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hazymat
Participating Frequently
December 22, 2021
Question

Lightroom no longer compatible? - Windows Server 2019

  • December 22, 2021
  • 2 replies
  • 2280 views

I run a photography business in London, and for years now we have hosted an installation of Lightroom on a server in our offices. It runs Windows Server 2016. This means I can remote in to the server when I'm out with clients, and pull-up reference images from my Archive Catalog, etc. It also means I can work safely with the enormous catalog that holds over 12 years of client work, run large imports over night, and ensure that backups (which take hours) actually get done on a daily basis - none of which would be possible for a photographer on the move with their laptop.

We have invested significant budget in this arrangement - it's secure, reliable, and allows for a slick workflow.

 

Well - it did, until recently.

 

Lightroom Classic stopped working recently - I forget exactly how - it just wouldn't start up. I attempted to reinstall from Adobe Cloud app, but came across various errors. I read somewhere online that Lightroom withdrew support for older operating systems.

So we have had Windows Server 2019 installed, in order to test this. Now when I run the installation from Adobe Cloud app, it says that Lightroom (cloud version) is not compatible with this operating system but Lightroom Classic does NOT have this compatibility warning.

So we proceeded to have LR Classic installed, but this results in an error. There is no error message, it just says "failed to install" or something similar. 

 

I have checked and the official requirements for Lightroom Classic shown on this page are "Windows 10 or later".

Windows Server 2019 is indeed later than Windows 10 which was released in 2015.

What gives?

This is seriously disrupting our workflow and right now our latest shoots have not been archived and backed-up.

How can I get professional help with this matter from Adobe?

This topic has been closed for replies.

2 replies

H
Huub29907042fkqo
Participant
May 16, 2023

HI @hazymat did you get any further with this and make it work on a Windows Server?

 

P.s. the only info I found was this:

quote

see this tech document regarding running Creative Cloud/Photoshop on a server: https://helpx.adobe.com/in/enterprise/kb/technical-support-boundaries-virtualized-server-based.html

H
hazymatAuthor
Participating Frequently
June 12, 2024

I got no further with it. My solution in the end was to install a new virtual server running Windows 11, so I could remote into that instead. That runs ok.

dj_paige
dj_paige
Legend
December 22, 2021

How can I get professional help with this matter from Adobe?

 

You should contact Adobe. We are not Adobe here in this forum, we are other LrC users, who cannot speak on behalf of Adobe.

 

There was another thread here about Windows Server 2019 (I think), you should search for it.

 

You can try to revert to Lightroom Classic 10.4, I suspect that might work.

 

Windows Server 2019 is indeed later than Windows 10 which was released in 2015.

 

I don't think that's what Adobe meant. I think they meant Windows 10 or Windows 11.

H
hazymatAuthor
Participating Frequently
December 22, 2021

Many thanks, I understand this is a user forum. Wasn't sure if Adobe staff frequented it; I guess not.

 

Sorry if this is obvious but how do I revert to Lightroom Classic 10.4? Can this be done from the Creative Cloud control panel app? Will this cause a problem with the fact I have upgraded my catalogs on my laptop to latest version? Our workflow is this: work on current photos in the pipeline on laptop, then after a few months transfer an archive catalog from the laptop (running latest version) to the server.

 

Re version requirements, I am used to working with data sheets for software and hardware that are written very carefully and in great detail. I would be stunned if Adobe Lightroom, this application used by people around the globe, would be careless enough to write "and later versions" without specifying various editions of Windows... but I guess that's one to bring up with Adobe.

dj_paige
dj_paige
Legend
December 22, 2021

https://helpx.adobe.com/download-install/using/install-previous-version.html

 

I would be stunned if Adobe Lightroom, this application used by people around the globe, would be careless enough to write "and later versions" without specifying various editions of Windows... but I guess that's one to bring up with Adobe.

 

And probably Adobe would be stunned that you thought “Windows 10 and later versions” referred to Server operating systems. And just because it worked on some Server operating systems, it was unsupported and you should not assume that it will always work on Server operating systems.

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