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Jan0846
Known Participant
June 13, 2025
Answered

External Hard Drive Failed – Lightroom Can’t Locate My Catalog Anymore

  • June 13, 2025
  • 1 reply
  • 415 views

I have successfully used Lightroom classic for. a few year. My catalogue and raw images were save to an ext HD through LR. Last week my hard drive failed. I took it to a shop and they said the motor had gone and copied all the data on to a new External HD. I have brought it home and plugged into my macbook and opened LR. It can't locate the catalog and wants to use an old one, update  or make a new one. I dare not click anything ! I just want my old way of working back where all my images are together, sorted in to years. It says a new catalogue will not be compatible with older versions of LR classic. There is somehting that says catalog in the new hard drive.  Any suggestions on what I should do ?

I do not know the  LR classic version as I can't open it if i dont click one of the catalog options.

I use latest version on Sequoia on macbook pro

Correct answer dj_paige

Use your operating system's search feature to search all folders on all drives for files whose name ends with .LRCAT (these are the catalog files)

 

Once you find those files, one of those may be the catalog file you were using. Double-click on each catalog to open it in Lightroom Classic until you find the catalog file you want.

1 reply

dj_paige
dj_paigeCorrect answer
Legend
June 13, 2025

Use your operating system's search feature to search all folders on all drives for files whose name ends with .LRCAT (these are the catalog files)

 

Once you find those files, one of those may be the catalog file you were using. Double-click on each catalog to open it in Lightroom Classic until you find the catalog file you want.

    johnrellis
    johnrellis
    Legend
    June 13, 2025

    @Jan0846 has also posted this in the Lightroom Queen forum:

    https://www.lightroomqueen.com/community/threads/where-is-my-catalog.52974/

     

    to which another person and I have also replied. To reduce confusion and make the discussion most efficient, I recommend continuing it there.  (@dj_paige's reply aligns with what's posted there.)

    johnrellis
    johnrellis
    Legend
    June 13, 2025

    That's only efficient for people who participate in the Lightroom Queen Community forums. It is not efficient for me, or for people who come here looking for help; and so I recommend continuing the discussion here.


    But if the discussion gets split between the two forums, with conflicting, duplicate, or incomplete suggestions, as sometimes happens, then we all waste time and lose, especially the person asking the question. Since three people had responded in the other forum and just one here, I recommended using the other forum as the focal point. If it had been the other way around, I would have recommended making this forum the focal point (as I've done in the past).

     

    Others coming here for help can easily click the link to the other forum.

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