Unable to open Lightroom Classic; it opens in the background.

Forum|Forum|20 hours ago
July 1, 2026
4 replies
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I cannot use Lightroom Classic. Every catalog I try opens in the background. All apps and graphics driver are up-to-date. I'm operating Windows 11 on a Sky Tech gaming machine. I have spent many hours online with several different Adobe techs have been unable to solve the problem. One seems to think that the catalog is corrupt, but I have tried multiple catalogs--backups and new.

dennisb94569757Author

Participating Frequently

Thanks to everyone who contributed suggestions. Simply waiting overnight appears to have solved the problem. After spending HOURS on the phone with Adobe Tech Support--to no avail--I had installed Bridge and was ready to abandon LrC.

A

AxelMatt

Community Expert

Try to repair/reinstall the latest Visual C runtimes.

Go to this site Latest supported Visual C++ Redistributable downloads | Microsoft Learn

and download and re-install the C runtime Libraries.

If this doesn’t help we need more informations about your system. Please provide a copy of your 'System Info'. This can be get from the Lightroom menu item Help > System Info. There's a copy button in the System Info dialog. Press this button and paste the info into a text file and attach it to your next forum post.

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

KR Seals

Community Expert

What version of Lightroom Classic are you using?

If LrC V15.4.0 or 15.4.1, did the catalog convert properly at first?

Take a look at this thread that might be helpful. Read it all the way through.

Ken Seals - Nikon Z 9, Z 8, 14mm-800mm. Computer Win 11 Pro, I7-14700K, 64GB, RTX3070TI. Travel machine: 2021 MacBook Pro M1 MAX 64GB. All Adobe apps.

dennisb94569757Author

Participating Frequently

KR, Thanks for the link to the thread. That appears to have resolved the problem.

I tried opening LrC last night and it opened in the background--just like many times before. Then, I did not “End Task,” simply waited until this morning. LrC was open and appeared to be functioning properly. I optimized the catalog and backed up. You helped to quell my anguish. I installed Bridge; was ready to abandon LrC.

dj_paige

Legend

What happens if you try opening a brand new empty catalog? Hold down the CTRL key while opening LrC and see if a dialog box pops up where you can select to open a new catalog.

Have you tried resetting the LrC preferences? https://www.lightroomqueen.com/how-do-i-reset-lightrooms-preferences/

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