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njr3giphojwerphoiarb
Participant
October 11, 2017
Answered

recovery dilemma, I've searched but not found same problem with solution

  • October 11, 2017
  • 2 replies
  • 536 views

My main HD on my Macbook had both apps and photos, no external was being used. The drive failed, but all files and photos have been recovered, a new drive installed, all moved back to it as before, including lrcat files, backups, located in the new pictures folder precisely as before. I downloaded and installed Lightroom again, I believe it’s a newer version than the previous install that crashed. All prefs and peripheral files are recovered and could be copied over if necessary. I’d like to be able to open my catalog and collections as before if possible, with image processing settings etc..

When I open an existing lrcat file with th new install I get an alert- “relaunch lightroom with this Catalog? in order to use this catalog, lightroom must close the current catalog and restart, Do you want to relaunch lightroom with this /users/***/pictures/*** etc etc etc ?

If I do so, there is an alert to upgrade the catalog, when done I get “click the “import…” button to begin..

Should I proceed to do so? All support articles I’ve read seem to suggest to never import in the process of lrcat recovery. But I’ve not yet read any account of a failure and attempted recovery exactly like mine, they tend to be with failed externals etc..

Can anyone give me specific step by steps here to, if possible, get back to where I was before the drive failure? I can recover and copy over any previous file from a saved recovered files drive. Currently the user Pictures older has been restored exactly as before.

Thanks for any help.

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer dj_paige

    A .LRCAT file of 1.5mb is probably an empty or unusable catalog file.

    Is that the only .LRCAT you have found? What about the backups of your LRCAT file? What size are the other ones?

    I've seen info that the problem may be the the new drive ID, not what the lrcat is looking for.

    Nonsense. The problem is that the catalog file is either empty or unusable.

    One thing I could do is uninstall the new version, copy the recovered old version of the app and all prefs etc, to the new correct locations, see if that is happier, then of course updating would be no problem. Think that would be worth trying?

    No, it is not worth trying. The problem is that your catalog is either empty or unusable, and you have to find a catalog file that is not empty.

    2 replies

    JP Hess
    JP Hess
    Inspiring
    October 11, 2017

    Whenever you install a newer major version of Lightroom, such as from version 5 to version 6, It is necessary for the catalog to be upgraded or converted to a new database format. This process involves creating a new copy of your existing catalog. I have done this several times. This new copy is created in addition to the existing catalog that you have been using. I am not familiar with seeing the prompt to click a button  to begin importing images. But whatever you do you will be working with a new copy of your catalog and the old one will remain intact. What version were you using previously, and what version did you install this time?

    N
    njr3giphojwerphoiarbAuthor
    Participant
    October 12, 2017

    there seem to be no version numbers.. file info says- the old = 1060496, the new = 1125239. dj_paige the version is newer because I simply took what was given when reconnecting with adobe, activating the new OS install/drive, downloading and installing all my adobe apps. The lrcat is 1.5 mb, I'm not a huge user. Yes it's recovered, not from a backup, and seems to have recovered successfully. Prosoft has consistently reported which files recover successfully and which don't, from apps to big graphics and movie/music projects, prefs, etc etc.

    I've seen info that the problem may be the the new drive ID, not what the lrcat is looking for.

    Anyway, I can update the lrcat files but am then left with the "import" decision, based on everything I've read, I've not done that yet, you both seem to agree.

    One thing I could do is uninstall the new version, copy the recovered old version of the app and all prefs etc, to the new correct locations, see if that is happier, then of course updating would be no problem. Think that would be worth trying? I'm suspect of this drive ID issue. Thank you both for your replies.

    dj_paige
    dj_paigeCorrect answer
    Legend
    October 12, 2017

    A .LRCAT file of 1.5mb is probably an empty or unusable catalog file.

    Is that the only .LRCAT you have found? What about the backups of your LRCAT file? What size are the other ones?

    I've seen info that the problem may be the the new drive ID, not what the lrcat is looking for.

    Nonsense. The problem is that the catalog file is either empty or unusable.

    One thing I could do is uninstall the new version, copy the recovered old version of the app and all prefs etc, to the new correct locations, see if that is happier, then of course updating would be no problem. Think that would be worth trying?

    No, it is not worth trying. The problem is that your catalog is either empty or unusable, and you have to find a catalog file that is not empty.

    dj_paige
    dj_paige
    Legend
    October 11, 2017

    If you have a newer version of LR, it will ask if you want to upgrade the catalog, and you should say yes or OK or whatever the affirmative is. (But why are you using a newer version of LR?)

    Then, if it shows no photos and asks you to import, this indicates that you have not opened the right catalog, or the catalog is empty, or perhaps damaged somehow. How big is the catalog file (in bytes or megabytes)? Is this some recovered catalog file from the disk that crashed? Or is this catalog a backup made from before the disk crash?

    Importing is not the thing to do, except as a last resort when nothing else has worked.

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