Lightroom Classic (Win) will no longer boot

[Mwarren]

I cannot open lightroom classic (which is updated as of whatever last update there was). I have tried killing the preferences file. No luck. I have investigated every thread I can in these forums. I am completely lost and freaking out as I am up against a really extreme time-frame. I would really appreciate some help.

I started with version 13.0.1. It failed. Then I uninstalled and tried 13.0. It failed. So I uninstalled and tried 12.5. It has also failed. I am completely out of ideas. I have killed the preferences. I have attempted to reload my original (crucially needed) library to check for errors. Nothing actually works. The window goes away after I click through my options, and Lightroom Classic does not open.

Other confirmed things: Windows is completely up-to-date. Drivers are completely up-to-date. If it's a normal system-level-thing, it's up-to-date. I simply cannot make Lightroom Classic appear on-screen in any way.

Final note: When I just double click on the catalog, Lightroom runs (according to Task Manager), but when I look in the folder, it looks like it's just creating and destroying the .lock file that it creates. Repeatedly. Forever. It just doesn't stop. I let it run for 20 minutes.

[AxelMatt]

The first thing that you should try is to switch off the GPU support from the Lightroom preferences and check if that helps to fix the issue. If Lightroom doesn't start correctly the please see "Solution 2" in the document behind the link below.

Troubleshoot GPU issues | Lightroom Classic (adobe.com)

If this doesn't help we need more informations about your environment.

Which operating system do you use?

Which version of Lightroom do you use?

Please post the exact version and not only phrases as "recent", "latest" and so on.

You can also check the Windows log if there are appropriate informations about the Lightroom issues.

Windows 10 Event Viewer: A Simple Guide (groovypost.com)

[Keith Reeder · Accepted solution]

"The first thing that you should try is to switch off the GPU support from the Lightroom preferences"

Errr...

"I cannot open lightroom classic"

[AxelMatt]

@Keith Reeder  

Read this: "... If Lightroom doesn't start correctly the please see "Solution 2" in the document behind the link below. ...."

[GoldingD]

Try creating a new catalog.

Holding down on the ALT key, click or double click (depending on shortcut) your LrC shortcut. A select Catalog screen should come up, click on Create New Catalog.

Does LrC start with that new catalog?

[Mwarren]

Thank you for the follow-up. Sadly, I am still in the exactly same situation.

Answers to AxelMatt's questions:

• PC: Windows 10 Pro (Version 22H2), 64GB Ram, RTX 3080
• Per my original post, my version of lightroom is 13.0.1
• If you want me to check for a specific error in the Event Viewer, I'm all ears. While I've used it in the past, I'm not an OS-guru. I can't open the thing, look at a bunch of errors, and learn from it. These Errors are incredibly cryptic.

Answer to GoldingD's recommendation:

• Holding down the ALT key and double-clicking on the shortcut or the executable does not prompt me to select a Select Catalog screen. Rather, I get stuck in the same .lock loop as described in my initial post.

Here are the additional things I have done:

• Since downgrading to prior versions (see original post) don't appear to solve anything, I have returned to version 13.0.1
• Confirmed that my video drivers are up to date (driver published 11/01/2023)
• Made the manual alteration to my preferences (as described in Solution 2 of recommended page) since I cannot actually load Lightroom Classic in order to do anything within the app.

I'm happy to collect further information - or post a report of some kind. I just need to know what. I let Lightroom just run for 40 minutes (hoping that maybe it was just taking *forever* but was still booting). It continued to cycle that bunch of files it cycles alongside the .lrcat file. No idea how to proceed.

I've even been exploring non-lightroom methods. CaptureOne is another garbo-software-as-a-service platform and its authentication server is hosed so hard I cannot log in. Even to send them a tech support email about how I can't use it. And Darktable requires that I have individual sidecar photos for each photo. And since I can't open Lightroom to opt for that option, I'm basically at an impasse. If anyone knows of another editor besides those two that I can use to open my LRCAT file, I'd love to hear it. I'm about to hit the 'can't possibly get this done anymore' point. Quite lovely.

[GoldingD]

You marked a reply as correct. has your issue been solved?

[Mwarren]

No. I don't know how that got marked. My apologies. It is not solved. I still have not figured this out.

[AxelMatt]

I've uncheck the settiing of the correct answer.

[Mwarren]

Still hoping to find a solution for this. I'm past the point where I can get this done in time, but I'm sure going to need my years worth of organized photos..

[Mwarren]

Bump. I can't believe I'm the only person having a problem like this...

[Rob_Cullen]

If you have not done this already, I suggest you-

1) Backup your images and Catalog

2) Run the ADOBE CLEANER TOOL       to wipe your system clean of all Adobe 'crud'.

3) Reinstall Lightroom-Classic.