Error Message Server Busy During Startup

[SteveRuddy]

During LR startup I get a Server Busy Window that says

This action cannot be completed because the other program is busy. Choose switch to to activate the busy program and correct the problem.

This does correct the problem but why is this necessary and how to I get rid of the error during start up?

[m___m1]

So I've deleted Firefox, unplugged my external hard drive, changed the sleep of my internal to 91 minutes and I've never had LR. Still getting the same freakin' message. Any more suggestions that I can try?

[Ryadia_]

Yep... Call Microsoft support. They'll access your PC remotely and fix the problem. Well they did for me. I'm in Australia. I've no idea what MS in the USA is like but I got support from their Asian team. Hard to understand but they knew exactly what to do.

[Gary Gray]

I keep the catalog files on my C: drive, but the actual images are scattered around amongst the 4 internal drives.

I haven't had a single crash since I started using KeepAliveHD to wake the drives up every 15 minutes.  I haven't played with anything else though.  I need to test this on the externals.  Right now, I'd say I'm okay.  I don't have time to dink around with this stuff, I use my system for photo editing and I just am not predisposed to be a troubleshooter for Adobe.

I first saw this problem occurring with LR 5.x but it was more intermittent.  LR 6 just made it worse.  Never saw it before with early releases of LR 5 or previous versions.  Same PC, same configuration, same hard drives.

Adobe usually fixes their problems, but progress is often slow.  A work around is fine so long as it doesn't interrupt my daily work-flow.  Haven't seen this on the Laptop yet, but that computer has one one hard drive.  I'll be updating to Windows 10 when it's released, so I don't really care if Windows 7 has a problem or not.

[testt46978460]

In my case it is the same: if I don't  let the externel hard drives go to sleep, Lightroom won't generate this error. I used two external harddrives. A littel bit strange is, that both are not part of my LR katatlog. But it seems that LR checks up all drives. When I start LR the harddirves are sleeping and i got the error. And then, without anything I have done, the harddrive awake, I click "retry" on the error field and LR works fine. Also when the extrernel harddrive go to seep again LR works fine. It olny happens when I start LR.

I think: It's not a fearure it's a bug !!!

[Must_Warn_Others]

Unbelievable. I've been living with this for years. Actually, LR is okay ... but I used your fix to take care of Dreamweaver which did the same thing. I hope she's gone for good.

[christonabicycle]

Must_Warn_Others -- which fix are you referring to that worked for you?  I'm still on the prowl for something that works.

Must_Warn_Others May 22, 2015 7:08 PM (in response to SteveRuddy)

Unbelievable. I've been living with this for years. Actually, LR is okay ... but I used your fix to take care of Dreamweaver which did the same thing. I hope she's gone for good.

[Must_Warn_Others]

The one from photoguy815 on 9/17/2014 ... here.

He mentions the routine at the end of this message. The only thing I have left to do is dig in and better understand why this fixes the problem. And I don't want to keep those two directories on my desktop even though it looks like they may have been regenerated when I started Dreamweaver. As a side note ... in step 3 when I ran DW as administrator it asked me to sign in to my creative cloud account which I had already done ... and then it notified me that the DW installation would be tied to my Creative Cloud ID ... which, I would have thought was the case already. It actually looked like it was "applying permissions" to the application that should have been done when I first installed DW. Regardless, there is nothing like stable software to help you be more productive and now I can use DW without having to go through 5 minutes of gyrations to get it started.

[photoguy815 instructions]

Try the following and see if it solves your problem:

1. In C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe, find the SL Cache folder and move it to your Desktop.
2. In C:\ProgramData\Adobe, find the SL Store folder and move it to your Desktop.
3. R Click on your Lightroom icon and “Run as Administrator”.
4. If it opens correctly, that shows it is working now.
5. Close Lightroom and reopen the application normally.

[keith_hh]

I also faced the server message and Lightroom becoming unresponsive when trying to import. I discovered bent pins in the CF card reader. I straightened the pins so they weren't touching each other and Lightroom now works again, although the CF slot itself it toast. I now see all my removable drives from the card reader which I could not do before. I must have bent it earlier today.

This might be a useful troubleshooting step for some, it solved my problem in any case.

[Ryadia_]

That fix just wipes out the anti-piracy stuff that queries an Adobe server to see if your software is legal and lets you start it or not.

You don't need to keep the directories you moved. In fact you could have just re-named them and let DW recreate them.

I had the same problem with the same software on several PCs. When I got Microsoft on the case, they changed my localization from GB English to AU English. They didn't say what the issue was but perhaps CC was trying to authenticate my software on a British server (thus the server busy error) and by changing the local to AU, it uses a local server. I haven't had to problem since they made these and a couple of registry edits. When you search for the exact error in a search engine, you'll discover plenty of other (non Adobe) programs are doing it too. I use DreamWeaver daily and since the MS fix, haven't had a single program start issue but DreamWeaver still crashes frequently if I try to work many fines in split view.

[Frank_Richards]

This problem cropped up shortly after installing LR 6.  (OS is Win 7 Pro) I never experienced it with LR1 through LR5.  The preferred solution on this forum works for a few days and then we are back to the Server Busy dialog box and LR locks up again. 

I finally navigated my way through the Adobe support menu to a live chat (no phone support for LR6 that I could find).  After being passed through 3 techs during the chat, the last tech (name available on request) finally called me and took over my computer. After 4 hours on the phone and totally reconfiguring my computer (screwing it up bigtime), it appeared as though the LR problem may have been fixed.  Not so, LR 6 has locked up again (4 days later) with the same problem.  It appears to be time to give up on LR 6.  Thoughts?

[christonabicycle]

Jeez, Frank.  I'm in the same boat with same system.  Not happy.  Not fixed, and I, too, wonder how long I will stick now, although the lack of alternatives may make me stay longer.  Hope it's not longer than it should be.  Time will tell.  Concerned about stability and etc now.  Not good.

[Must_Warn_Others]

I think I got too excited too soon. After a couple of days the "server busy" pops up again ... only during startup of the apps. I thought I had fixed my DreamWeaver ... sadly, not. Both Dreamweaver and Lightroom exhibit the same "server busy" error although Lightroom seems to "work through it" more easily (after some switching back and forth between the start menu and Lightroom). Dreamweaver on the other hand can you leave you questioning why your life's not simpler.

[Chrisinhouston]

I'm considering upgrading to Windows 8.1 which I already run on my laptop, haven't seen any mention of the error with that OS. Yes I know some folks hate 8 and 8.1 but I got adjusted to it on my laptop and since I am currently running Windows 7 Home Premium on my desktop I am limited to 16GB of ram and my mother board can support 32GB. So if I upgrade I get to use more ram and also hopefully get rid of the error message. I also figure it won't be long and Adobe will stop supporting program updates for OS 7 like they did with Vista. And I know OS10 is coming but I'd like to see the bugs worked out before I consider that OS.

[judymaca]

Hi Frank,

Just one more piece in information to add to the mix: I have a Toshiba Canvio hard drive connected to my computer with a USB connection. It has its own power supply and has been in place for over a year.

As I mentioned in an earlier comment, I did a complete uninstall and reinstall of LR 6 weeks ago and then did the upgrade. Since then I still see the “Server Busy” message when I open Lightroom, but clicking on “Switch to” has been a consistent fix and Lightroom opens fine.

I did change the sleep mode on the Toshiba drive to 90 minutes, but that made no difference. However, I recently tried actually going to My Computer and opening the Toshiba drive just to see the list of its contents before I launch Lightroom, and doing that seems to get rid of the Server Busy step. Lightroom 6.1 opens normally, without any hesitation, just as Lightroom 5 did for the last year + with this same set up. It doesn’t matter whether I leave the contents window open or not.

Don’t know if my experience adds anything new, but I pass it on, just in case.

Judy M.

[dearnold]

judymaca,

I'm still having the Server Busy problem - sometimes it will clear itself and sometimes not - and it only happens on one PC of mine - but it's one that I NEED to have working. Driving me nuts trying to troubleshoot it.

You mentioned Lightroom 6.1 -- did you perhaps mean 6.0.1 or is there a 6.1 upgrade/fix that I don't know about yet?

When you say that you clicking on "Switch to", exactly what do you mean? I can click on "Switch to" all day long and it doesn't fix anything. What do you do after you click on "Switch to" ? what does Lightroom need one to switch to?

when I click on "Switch to", the Start menu opens -- I have no clue what to do next and doing nothing also does nothing to make the Server Busy window go away...........

Dianne A

[Frank_Richards]

Update.  I had already downloaded LR 6.0.1 and it did not correct the problem.  Clicking "Switch To" works for a while, but the LR eventually locks up when loading.  From my perspective, this seems to be a permissions issue associated with more stringent license validation, rather than a disc related issue.  Anyway, I have given up on LR 6 and gone back to LR 5.7 which functions just as it should.   I notice Adobe folks have not entered this discussion nor is there any indication that there may be fix on the way.  Sad state of affairs when a broken product is introduced and not supported.

[christonabicycle]

OK, I'm seeing that others are reporting issues with LR and external drives that may have taken a nap.  I am seeing the same behavior.  If I "wake" them or have been using them recently, LR starts up OK.  Otherwise, it's the old wait and "Switch To" routine.  Very annoying.

m2

[MelPainter]

I tried moving the SL cache folders etc - and when I tried to open lightroom it asked me if I wanted  to start a trial!

Hastily moved the folders back!

Mel

[Frank_Richards]

When you remove the SL files, you are removing the registration data for LR.  Follow the path other than trail and you will be asked to register LR.  You will need the serial number for LR 6 and maybe the serial number of prior LR if you have upgraded.  It is a pain, but it does fix the problem for a while, or maybe permanently, if you are lucky.

Frank

[Frank_Richards]

christonabicycle - Apparently this fix works for some, but not all.  My experiences have been the similar to yours in that the "Retry/Switch To" dialog reoccurs in a short time.  In my case, this is only a LR 6 issue.  I do not have this problem when using LR 5.7 or PS CS6.  I suspect that Adobe has retched up their license checking routine with CC, since this appears to be a permissions related issue.  I have tried various fixes including spending many hours on the phone with an Adobe expert.  I am sure that Adobe could fix this, but seems not to be interested.  So I guess we are just screwed, or in my case, I'll stick with the LR 5.7 and PS CS6 which I know work.

Frank

[Chrisinhouston]

Funny thing but I have not had this issue pop up now for over 2 months! It used to happen every time I restarted my computer and booted LR up. Now it never happens and I didn't do anything different or try any of the new suggestions, it just stopped. I had just assumed Adobe changed something.

[PJ_Traveler]

I followed the suggested steps of moving the SL data out of the adobe directories....

This resulted in LR wanting me to RE register.  The Adobe site was down....

finally, it is re registered, but now the SERVER BUSY error is back......

[PJ_Traveler]

I did the suggtested, and then it wanted my serial numbers again.  I put in the serial numbers and now I have the problem again !

[Gilderod]

Thank you for your assistance.

I moved the SL Cache to desktop initially and nothing happened.  I moved it back, rebooted, and I noticed a quick message that the Site License had registered.  So, the fix must involve moving the SL Cache and rebooting.  And, yes I did get the latest version once I was able to get it up and running again.

Thank you.  You are big help.