Lightroom Classic not opening

[graehamk92702154]

I have run LRC on my Windows 10 PC for ages without a problem. Suddenly it refuses to open. If I click on the App, the wheel spins breifly, disappears and LRC doesn't open. I have tried unistalling and reinstalling the LRC App but LRC still will not open. The App version is up to date (V 13.3)

[GoldingD]

The last time you used it, did it close properly, or did it crash, or perhaps did you have to force quit it?

[graehamk92702154]

Thank you for your reply.

I believe it closed normally. I usually close it and backuo the catalogue at the end of each session. However, it is possible that I got distracted and left the computer without doing this?

[GoldingD]

Just in case, have you inspected the folder that catalog is in for a lock file that did not get deleted? Despite not getting the appopriate error message if that was the case.

[Ricky336]

Hello,

A suggestion. Go to Task Manager, look for Lightroom and select 'End Task'. This will force close the programme. You then should be able to open the programme as normal.

[graehamk92702154]

Thank you. I have treied this on a few occasions but it did not make any difference.

[AxelMatt · Accepted solution]

In a first step try to reset the preferences to the default settings by doing the following steps:

• Close Lightroom.
• Windows: Hold down [Alt]+[Shift] while restarting Lightroom.
• Overwrite the Preferences when prompted by the dialog.
• Close Lightroom.
• Restart Lightroom.

It's recommended to backup your preferences before you reset the preferences to the default settings: 

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/kb/preference-file-and-other-file-locations.html

If this doesn't help try to restore a catalog from the recent backup or try to create a new catalog. Hold the Ctrl-Key while starting LrC. This opens a catalog selection dialog. Create a new one and see if this catalog then works. You could then try to import your current catalog into the new one.

... The App version is up to date (V 13.3)

By @graehamk92702154

Your installed version of Lightroom isn't up-to-date. The latest available version is 13.5.1. 

Try to update your version and check if this help.

[graehamk92702154]

Thank you. That makes me a little nervous! A friend tried to create a new catalogue and lost everything. I have a IT person coming on Thursday to work through your above processes. I'll let you know how it goes. Much appreciated. 

[AxelMatt]

...That makes me a little nervous! A friend tried to create a new catalogue and lost everything.

By @graehamk92702154

This isn't normal. The new created catalog is empty on the first opening. This is a normal behavior.

The existing catalog doesn't touch during this. But it's recommend to copy the catalog to a save place, like an external drive.

Do you have try to restore the catalo from an existing backup?

Disaster strikes - a corrupted catalog! | The Lightroom Queen

[graehamk92702154]

Thank you everyone. Your advice has been greatly appreciated. It was a corrupted catalogue and I have followed the suggested solution with success. So wonderful to have a community like this to tap into.  Cheers

[Steeldrake]

I have the same problem as OP. Suddenly Lightroom Classic did not start anymore. Or a Adobe Lightroom Classic process starts and takes quite a lot of CPU but nothing appears on screen.  It also writes (and deletes) .shm and .wal files again and again in the catalog directory. I did the preference overwrite as instructed but still no help. After the preference overwrite it asks to select the correct catalog and i select the most recent on.  Any ideas? I really need get back to LR soon..

[DdeGannes]

@graehamk92702154 , you stated, "The App version is up to date (V 13.3)".

The latest up to date version is LrC 13.5.1.

[kathiemayt]

I followed all the suggestions on this page, still no joy. I shut down my computer and left it for the night.

Tried again this morning and still not working, despite deleting the lock file, even trying open from the catalogue. And then I thought, what about the other backup program I use? I have it set every morning to back up various files and folders on to external back up drives. It's called Karen's Replicator, works well, have been using it for years. I switched that off, restarted my computer and then opened up Lightroom - took a few minutes but it opened! I had to wait awhile for it to finish processing in the background. The back up program must have had some files it was still backing up and I didn't realise that - it's usually finished well before I open Lightroom later in the day. Anyway, working now, I've done a new Lightroom backup to be sure and closed it down, then re-opened it.