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ron14151
Known Participant
February 14, 2022
Answered

Corrupted catalog

  • February 14, 2022
  • 2 replies
  • 637 views

I have a corrupted catalog.  I've tried several times to repair it but it's been unsuccessful.  Where are images typically stored and are they recoverable?  Last backup was Feb. 5.  Will images uploaded since then be available?

 

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Correct answer AxelMatt

The images doesn't stored in the catalog file. They are already available. If you go back to an older catalog you only lost the categorization by keywords, the development steps for the images that you have imported and worked on since the last backup. 

 

2 replies

AxelMatt
Community Expert
AxelMattCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
February 14, 2022

The images doesn't stored in the catalog file. They are already available. If you go back to an older catalog you only lost the categorization by keywords, the development steps for the images that you have imported and worked on since the last backup. 

 

My System: Intel i7-8700K - 64GB RAM - NVidia Geforce RTX 3060 - Windows 11 Pro 25H2 -- LR-Classic 15 - Photoshop 27 - Nik Collection 8 - PureRAW 5 - Topaz Photo
    JohanElzenga
    Community Expert
    JohanElzengaCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 14, 2022

    Your images are not stored in the catalog, so they are safe. They are stored where you told Lightroom to store them. What is stored in the catalog is information (metadata) and any edits that you have made. Unzip the catalog backup and replace your catalog files(s) with the backup file(s). Images that were added to the catalog after the backup date will have to be imported again. https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/help/back-catalog.html

     

    -- Johan W. Elzenga
    T
    tamari123
    Participating Frequently
    March 26, 2022

    I'm using my catalog back up after my catalog ended corrupted after switching from old to new MacBook Pro. 

    But the problem now is that I don't see the previews. I use to be able to see all my photos' preview. Now I only see the previews if the external drive is hooked to my hard drive, and even then, there is a delay. My main issue is that I don't see my previews from any photos that are on other external drives not attached to my computer.

     

    Rob_Cullen
    Community Expert
    Rob_CullenCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    March 26, 2022

    What you describe sounds like you (restored from a backup) Catalog and did not have an associated Previews (.LRDATA) file for it.

    Then LrC needs to rebuild the Previews file/folder, and to do that it needs the original files connected. Meaning it needs (at some time) all drives with photos connected.

    You would be seeing blank grey previews until the originals on a drive are available.

    Attach the external Drives and the previews should re-build.

     

    A situation like this happens when Previews cause problems and need re-building.

    PREVIEW CACHE ERRORS

     

     

     

    Regards. My System: Windows-11, Lightroom-Classic 15.1.1, Photoshop 27.3.1, ACR 18.1.1, Lightroom 9.0, Lr-iOS 10.4.0, Bridge 16.0.2 .
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