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coolguy8484
June 18, 2026

Edit histories disappeared after updating catalog to LRC 15.4, can't roll back because backup didn't save lrcat file

  • June 18, 2026
  • 1 reply
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I updated LRC today from v15.3.1 to v15.4. Upon loading, it said my catalog was outdated and needed to be upgraded for this version. Afterward I opened the program, and while the edits still seem applied to the photos, each photo’s edits have been wiped from the History panel. I rolled back to v 15.3.1 and went to import the backup it made before upgrading (from the Old Lightroom Catalogs folder) but the backup zip has no .lrcat file in it. All the previous backup zips have their respective .lrcat files, so it appears Adobe broke both the upgraded catalog as well as the backup. My secondary backup is only recent up to a couple weeks ago so I will have lost a lot of work if I have to roll back to that one. 

I read in a Reddit thread from 2 years ago that v14 did the same thing to a lot of people, and Adobe quickly released a 14.1 hotfix that apparently fixed it. Hopefully they’ll correct this, just want to register the bug and see if anyone has any other solutions. The backup zip does appear to have the necessary contingency files in it in the “lightroom.lrcat-data” folder, I’m wondering if there's maybe a tool or something that can compile an .lrcat file from that? 

(Windows 11, latest update.)

 

      1 reply

      KR Seals
      Community Expert
      KR SealsCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      June 19, 2026

      This is not meant to be insulting, but were you in the Develop module when looking for the History?

      I just upgraded a copy my active catalog to LrC V15.4 on my backup Win11 machine. The conversion worked fine. The develop history is showing (in the Develop module of course). I also see that the zipped copy of the original catalog seems to be ok, based on the file size of the zip file. 

      I backup every single time I exit Lightroom Classic. It’s good insurance.  

      Ken Seals - Nikon Z 9, Z 8, 14mm-800mm. Computer Win 11 Pro, I7-14700K, 64GB, RTX3070TI. Travel machine: 2021 MacBook Pro M1 MAX 64GB. All Adobe apps.
        C
        coolguy8484Author
        June 19, 2026

        Yes I’m in the Develop module. Snapshots are all missing too, and in the History panel even the original import date is missing. Just totally blank. According to the Reddit thread where this happened with v14, some people experienced it, others also had no problem, so I don’t know what the difference is. Hoping for that hotfix soon.

        Arnold-Norway
        Arnold-Norway
        Inspiring
        June 19, 2026

        About the backup of catalog file. Did you see in the folder “Old Lightroom Catalogs”. A copy of my pre update version is store there. My History is also complete, as far as I can see.

        RegardsArnold Hoddevik
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