Lightroom Classic 13.4 and 13.3 both wipe out pre-existing Histories and Snapshots in the Develop Mo

[PennPat]

I have found that Lightroom Classic 13.4 and 13.3 both wipe out pre-existing Histories and Snapshots in the Develop Module.
Have you perhaps seen this problem too?
LrC 13.2 does not seen to have this problem.

[Moved from ‘Bugs’ to ‘Discussions’ by moderator, according to forum rules.]

[JohanElzenga]

Could be a problem with your catalog upgrade. If this was a bug that also existed in version 13.3, then it would have been reported many times by now.

[PennPat]

So I would have thought too! Right now, it looks to me that this bug in 13.3 was carried forward uncorrected to 13.4. Depressing thought, I fear. I do know that the "History" and "Snapshot" data live in the catalog and not in the side-cars or DNGs.

[JohanElzenga]

So I would have thought too! Right now, it looks to me that this bug in 13.3 was carried forward uncorrected to 13.4. Depressing thought, I fear. I do know that the "History" and "Snapshot" data live in the catalog and not in the side-cars or DNGs.

By @PennPat

You misunderstood my point. What I meant was "this is almost certainly not a bug, because if there was such a bug already in Lightroom Classic 13.3 (as you suggested), then we would have seen many reports by now". It is more likely a corruption problem in your catalog. Please note that a 'bug' is not just a fancy name for any software problem (as many people seem to think). What qualifies as 'bug' is well defined. See this thread where Rikk explains that: https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-bugs/p-do-i-post-in-discussions-or-bugs/idi-p/13691...

[PennPat]

No. I did the conversions and Adobe's code did the damage, both in 13.4 and 13.3.
Here's the link to my 13-4 catalog conversion screenshots.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/00l1...7-17.zip?rlkey=v2vhpmo16kbt1vwyp0t74n11a&dl=0<>

I tried the exact same test on LrC 13.3 with the identical result!
Using LrC 13.2, this problem did NOT occur.
I am now using LrC13.2 until this problem is resolved.
--Pat

[dj_paige]

I have found that Lightroom Classic 13.4 and 13.3 both wipe out pre-existing Histories and Snapshots in the Develop Module.

By @PennPat

Did you allow LrC to upgrade the catalog, or did you import photos into a new catalog?

[PennPat]

No. I did the conversions and Adobe's code did the damage, both in 13.4 and 13.3.

Here's the link to my 13-4 catalog conversion screenshots.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/00l1...7-17.zip?rlkey=v2vhpmo16kbt1vwyp0t74n11a&dl=0
I tried the exact same test on LrC 13.3 with the identical result!
Using LrC 13.2, this problem did NOT occur.
I am now using LrC13.2 until this problem is resolved.

  --Pat

[Ian Lyons · Accepted solution]

The error message in your first screenshot indicates an issue with a history step, which may explain why history disappears when catalog is repaired/upgraded. Other screenshots indicate that the catalog is corrupt and could not be upgraded until repaired. 

Also, note that LrC 13.2 did not need to upgrade your catalog, which would explain why the history issue did not occur. LrC 13.3 needed to upgrade earlier catalogs as it included architectural changes first implemented in 13.3, and 13.4 would only have upgraded the catalog if it had not alrerady been upgraded.

[PennPat]

Thanks, Ian. Your comment was by far the most helpful to me so far. I was expecting that LrC 13.2 or LrC 13.3 would have alerted me if my catalog file was corrupted in any way, including its possible unsuitability to be upgraded to LrC 13.3. As you have now suggested, I am testing my older backup catalogs to see if any of them are stable for upgrading to LrC 13.4. So far, this is proving a more subtle problem than I imagined. Thanks again for your most helpful suggestion.

  --Pat Cooney

[PennPat · Accepted solution]

Thanks yet again, Ian. Your suggestion was right on.
Using LrC 13.4, I did a binary search through many of my recent catalog backups, testing each till it crashed (or not). I found that my catalog of 2024-06-07 was the most recent one that did not exhibit this problem. After aditional testing on it, I updated it with all my photos made since then. So far, so good.

  --Pat Cooney

  --Pat Cooney

[Ian Lyons]

Hopefully, you've resolved the issue and can continue to use the new catalog.