Lightroom mess - help!

divamum

So I had a computer crash. It's happened before, no big deal, right?

Well, now lightroom won't display any of the images. They're THERE (safely on the hdd, along with xmp files), but even though I've reboooted twice and told it to reset and optimize the catalog, all I have are empty grey squares where there should be pictures (both in the main view and the preview filmstrip). :cry

How do I get it to restore display? Thank you in advance!!!

Sam

Sorry to hear about that. The only thing I can think of is have you tried to restore the computer to a state prior to the crash?

Next have you tried to re-import any images? While it may be a pain if they import without any issue you may have to re-import all your images?

Good luck and let us know how you solved it.

Sam

pathfinder

Are you saying Lightroom won't display your catalog file itself, or won't create high resolution images from the RAW files because it cannot find/see the original files?

Lightroom will display images of your catalog file without access to the original - but you can't see the image in high resolution or edit it without the original file.

Which issue are you having?

divamum

Yes, I deleted and then tried to reimport. Same thing. It looks like this



Vista on a Studio laptop, LR is up to date, I believe.

Any other ideas? I have a bunch of stuff I have to finish for delivery this wekeend and just need to find a solution!! I'll uninstall and reinstall if I have to, but my disk copy is older which also means updating it again and... and... and... Sigh.

divamum

pathfinder wrote:

Are you saying Lightroom won't display your catalog file itself, or won't create high resolution images from the RAW files because it cannot find/see the original files?

Lightroom will display images of your catalog file without access to the original - but you can't see the image in high resolution or edit it without the original file.

Which issue are you having?

See screenshot.

The pictures are on the hard drive, and uncorrupted - they will open in other software.

But LR displays as per the screenshot above and I can't get it to do anything else. I've run the "catalog optimize" feature, and also deleted and tried re-importing. It stays as shown above.

ETA: xmp files are right where they're supposed to be. I have no way of telling if they're corrupt, but they're there and in theory "should" be fine.

pathfinder

If you do not have a backup copy of your catalog, I think you may need to create a new catalog, and re-import your image files and their xmp files. I suspect your catalog file is toasted.


I have had images display from the catalog, but not be accessible for edit, and if you right click on the display window it will show you where the image was supposed to be - On a mac ( not sure about WIN ) I can then use Spotlight ( a search app ) to find a backup copy of the image to re-connect with the catalog image ie: the database in the catalog file reconnects to the new disc address for the newer file.

If you cannot get any images to import and display, then I think you may have to start over from the beginning and re-install LR.

You didn't have a back up copy of your hard drive? I try to have at least 2 bootable back ups of my main drive. I hate re-building main hard drives.

I see in the picture of your LR screen that Previous Import is selected, not All Photographs. Don't you want it to display all photographs?

Enitsugua

divamum wrote:

See screenshot.

The pictures are on the hard drive, and uncorrupted - they will open in other software.

But LR displays as per the screenshot above and I can't get it to do anything else. I've run the "catalog optimize" feature, and also deleted and tried re-importing. It stays as shown above.

ETA: xmp files are right where they're supposed to be. I have no way of telling if they're corrupt, but they're there and in theory "should" be fine.

MIGHT be a corrupted preferences files. Try this.

Find Lightroom 2 Preferences.agprefs in C:\Users\[your-user- name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Lightroom\Preferences

Rename it

Start Lighroom

If that does not work, you can restore the old file. If it does work, you'll have to reset all your preferences.

divamum

Hmm. The appdata file doesn't appear to exist. Maybe that's what got munched in the crash?

EDIT TO ADD: Found it. Had to "display hidden files". Now on to try Enitsugua's suggestion.... will report back.....

Edited again to add: Didn't work.

Jim, I fear it's looking like a LR reinstall, which is just a prime pain. I don't have a copy of it imaged on the computer itself, but I do have the install disk; it's just a nuissance rather than insurmountable, although I'll have to go retrieve 2.6 again if I didn't think to save it when I last d'l'd (I don't remember if I did or not).

Uggghhhh... I SO don't need this tonight!!!!!!!!! Thanks for continued assistance and suggestions - hugely appreciated (as have been the previous responses)!!!!

Enitsugua

divamum wrote:

Hmm. The appdata file doesn't appear to exist. Maybe that's what got munched in the crash?

EDIT TO ADD: Found it. Had to "display hidden files". Now on to try Enitsugua's suggestion.... will report back.....

Edited again to add: Didn't work.

Jim, I fear it's looking like a LR reinstall, which is just a prime pain. I don't have a copy of it imaged on the computer itself, but I do have the install disk; it's just a nuissance rather than insurmountable, although I'll have to go retrieve 2.6 again if I didn't think to save it when I last d'l'd (I don't remember if I did or not).

Uggghhhh... I SO don't need this tonight!!!!!!!!! Thanks for continued assistance and suggestions - hugely appreciated (as have been the previous responses)!!!!

So, if you create a new catalog and import some photos into it does it work? If so, it's your catalog file that's corrupted.

Ann McRae

Hi

Have you tried removing your preference files (or renaming) per the above suggestion? I had to do this for LR(delete preference file) and for PS (rename) recently. It works! There is a thread here with a link to a tutorial on how to delete the Lr preferences. http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=161104

ann

divamum

Yup. Tried.... and failed :cry

Have saved my presets (thank goodness I remembered to do that!) and am now deleting and will reinstall. I just don't have time to go through all the trial and error to troubleshoot what's likely a missing .dll or something, so I'll just cut my losses and start from scratch.

Sigh.

On a plus point, the files are absolutely fine - they open in PS with all the LR adjustments visible and intact. That's something, I guess!

divamum

Public Service Announcement:

Windows does not uninstall LR completely - you have to go through and comb outall the prefs and catalog files manually.

I know this because after uninstalling and re-installing.... all my catalogs were still displaying, ergo... not a clean install.

:bash :bash :bash

divamum

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHh ~tears out hair~

I reinstalled. Clean reinstall. Updated to 2.6

AND IT STILL WON'T DISPLAY PROPERLY!!

Now what?? I'm at my wits' end here.....

EOS_JD

divamum wrote:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHh ~tears out hair~

I reinstalled. Clean reinstall. Updated to 2.6

AND IT STILL WON'T DISPLAY PROPERLY!!

Now what?? I'm at my wits' end here.....

Not read everything you've done. Have you right clicked an image and pointed to where it's at on the disk?

Failing that I had a problem once although slightly different. Check in your catalogue folder that there isn't a file called XXXX.lrcat.lock (where XXXX = your catalogue name)

When Lr is shut down, sometimes that file is left behind and may prevent the catalogue from opening properly or at all. Delete the XXXX.lrcat.lock file.

divamum

Thanks Eos. It wasn't a "misplaced file" issue - LR could "see" the files, it just couldn't DISPLAY them. It had the right file names/locations etc.... just wasn't showing the actual images or thumbnails.

In any case .... after I last posted I did two things:

1. Recalibrate (Huey)
2. Reboot

Miraculously.... everything started working again. FINALLY.

I wonder if there was a glitch in the Huey driver that didn't reset until I'd rebooted one more time after calibrating?

Oh well - I got rid of about 21g worth of "backups" I didn't even know were there. My hdd is happy, if nothing else....

I think I'll leave editing for the evening. I'm so fried that anything I tried would probably be really bad anyway!

Thanks all for riding this bumpy road with me. I wish I could say I knew what it was and how it finally got fixed, but... at least it IS fixed. Phew!

Sam

I don't know if this will help for the future or not, but I have a back up drive for my OS and applications, and several backup drives for my images.

Worst case I can simply install both back up drives and keep on trucking.

Sam

Edit: Go have a double Scotch. :-)

divamum

Thanks all. The solidarity is always appreciated!!

EyeCandy

I suspect your catelog file has been corrupted. I've had this problem before and got around it by copying the file and assigning a new name to it. Then you just point Lightroom to the new filename and viola. I'm on my work computer at the moment but when I get home I can post the name of the file that I changed...
-Jeremy