Getting message "The following files were not imported because they could not be read or the destination folder is not writable." (254)

[Michel Bérubé]

Started getting this message after reinstalling Windows 10 and having to reinstall all of my software including Lightroom CC. I'm trying to import from a SD card onto my external drive which I've been using to store all of my photos for years. Prior to reinstalling Windows, I have backed up my catalog then after the reinstall, restored the catalog in the default location. All seemed fine until I tried to do my first import since the reinstall. Any help would be appreciated.

[JohanElzenga]

Are the images not imported, or do you get this message even though they show in Lightroom? This message also appears if you have ‘Save a second copy’ checked in the import dialog, and the destination for that second copy is not available.

[AxelMatt]

Have you checked that the drive letter of the external hard drive after the reinstallation of Windows is the same as before?

If not, please assign the appropriate letter to the hard drive.

How to assign a drive letter in Windows 10 - TechRepublic 

[dj_paige]

This means the files are too new for your Lightroom, in which case we need to know what exact camera and what exact version NUMBER of Lightroom you are using. We need the version NUMBER and not words like "latest" or "up-to-date".

It could also mean that the files are corrupted.

[JohanElzenga]

dj_paige  wrote

This means the files are too new for your Lightroom, in which case we need to know what exact camera and what exact version NUMBER of Lightroom you are using. We need the version NUMBER and not words like "latest" or "up-to-date".

No, I don’t think that is true. If raw files are too new, Lightroom will already show that in the import dialog and will not even try to import them.

[dj_paige]

You are right, I mis-read the message.

It is a message that the Destination folder does not have write permission.

[Michel Bérubé]

I just did a fresh install of Lightroom as I had to replace my main drive (C). Version # is 7.5 and Camera Raw is 10.5. Camera is Canon 7D mk 2. Never had a problem like this in years of using Lightroom. Another contributor suggested changing the drive letter of my external drive as that could make a difference. I seem to recall that the drive's letter was set to G prior to reinstall. Renamed drive letter to G and it did not help. Actually making things worse even after I relinked my main photo folder to the renamed drive.

[dj_paige]

Your import is failing because you don't have WRITE permission in your operating system to the Destination folder specified when you do your Import.

What is the Destination folder when you do the Import? What permissions does it have in your operating system?

[JohanElzenga]

mlberube  wrote

I just did a fresh install of Lightroom as I had to replace my main drive (C). Version # is 7.5 and Camera Raw is 10.5. Camera is Canon 7D mk 2. Never had a problem like this in years of using Lightroom. Another contributor suggested changing the drive letter of my external drive as that could make a difference. I seem to recall that the drive's letter was set to G prior to reinstall. Renamed drive letter to G and it did not help. Actually making things worse even after I relinked my main photo folder to the renamed drive.

Did you check the 'Make a Second Copy to' setting as I suggested? I see the exact same error message if I forget to connect my backup drive.

[Michel Bérubé]

No I did not. Just tried it and same results. Just to clarify that I only the error message after I click on the small “x” that appears to the right of the progress bar. Lightroom says “importing” but without actually download no anything.

Sent from my iPad

[Jao vdL]

Make sure that you have the correct (you need to be able to write there) permissions on the destination folder and make sure the destination folder is set to where you expected it to in the import panel (double and triple check as the dialog is very confusing to many people). Also make double sure you have the current version of Lightroom Classic (7.5).

[Michel Bérubé]

Here are a few screen captures that summarize my situation. As you can observe, only the EVERYONE account does not have write permissions.

     IWhen I click the "X" I get the following Import Results dialogue

[Jao vdL · Accepted solution]

Try copying a file manually into the destination. The error indeed means Lightroom is not able to write to the destination folder. Even when the OS says it is writeable there are conditions caused by hardware issues (bad USB cable, drive failing, etc.) that can cause the destination to not be writeable. Unmounting and replugging can help in those cases or full restart of your computer.

[Michel Bérubé]

Tried copying the file manually and as it turns out, I did not have administrator privileges as suspected. This is obviously the result of my reinstalling Windows 10 recently.  I thus right-clicked and ran Lightroom with "Run as administrator" and WAS able to successfully import my images to the destination drive as before. Now I need to figure out how to make my day-to-day user login run as an administrator going forward. Followed the procedure found here: How to enable the hidden Windows 10 administrator account - gHacks Tech News  and restarted Windows. However, Windows still sees me as not having administrator privileges. Any further suggestions would be appreciated!

[dj_paige]

You, not an administrator, needs to have WRITE permission to all of these folders. You don't have the permission. You need to change the permissions.

[dj_paige]

You have write permission to F:\Photos. That does not mean you have write permission to F:\Photos\Canon 7D Mk II\000TBS. You must make sure you have write permission to the Destination folder, which is F:\Photos\Canon 7D Mk II\000TBS

[JohanElzenga]

The error message actually suggests two possible causes. The first possibility is that the destination folder is not writable for Lightroom, and as dj_paige says, you have to check the actual destination folder, which is not F:\Photos, but F:\Photos\Canon 7D Mk II\000TBS.

The error message also mentions a second possibility: the files could not be read from that memory card. It could be a bad card, or a bad connection. Check that too by trying to manually copy these images to your drive.