Participant

Question

Lightroom Classic Stuck in Launch Window

Forum|Forum|4 months ago
January 16, 2026
4 replies
400 views

I am having an issue with Lightroom Classic not fully starting. I had an issue with Photoshop, which caused me to do a Hard Restart of my computer. After the restart, LRC will not launch completely. It is stuck in the launch window, and if I click on the window, I get the "Not Responding" indication.

I tried a regular restart of the computer multiple times with negative results.

I have uninstalled and reinstalled LRC multiple times, once with a computer restart after the uninstall, but I am still stuck in the same spot.

I am up to date with the most current versions of all my applications.

I've tried to contact Adobe via the Contact Us messenger window but that was of little help.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

J

JoiemagicAuthor

Participant

Last week, I experienced an issue with Lightroom Classic not fully starting, getting stuck at the 'Reading Preferences' stage. I posted a new discussion here in the community and after following some suggestions, I was finally able to get LRC up and running. It worked fine for about a week, and then after shutting LRC down properly yesterday, I tried to restart LRC, and I am now stuck in the exact same spot, Reading Preferences.

I have been trying everything I did last week, multiple times, and I am still stuck. This includes:

Removing preferences, both thru the Shift+Alt+Open LRC option as well as manually removing them.

I've removed the Lock.file as well as uninstalling and reinstalling LRC, including trying a couple of older versions. That did not work either.

I have restarted the computer multiple times.

I've now gone as far as to uninstall the complete Adobe Creative Cloud suite along with all apps, then running the Adobe cleaner app. Reinstalled everything and Lightroom Classic is still getting stuck in the same place, Reading Preferences.

The only other thing I have noticed is the status of my LRCAT file which is showing a set of blue circular arrows. I'm not sure what that means exactly. See the attached file.

The current catalog is: Lightroom Catalog-2-3-v13-4.lrcat

Please help.

Lightroom Classic version 15.1

Windows 11, version 25H2
Processor AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX with Radeon Graphics (2.50 GHz)
Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.2 GB usable)

A

Aleke

Community Manager

Hi @Joiemagic, thanks for reaching out.

I’m wondering whether the same issue happens when you try opening a different catalog or if it’s only this one that’s having trouble. The circular blue arrows in the status column mean the file is currently syncing with a cloud service like OneDrive, and since I see Dropbox in your screenshot, it looks like the catalog might be stored there. If those arrows never go away, the file may be stuck in sync, so try signing in to Dropbox and checking whether it’s fully uploaded. You can try downloading it from there and see if that opens it correctly. Let me know what you find.

Thanks!

Alek

*(If you mention me with an @, like @Aleke, I’ll get a notification and can respond faster.)*

J

JoiemagicAuthor

Participant

@Aleke My catalog is not stored in any cloud service. It is stored in the default folder within the Pictures folder.

I did get access somehow and have been fine for a few days, but I just had to restart my computer, so I closed down LRC, and once again, after my restart, I am not able to load LRC. It is once again stuck in the Reading Preferences stage. The catalog appears to once again be stuck in sync mode, with the blue arrows showing again. I just don't know what it is syncing with.

J

JoiemagicAuthor

Participant

OK, when I first posted this, after trying a bunch of the suggestions, I finally got LRC up and running again. I've been using it all week since with no issues until today. I shut down LRC properly and when I went to launch it again, I am once again getting stuck in the launch window where it is Reading Preferences.

I have tried everything I did last week to get the app running again, but am not having any luck. This includes removing preferences, both thru the Shift+Alt+Open LRC option as well as manually removing them. I've tried removing the Lock.file as well as uninstalling and reinstalling LRC, including trying a couple of older versions. That did not work either. I have restarted the computer multiple times.

I am running Windows 11 and the current version of LRC.

S

saul_4284

I am having the exact same issue so im hoping it gets solved soon

A

AxelMatt

Community Expert

@saul_4284 You wrote only "I am having the same issue". It may seem like it's the same problem, but it may not be. Also, you're not giving us any information about your system and what you've tried so far.

Please include system information, a detailed description of the problem and if it's possible a step-by-step instructions for reproduction. Also includes the steps that you've done by your own to solve the issue.

My System: Intel i7-8700K - 64GB RAM - NVidia Geforce RTX 3060 - Windows 11 Pro 25H2 -- LR-Classic 15 - Photoshop 27 - Nik Collection 9 - PureRAW 6 - Topaz Photo AI

nikunj.m

Legend

Thanks for reaching out, and we're sorry about the trouble!

Though the steps AxelMatt shared here should help get you up and running, if you still experience the same behavior, let us know the version of Lightroom Classic you're using and your computer's operating system.

When the app launches, the launch window shows which step it's on. If it says Reading Preferences (see attached screenshot), when the app becomes unresponsive, you can try to reset the preferences of Lightroom using the steps mentioned here: https://adobe.ly/4jPsxGe

Let us know how things go!
Thanks,
Nikunj

J

JoiemagicAuthor

Participant

I tried both Method 1 and Method 2. Could not figure out how to do Method 3.

After completing Method 2, I attempt to launch LRC again and I receive a message stating that the catalog is corrupt, and then nothing else appears or happens.

Lightroom Classic version 15.1

Windows 11, version 25H2

Processor AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX with Radeon Graphics (2.50 GHz)
Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.2 GB usable)
Device ID 4714284D-36EC-48C7-8888-8FC91A52B281
Product ID 00355-60862-66298-AAOEM
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
Pen and touch No pen or touch input is available for this display

A

AxelMatt

Community Expert

... I had an issue with Photoshop, which caused me to do a Hard Restart of my computer. After the restart, LRC will not launch completely.

...

By @Joiemagic

First please check if there's a .lock file next to the LR catalog in the appropriate folder.

If there's such a .lock file it must be deleted manually. More informations about this, you'll find here:

The Lightroom catalog cannot be opened because another application already has it opened - lrcat.lock (adobe.com)

If this doesn't help, it seems your catalog has a fault. Restore the catalog from the recent backup and check.

Disaster strikes - a corrupted catalog! | The Lightroom Queen

My System: Intel i7-8700K - 64GB RAM - NVidia Geforce RTX 3060 - Windows 11 Pro 25H2 -- LR-Classic 15 - Photoshop 27 - Nik Collection 9 - PureRAW 6 - Topaz Photo AI

J

JoiemagicAuthor

Participant

I found the Lock file and deleted it... as suggested by AxelMatt... That got me back in and all is up and running...

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