Lightroom classic stuck on export for some files

Forum|Forum|6 days ago
February 13, 2026
2 replies
30 views

Hello,

I’m having issues exporting some specific files from a catalog in Lightroom Classic.
I’ve since upgraded to the latest version and the issue persists.
The export hangs and never finishes.
(Maybe related: if i try to create virtual copies on any of those files i get an internal error)

Extra details:
The original file is jpg. It is on an external ssd drive.
Other files from same storage / folder work just fine.

What i’ve tried:
Upgraded to latest version of Lightroom.
Disabled GPU.
Disabled plugins.
Test Catalog integrity.
Reset all edits to the file.
Cleared Cache (hope i did this correctly)
Tried to export to different format (didn’t work)
Tried to export to other locations (didn’t work - not a permission issue)

If i copied the original file to a different folder and imported that folder in the same catalog the export worked, but this is not a scalable solution.

JohanElzenga

Community Expert

Are these files perhaps in a folder that is synced with iCloud? If so, then possibly these files are not stored locally, but only in the cloud (with a local link). Lightroom Classic cannot deal with that. It needs the file to be local.

-- Johan W. Elzenga

evo85626102Author

Participant

No cloud was involved whatsoever I’m afraid :)

dj_paige

Legend

What happens if you use LrC to move the files to a different folder (by drag and drop to a new place in the Folder Panel)? Does the export work then?

What folder were the photos in when the export didn’t work? What folder did you export from when the export did work? Were you exporting to the same folder location each time?

FYI — many of us do not accept “latest version” as a valid description. We really need the version NUMBER and not words like “latest”.

evo85626102Author

Participant

Thank you for the quick reply.

Lightroom Classic version: 15.1.1 [ 202601141538-a543b18a ]
Operating system: Mac OS 26
Version: 26.2.0 [25C56]
Application architecture: arm64
Logical processor count: 16
SqLite Version: 3.36.0
Adobe GSDK Version: 1.4.0.171

But the issue was also in the previous installed version that i don’t know the number. I keep Lightroom pretty up to date and now was the first time i encountered this issue.

Dragging the files in a different folder in LRC does not work.
Copying the entire source folder on the local drive and relocating source from LRC catalog does not work.
Copying the file on the local drive and importing the new location folder works.

I was exporting to the same location each time. Tried different subfolders.

The original photos are on an external SSD. Other files from the same folder / location don’t have this issue.
Copying the file on the local internal drive (Desktop / Subfolder) and importing this folder in the same catalog worked.

dj_paige

Legend

Dragging the files in a different folder in LRC does not work.
Copying the entire source folder on the local drive and relocating source from LRC catalog does not work.
Copying the file on the local drive and importing the new location folder works.

Sounds like something in the catalog is not right on these photos, and preventing the export. Then when you import again, then Lightroom Classic thinks these are brand new files and the catalog and the export work properly. But I don’t really have a good idea about what the cause is, or how to proceed.

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