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KajiFox
Participant
October 4, 2019
Question

Importing one folder imports entire computer

  • October 4, 2019
  • 4 replies
  • 449 views

Hi, not a new lightroom user but new to Lightroom Classic. Previously a 6 user.

Decided not to keep my existing catalogues but just to re-import -- so I imported the "Photos" folder on my external hard disc, buried in the Media subdirectory, where I've dumped all my photos over the years. It had a long timeframe to completion so I left my machine alone and came back the next day.

... only to find it hadn't yet completed, and had started adding -every folder- in the PC to my catalogue. Temporary images, images that are part of Steam games, images that were sent or received on Telegram and Discord, Twitter files, you name it.

I made a new catalogue assuming it was a "me" problem, only to find the problem repeating itself. I'm only selecting one folder for import, and it starts off importing that just fine before suddenly "C:" appears in the locations sidebar -- What could I be missing, and what can I do to mitigate this ridiculous behaviour?

 

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    4 replies

    R
    Community Expert
    richardplondonCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 4, 2019

    If you have got a shortcut pointing to (e.g.) a high level folder of your C: drive sitting within Photos - on your external drive - Lightroom will by default follow that shortcut. It will treat whatever it finds, as if it were located in an actual subfolder of Photos. It will only do this if "include subfolders" is checked. Could that be it?

      AxelMatt
      Community Expert
      AxelMattCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      October 4, 2019

      That's a bit mysterious. I've never heard about such a problem.

      Please try to reset the Lightroom preferences -> http://lightroom-blog.com/2015/05/23/resetting-preferences-in-lightroom-cc6/

       

      If that doesn't help, I would recommend a clean reinstall.

       

       

      My System: Intel i7-8700K - 64GB RAM - NVidia Geforce RTX 3060 - Windows 11 Pro 25H2 -- LR-Classic 15 - Photoshop 27 - Nik Collection 8 - PureRAW 6 - Topaz Photo AI
      AxelMatt
      Community Expert
      AxelMattCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      October 4, 2019
      ... and it starts off importing that just fine before suddenly "C:" appears in the locations sidebar --

      What do you exactly mean with " suddenly C: appears..." ? Can you please explain more detailed and post a screenshot if possible.

      My System: Intel i7-8700K - 64GB RAM - NVidia Geforce RTX 3060 - Windows 11 Pro 25H2 -- LR-Classic 15 - Photoshop 27 - Nik Collection 8 - PureRAW 6 - Topaz Photo AI
      K
      KajiFoxAuthor
      Participant
      October 4, 2019

      As in, it'll download the "Photos" folder -- and then start continuing to import everything on the machine, including stuff in C:, a folder I didn't select for import.

      It's started doing it again, on this fresh attempt.

       

      AxelMatt
      Community Expert
      AxelMattCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      October 4, 2019

      Which operating system do you use?

      How is the external hard drive connected to the PC? Via USB?

      Did you get an error message? If yes, please post the exact message.

      When the problem occurs is the external hard drive accessible?

       

      My System: Intel i7-8700K - 64GB RAM - NVidia Geforce RTX 3060 - Windows 11 Pro 25H2 -- LR-Classic 15 - Photoshop 27 - Nik Collection 8 - PureRAW 6 - Topaz Photo AI
      K
      KajiFoxAuthor
      Participant
      October 4, 2019

      Windows 10, USB3, yes it's accessible, and it starts with no errors.

       

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