Corrupt catalog in the Cloud, won't open or repair, how do I point LR to my backed up catalog ?

[ilzho]

Hello:

I was editing a photo in LR and it wouldn't export, so I closed out and restarted my mac and tried to open lightroom, and got the message, "Corrupt Catalog Detected"....... Tried the repair option and it would not work.....

My LR catalog is in the Apple Cloud and I know I backed it around Feb 5th.

So I have many questions, but I guess the first one is how do I open LR (since it won't open) and have it pointed to my backed-up LR catatlog?

I have never needed to do anything with the cloud or very little with the catalogs, so I am pretty new to all this...

I need 'baby' instruactions, haha...... ugh....

Any help is greatly appreciated....

[john beardsworth]

First, find your Feb 5 backup and restore it somewhere.

Now in Finder, with LR closed., double click the restored catalogue.

That should be it.

[GoldingD]

Please post your System Information as Lightroom Classic (LrC) reports it. In LrC click on Help, then System Info, then Copy. Paste that information into a reply. Please present all information from first line down to and including Plug-in Info. Info after Plug-in info can be cut as that is just so much dead space to us non-Techs.

[ilzho]

So one question I have, can't I open a support ticket with adobe and have them repair my catalog or just provide a restore as they more recent backups.... Or am I wishing too much???

John: Thanks, I will try but have manh more questions with that as well.....

GoldingD: Thanks. When I open LrC, I get the splash screen corrupt catalog error message and  the system info is not available......

[ilzho]

Ok I have another question. 

When I download my backup from the icould to my computer, I dbl clicked the catalog and it does open lightroom and does seem to work. Thank you....

Now when I make edits to photos, etc.... is it saving those edits to the catalog that I downloaded on my computer or is it saving those edits to where the original catalog file is in the icloud?

Does this make sense?

Thank you!

[ilzho]

I can't get LR to see the catalog. It wants to use the one on my desktop that I downloaded (which was a back-up). How do I get Lr to see the catalog in the cloud, where it was to begin with?

frustrating.....

[dj_paige]

Use File->Open Catalog and then select whichever catalog you desire.

All edits and other work you do will be saved in whatever catalog you have open.

[ilzho]

Thank everyone, I really appreciate the help as some of this is just new and not my forte.....and is frustrating for me....

So I appreciate the help.

I have LrC pointing to my backup catalog in the cloud....it seems to be working......

One thing is the 'Smart Previews'......LrC is not seeing them. 

I have my raw photos on a Drobo (external drive), so when I plug that into my computer the images appear in Lrc and I can edit, export, etc... so that's good.......

But I was used to working on smart previews or looking through different collections and the smart previews were nice to have as it sped things up tremendously.

When I downloaded my zip file backup, the catalog file, the previews.lrdata, lrcat-data, helper.data files all downloaded.

Do I send the previews file back up into the cloud where the catalog is or will the catalog recreate the previews??? 

Half of my just thinks to fogo the previews file and just work on the original photo.

If I remember right I have the previews created when I import the raw photos, but haven't done that yet, since yesterday because of corrputed catalog.

Thanks again!

[dj_paige]

I have LrC pointing to my backup catalog in the cloud

Great, but now get it out of the cloud and onto one of your hard disks. There are far too many reports of working with catalogs in the cloud that result in catalog corruption. Use the cloud for backups, not for the primary (working) catalog.

One thing is the 'Smart Previews'......LrC is not seeing them. 

As I understand things, once you switch and use a different catalog in a different location (even if it is a backup), the smart previews have to be re-created.

[ilzho]

Thank you Dj_Paige.....

I was originally told to work off the cloud after, I originally had the catalog on my hard drive and I'm sure that had something to do with my hard drive crahsing, as it got so big......

Anyway, I do have a drobo with lots of TB space that my photos are on....I guess I can move it there and work off of the drobo since my raw photos files are there anyway......

I'm just concered of screwing something else up.....

Thank you for your advice.....

[dj_paige]

I originally had the catalog on my hard drive and I'm sure that had something to do with my hard drive crahsing,

Just so you know, catalogs do not crash hard drives. Hardware malfunctions crash hard drives. A properly functioning hard drive or SSD should be a great place for the catalog. Catalogs in the cloud are a recipe for catalog corruption.

I am not familiar with Drobo, but if it is a network drive, I don't think you can (or should) put your catalog there.

[ilzho]

Thanks.... A drobo is like a raid storage system.... It's is an external hard drive or a few hard drives in one storage unit, that I physically connect to my laptop when working on the photos via LR pr PS.

I might have to give it a try....