly, and obviously less usage on computer even though bigger files, deleting copies upon copies.....

will continue to do holidays until all done in original folders I had arranged in windows, then will do folder by folder of other photos, moving into iPhoto folder (sub folders separate) at time straighten, delete dupes or those blurred, don't think Many need geotagging here except perhaps grandparents addresses if in photos or historical family stuff, etc, then export this one folder back to desktop by highlighting ech photo in event clicking export and IMPORTANT TO CLICK EXPORT INFO, GEOTAG, TITLES and option of size of each photo (they are folders within folders ie Holidays- me and hubby, Holidays -family, Holidays friends.....can have 10 sub folders in with each hol separate sub folder titled date and where). Save in new desktop folders then delete all the other copies as above.

aiming three folders a day if well enough. Don't know how many folders I have and don't want to look! But it is as I want it, once that is done will have one lot of photos I want that I wil continuously back up to external drive, will copy favourites into a new folder for syncing to iPad....remembering have to get rid of cache each time, then will use preview to do any minor editing.

thank you. If still here in a year will let you know if got through it all. Only started on Tues and still working through Holidays hubby and me about ten folders, but with health am slow and have list next to me so don't stuff up.

new photos will be added to 2015 from finder and sorted when I get there......

after six months hell, see a reality occurring.

thank you all for your help.

Belinda

Thanks for the good news Belinda :)

And also for putting all that up in case somebody else strikes the same problem.