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David28672907qm0g
Participating Frequently
April 18, 2023
Question

?:0: attempt to index field 'rootFile' (a nil value) -- Mac M2 -- cannot delete pix from disk

  • April 18, 2023
  • 2 replies
  • 1093 views

Running Ligroom Classic on a M2 Mac.  Above error message appears when I try to delete photos from the disk that have been marked "X" for deletion.  Reviewed other posts and have tried the following:

 

1) trashing preferences: didn't work

2) disabling all plug-ins: didn't work

3) turned off GPU: didn't work

 

Grateful for any other suggestions, as LR will be unusable if I cannot clear off some disk space!

 

Full configuration info below:

Lightroom Classic version: 12.3 [ 202304101834-a085245c ]
License: Creative Cloud
Language setting: en-GB
Operating system: Mac OS 13
Version: 13.2.1 [22D68]
Application architecture: arm64
Logical processor count: 12
Processor speed: NA
SqLite Version: 3.36.0
Built-in memory: 16,384.0 MB
Real memory available to Lightroom: 16,384.0 MB
Real memory used by Lightroom: 1,751.7 MB (10.6%)
Virtual memory used by Lightroom: 408,772.4 MB
Memory cache size: 85.2MB
Internal Camera Raw version: 15.3 [ 1451 ]
Maximum thread count used by Camera Raw: 5
Camera Raw SIMD optimization: SSE2
Camera Raw virtual memory: 71MB / 8191MB (0%)
Camera Raw real memory: 73MB / 16384MB (0%)
Standard Preview Size: 3456 pixels
Displays: 1) 3456x2234

Graphics Processor Info:
Metal: Apple M2 Pro
Init State: GPU for Export supported by default
User Preference: Auto

Application folder: /Applications/Adobe Lightroom Classic
Library Path: /Users/davidkennedy/Pictures/Catalog v12 files/Lightroom Catalog-v12.lrcat
Settings Folder: /Users/davidkennedy/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Lightroom

Installed Plugins:
1) AdobeStock
2) Aperture/iPhoto Importer Plug-in
3) Flickr
4) Nikon Tether Plugin

Config.lua flags: None

 

 

2 replies

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drtonyb
Legend
May 13, 2025

@David28672907qm0g 

 

It seems to me that error message is related to your catalog.

 

All images imported into a catalog must have a rootFile, i.e. a link to a real file on a disc. The error is saying that at least one image has been encountered in your catalog that doesn't have the correct link to its rootFile, but instead has an empty value (nil), an error condition that LrC is not handling vey well. Put simply, your catalog has a corruption. If you have a recent backup of your catalog, try opening that.

Noel Orridge
Community Manager
Noel OrridgeCommunity Manager
Community Manager
May 13, 2025

Hi @cktse, welcome to the community! 

Since this thread is a bit old, it might be best to start a new one with all the details of your issue. That way, your comments won't get lost, and you'll get the help you need more quickly. Also, Could you please share more details, like your system configuration (In the menu bar at the top of your screen, click on Help > System Info? Does this error appear on all types of files when you try to delete them or just particular ones?

 

Assuming that you've already tried the steps provided in this thread, you can try these as well:

  1. Optimize Catalog:

    • Open Lightroom Classic.
    • Go to the menu and select File > Optimize Catalog.
    • Check if there are any files or folders with a question mark (?). If so, right-click on the problematic folder and choose Find Missing Folder. Navigate to the correct location of the folder to re-establish the link if you've renamed or moved some files or folders.

  2. Test with a New Catalog (for diagnostic purposes):

    • Create a new, temporary Lightroom Classic catalog.
    • Import a few images into this new catalog and try deleting them. If this works, it suggests the issue lies with the original catalog.

If you have a backup from the time before this problem started occurring, you might try using that as well.

Let us know if these steps help. Cheers!

Noel
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drtonyb
Legend
May 14, 2025

@Noel Orridge 

 

Oops, I didn't note the date of the post by @David28672907qm0g 

 

Sameer K
Community Manager
Sameer KCommunity Manager
Community Manager
April 18, 2023

Hey @David28672907qm0g. Welcome to the Lightroom Classic Community. I'll help you figure this out.

 

The specific error code was previously linked to folder permissions to Lightroom Classic on macOS.

Try this:

 

Let us know how it goes. Thanks!

Sameer K

 

 

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David28672907qm0gAuthor
Participating Frequently
April 20, 2023

Thank you Sameer - grateful for your help.  I've added Lightroom Classic to my full disk permissions and restarted my machine -- unfortunately this does not resolve the issue. I remain unable to delete photos from Lightroom.  Please see a screenshot of my disk permissions.  Note I have added only LR Classic, not LR, Creative Cloud etc.    Grateful for further suggestions.  David 

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David28672907qm0gAuthor
Participating Frequently
May 19, 2023

Thanks for sharing the detailed findings.
Try repairing the folder level permissions for Lightroom Classic.

In this article, scroll down to 'Manually change folder permissions' & follow each step until the step for starting up in Safe Mode: https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/kb/lightroom-basic-troubleshooting-fix-most-issues.html

 

This is going to be a manual effort. Please keep me posted on how it goes. Thanks!

Sameer K


Thank you -- I have manually reset folder permissions (but read/write and including enclosed items) for the four indicated folders, then restarted the machine and relaunched Lightroom.  Unfortunately Lightroom still refuses to delete photos -- still getting the dreaded "Rootfile" error.  

 

Grateful for any further suggestions.  Note that my Lightroom has been disfunctional for months now.  Will try a few more steps but losing patience with Adobe -- why am I paying so much for a non-functional app?

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