Restore issue

Bill, don't feel in the slightest bit embarrassed.  The Organizer backup/restore process is perhaps the most user-unfriendly part of Elements.  I am currently going through my own catalog backup/restore disaster, and we see many reported user failures on this forum.

I may end up doing the same as you and create an entirely new catalog.  But with about 250k media files, that is a daunting task.

When you import your files into the new catalog, you should be given the opportunity to import the keyword tags. Those will appear in the new catalog under the Imported Keyword Tags category.  You will then have to rearrange the hierarchy of tags.  Face-recognized People tags should also be converted to keyword tags, but you will lose all face recognition associations and will need to perform that task again.

Good luck.

Do you have exactly the same user name as the old motherboard/hard drive? If not, that may cause a problem.  The fact that you have a new hard drive may also be an issue because the Organizer keeps track of files using the hard drive's Volume ID number, and obviously that has changed.

Have you tried restoring to a new location (folder) but Restor[ing] the Original Folder Structure?  That may be worth a shot.

Be patient.   Although nothing seems to be happening, it can take a long time before the first status bar appears.  To confirm my theory, look in the Task Manager to see whether there is any Organizer activity and/or Disk read/write activity going on.