Folders missing in library after LrC update

[Carina5CFB]

Hello,
I have the following problem. After updating LrC to the latest version, many folders are now missing from the library. A question mark is displayed next to the missing folders. I have already tried the following:

1. I have tried several times to relink the location of the missing folders (right click --> update folder location). After the location has been selected, the folder and the photos it contains still do not appear.
2 I have tried to re-import the missing folders and photos. This does not work because the photos are already in the catalog.
3. Then I tried to open one of the backup files of the catalog. Same problem again. Some folders and photos are missing and cannot be re-linked.
4. Reinstalling LrC was also unsuccessful.
5. Even a reset to the previous LrC version did not solve the problem.

I am at a loss as to what else I could try. Does anyone have an idea or had the same problem?

[dj_paige]

Some of us have web browser that cannot view your file attachment. Please include the screen capture in your reply by clicking on the "Insert Photos" icon so I can see your screen capture.

If the folders are missing and have a question mark icon then I think you need to try right click, then "Find Missing Folder" . You should not even see the command "Update Folder Location" unless I have misunderstood something.

The larger problem is that you shouldn't be seeing this simply because you upgraded the catalog. In all likelihood, the wrong catalog file got upgraded and so if you can find the proper catalog file and upgrade it, none of these problems will happen. (or you did something that hasn't been mentioned) 

[JohanElzenga]

I would first try to upgrade the old catalog again. The upgrade itself may have corrupted the new catalog. Upgrading the wrong catalog file should normally not lead to missing folders either. If you upgrade an old catalog by mistake for example, then newer folders will not be in the upgraded catalog at all, they won't be there but missing.

[dj_paige]

Upgrading the wrong catalog file should normally not lead to missing folders either. 

By @JohanElzenga

Unless folders were moved/renamed/deleted after the old catalog stopped being in use, and a new catalog was somehow put into use.

[JohanElzenga]

Upgrading the wrong catalog file should normally not lead to missing folders either. 

By @JohanElzenga

Unless folders were moved/renamed/deleted after the old catalog stopped being in use, and a new catalog was somehow put into use.

By @dj_paige

Of course. I am not saying it is impossible that an old catallg was upgraded, just that I think it is not the most likely cause of the problem.

[Carina5CFB]

I still have all the older catalogs starting with version 11 on my hard drive. If I open the latest catalog (v12-4), this one should be updated to version 13, right? Not one of the older versions.
And you're right, the missing folders don't say "Update Folder Location" but "Find Missing Folder". However, when I use this command to select the location of the photos, they still don't appear in the Lr library.

[JohanElzenga]

"However, when I use this command to select the location of the photos, they still don't appear in the Lr library."

That is why I recommended to let Lightroom Classic upgrade your old catalog again. This sounds like catalog corruption, so something probably went wrong during the upgrade of the catalog.

[Carina5CFB]

I let LrC upgrade the old catalog again. Unfortunately, it did nothing. I also tried it on a second computer. The folders are still missing and cannot be re-linked.
I would like to try again to open a backup of the catalog. But I always get the message that the catalog file is read-only. Even if I remove the read-only protection from the file. 

[Carina5CFB]

This is the error message that appears when I try to open the backup. Unfortunately it is in German.

[dj_paige]

This catalog is in a folder where you do not have write permissions in your operating system, or is marked as read-only somehow. You either need to change the permissions on the folder; or move the catalog to a folder where you do have write permission, or delete the read-only status.

The folders are still missing and cannot be re-linked.

Please provide more details and screen captures about this. What happens when you try to re-link the folders?

[Carina5CFB · Accepted solution]

I have found the solution to the problem. The missing folders were displayed in the library, but not the photos they contained. When I tried to update the location of the missing folders, nothing changed. No photos (not even missing ones marked with an exclamation mark) were displayed. The folder was empty.
Then I noticed that in the library under "All photos" a much larger number of photos are displayed than in my parent folder where the subfolders are located. So I clicked on "All photos" and the missing photos were displayed marked with exclamation marks. After clicking on the exclamation mark to update the location of the photos, I noticed that the drive letter of the old location was different from the current one. So I changed the drive letter to the original one and most of the pictures and folders were back. I was able to update the location of the missing photos, but only when I re-linked the location of the photo, not when I updated the location of the folder.

[dj_paige]

I believe I had suspected this all along. Looking in All Photographs instead of specific folders often finds the photos. Good that it is solved.

[GoldingD]

In your screenshot, you show the Folder panel within a group of what I assume are sub folders. navigate to the parent folder, you might need to then show parent folder, repeat, until you can see the entire structure. Try correcting the folder location at or newer to the main parent.

[Carina5CFB]

Yes, these are the subfolders. I have tried updating the location of the parent folder, but the problem persists.

[richardplondon]

If your drive letter has changed itself once, it may do so again - depending accidentally on what other devices may be connected to the computer.

I strongly advise telling Windows to always use a particular drive letter for this external drive whenever it is seen in the future. And then re-connect the Catalog onto your tree of image folders, under the address of this changed drive letter. That letter should be chosen much further through the alphabet - say X: for external. P: for photos, L: for Lightroom, whatever you like.

If you tried to "fix" this drive as (say) D or E then this will sometimes be unavailable, having been already given to something else first - in which case the next available letter will be assigned for the moment - and for the moment, the Catalog must again report the image folders as missing.