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hamiltone35675380
hamiltone35675380
Participating Frequently
June 10, 2018
Question

My LR catalog has started showing (!)

  • June 10, 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 518 views

I have LR 6.0 Standalone Version, updated to Version 6.4. I use Windows 10 Operating System & my computer has 32 GB RAM (LR works fine).

My 1st LR catalog looked like it got corrupted somehow. I don't know how. I started a new catalog last September, as my images & edits in the 1st Catalog started showing the icon. I have not moved my original photos anywhere - they are on my HDD, in the RAW file folder, where they are kept and are left alone & never ever moved. The new catalog I began, has been fiine till now, after 9 months, but in the last few days has begun showing a few on some images, like my 1st catalog. It seems like a kind of cancer - it starts with a few images & spreads to neighbouring ones, till the whole Collection shows the . Has anybody got any idea what is going on? Do I have faulty LR software? Seeing my 2nd LR catalog becoming corrupted like this , is just a nightmare!

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    2 replies

    dj_paige
    dj_paige
    Legend
    June 10, 2018

    Are these icons circular with the ! in the middle or rectangular with the ! in the middle.

    If they are circular, the file is corrupted and can't be used. You need to restore a backup copy of the affected photo files. More importantly, the hard disk where your photos exist is failing, and should be replaced.

    If they are rectangular, despite your insistence that you haven't moved the photos, Lightroom thinks they have been used, and in the case where Lightroom and the user disagree on this matter, I believe Lightroom. You can fix the problem via Adobe Lightroom - Find moved or missing files and folders

    Camera Raw is not the cause of this problem.

    hamiltone35675380
    hamiltone35675380Author
    Participating Frequently
    June 10, 2018

    Hi dj paige,

    Thanks very much for getting back to me.

    I'll try and tell you what I have found out.

    The icons are rectangular, so glad to hear that my LR catalog is not corrupted! I checked in my HDD and found the photos which appear with the rectangular in the LR catalog. The original photos are still in the same folder as I downloaded them, from my XQD card back in March 2018.

    I read the artice you referred me to, about Finding Moved or Missing Folders.

    I have been checking for the (?) icon in the folders section quite regularly, as I had a problem with this in both of my catalogs, but there are no (?s) there at the moment. My problem was that when I attached my SD card writer to my computer, sometimes the computer thought it was the 'K' Drive & other times the 'L' Drive. As a result, LR was getting confused as to which Drive the photos were in, but I solved that by 'right clicking' - Locate Missing Folder. I haven't had a problem with (?s) on any Files for a while. I have also been making Smart Previews on importing photos into LR since making my new catalog, in case of the possibility of new corrption in the future and the hope that I could still access images in LR, even if the rectangular  appeared.

    This is a new problem - I checked the folder in LR where the photos came from on the HDD & every photo (143 + edits) has a rectangular on it. All the other folders, from what I can see, are OK. The photos on my HDD are fine & in the same folder as they were downloaded into. One thing I can see which might have caused this, is that the folder on my HDD is labelled 2018/03/03, although the photos were actually taken on 2018/03/02, but I can't see that being too important. Another thing, is that I have been getting a bit confused between the American & British style of writing dates, when making folders on my HDD - sometimes I would make a folder, for example : 04/10, meaning October 4th instead of April 10th etc. A bit confusing, but shouldn't be causing a problem, as I have realised the mistake, but left it like that, instead of rewriting the dates, which I realise could confused LR.

    I hope this has given you some more clues to work on.

    Look forward to hearing any more advice you can give me.

    Thanks again,

    Eric

    dj_paige
    dj_paige
    Legend
    June 10, 2018

    hamiltone35675380  wrote

    Hi dj paige,

    Thanks very much for getting back to me.

    I'll try and tell you what I have found out.

    The icons are rectangular, so glad to hear that my LR catalog is not corrupted!

    Well, for anyone else reading along, I did not say the catalog was corrupted if the icon was circular. I said the photo files were corrupted.

    My problem was that when I attached my SD card writer to my computer, sometimes the computer thought it was the 'K' Drive & other times the 'L' Drive. As a result, LR was getting confused as to which Drive the photos were in, but I solved that by 'right clicking' - Locate Missing Folder.

    Drive switching letters is a Windows problem which affects Lightroom. Lightroom cannot find the photos — because although you have not moved them, they are on a different drive letter and so Lightroom cannot find them.

    I haven't had a problem with (?s) on any Files for a while. I

    Lightroom 6 does not put ? icons on your photos.

    This is a new problem - I checked the folder in LR where the photos came from on the HDD & every photo (143 + edits) has a rectangular  on it. All the other folders, from what I can see, are OK. The photos on my HDD are fine & in the same folder as they were downloaded into.

    As I said, when you say the files are where they should be, and LR says they are not, you have to believe LR. You have to click on the exclamation point icon and point Lightroom to where the files are. That is the solution, as explained in the article. Also, that one specific folder in LR should have the ? icon on the folder (not on the photos), in which case you could right-click and select Find Missing Folder and select the folder where the photos are located.

    If this is a recurring problem (as in your original post), then the switching of drive letters by Windows is most likely the cause. In that case, if you assign a letter at the end of the alphabet (for example S T U V W X Y Z) for the drive where your photos, this problem should go away.

    Mylenium
    Mylenium
    Legend
    June 10, 2018

    This may relate to the curent issues with Camera Raw not being able to open certain files. You would have to downgrade.

    Mylenium

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