I did something stupid and can't fix it.

Question

I recently backed up my Macbook to an external hard drive that had been used before and some of the data needed to be dumped to make room. At some point I remember being prompted to answer a question about Lightroom. I think that I accidentally switched libraries. Suddenly, I only show photos up to 2019 in my Lightroom library. Sadly, I no longer have access to that external hard drive.

I am not very comfortable with Lightroom on a good day. I don't know how or where to find the most current version of my photo library on my machine. I have been saving images as copies within Lightroom Classic when I made the error.]

Can anyone help me to navigate to my full library and restore it?

I do have my macbook backing up to a cloud too. I could download the folder there but the problem is that I don't know what I am looking for nor what to do with it.

cmgap · Answer

Try using the spotlight to search the system for .lrcat files. The result should return a list of any .lrcat files still on your computer. Select the .lrcat file and look at the 'Last Opened' date. By your estimation based on this date you may be able to find the catalog that reflects what you are expecting to see.

When you say you backed up your macbook are you using Time Machine? Are you also creating backups of your Lightroom Classic catalog?

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