Thumbnails displacing originals.

We need more details from you to be of any further help.  When you say the original photos and thumbnails are nowhere to be seen, but that the low rez file is all I have, do you in fact mean that you have a thumbnail of the original photo but the file is missing?  In other words, if you double-click on a low-rez file does a missing file dialog come up asking you for the location of the file?  If this is the case, you have moved the file, perhaps through your backup/restore process, without letting Elements know about it.  This is something that should never be done.  If you look in the Information panel with a missing file selected, where does Elements expect to see the original file?  What is the current location of that original file?

Please explain what you mean when you say: My backup efforts didn't seem to work.  What options did you use to restore the backup and what didn't work?

Will the super resolution be available to elements users?  It is usually possible to relink the missing files but it can be a tedious and time-consuming job.  If you haven't deleted the original files from your computer, obviously they will still be available to the Elements catalog somehow. But without knowing more details about what you have done and where you are at right now, I can't offer any further strategies.  Knowing more about why the backup restoration didn't work may also help us find a solution for you.

So, do you want some suggestions to work your way out of this mess? 

If you have some Elements-reated backup files that have found their way into your catalog, they should have a file name beginning with B00.  You could do an easy search for those files by using the command Shift+Ctrl+K.  Select all the found images (Ctrl+A) and hit the delete key.  All of those duplicate (backup) files will be removed from the catalog.  Obviously, don't use the option to delete the files from your hard drive.

There may be some other easy strategies for removing other backup files created by other programs from your catalog.  Without knowing more details about how and where they are stored, and their naming conventions, it is hard to give a more detailed response.  However, you might want to consider sorting your catalog by Import Batch.  That will place the files in the order in which they were imported into your computer and will help you find, select and delete the duplicates.

For some reason Elements is finding and cataloging the backup fills on any attached harddrive and seems to be replacing the original file.  When I filter for a person the backup file appers, many time in duplicates, and the original is no where to be found.  I have 30+ thousand photos and 76,000 photos cataloged.

By @scottc56268752

Let's look at the way two commands may produce the effect you are describing.

- Organizer backup; creates a renamed copy of each photo file in a dedicated 'backup folder' on a distinct drive.

- Import from files and folders: if you don't specify the folders you want to index/manage in the catalog, there is a 'bulk' import of every image file on your computer including all drives.

It looks as if such a 'bulk' import has indexed both the real original files and the renamed files in one or more catalog backups.

Obviously, any kind of backup or copy of your files should not be scanned for import. Nearly all the time, the location of the backup folder is on a dedicated external drive which is not connected to your computer when you get photos from files or folders. The best advice is to store your backup files in external drives to be protected against risks of crash, theft etc. The second one is not to trust the 'bulk' import option, skip it and import from the master folders of the folder trees you want to index/manage. Also think about the 'watch folders service'. Be sure that no backup folders are included.

Can you give more details about how and where you store your backup files from the organizer?