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defaulthb9m42t3bbn2
Participating Frequently
November 19, 2023
Question

Lightroom Classic won't launch after I shut down my computer without closing it

  • November 19, 2023
  • 12 replies
  • 3008 views

My Mac  was having issues with iCloud so I shut it down by holding the power button without closing programs. Lightroom was open. When I restarted, Lightroom would no longer launch. When I click on the icon, the lightroom loading box pops up for 1 second before disappearing. It crashes on the first loading step:
"Preferences" (screenshot attached of the box that pops up briefly). 

 

I've had Adobe CC for years and used Lightroom for years without issue. Lightroom Classic was up-to-date with the latest version (13.0.1) I've looked at other threads and tried everything:

 

- Uninstalled, re-installed (chose to delete preferences)

- Signed out of Adobe CC, signed back in

- Installed earlier versions

- Held down Option + Shift while launching and hit "Reset Preferences"

- Manually deleted all Lightroom catalog, backup, and photo files I could find on my hard drive

 

I don't know what to do at this point and I depend on Lightroom Classic for my job. All help is so appreciated!!!!!

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    12 replies

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    KR Seals
    Community Expert
    KR SealsCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    November 19, 2023

    Use the Mac OS Finder to search the Lightroom folder for a file ending in .lock. Delete that and ONLY that file. Lightroom Classic will start up normally after that. 

    The lock file exists to prevent multiple instances of Lightroom Classic from running at the same time on the same machine. It gets deleted every time Lightroom Classic shuts down normally. Since Lightroom Classic wasn't shut down normally on your Mac, it got left behind.

     

    Ken Seals - Nikon Z 9, Z 8, 14mm-800mm. Computer Win 11 Pro, I7-14700K, 64GB, RTX3070TI. Travel machine: 2021 MacBook Pro M1 MAX 64GB. All Adobe apps.
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      defaulthb9m42t3bbn2Author
      Participating Frequently
      November 19, 2023

      I forgot to add two things I also did:

       

      - I tried to follow Adobes guide to deleting preferences manually by deleting the file "com.adobe.LightroomClassicCC7.plist" but it does not exist on my computer. I went to the preferences folder and it isn't there. I search it on Finder and nothing comes up. 

      - I also tried updating my computer to the latest Mac os version, restarting my computer etc. 

       

      THANKS

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