Lost My Catalog after recent update

[misty66]

So Lightroom Classic updated yesterday now my catalogs are missing. I can load older ones but not the one I was working with. I didn't do a backup unfortunately of the last photo dump. LR wants to keep upgrading my verisions of catalogs and I think this is what messed it up. Is there some way to recover that old catalog? 

[Just Shoot Me]

Your images are NOT In the LR catlaog. They are stored on your hard drive someplace. So you have not Lost them.

But you also have Not Lost the most current catalog (that is unless YOU deleted it).

Search your drive for .lrcat and or with LR open go to the File menu item and selct Open Recent. Do you see more than one catalog listed? Make a note of them and open each one until you find the most recent one.

And by default LR creates a backup of the catlaog file weekly (that is unless you stopped that from happening). So you should have a backup catalog that is no older than 7 days. those are store by default in the folder named Backup and that folder is in the smae folder as the working catalog is stored.

[misty66]

Let me look again, because I didn't see my images. I did not do a back up the last dump so hoping LR did then. I forgot it does an automatic backup. 

[alexraynelson]

I am having this same issue and unfortunately I was stupid enough to cancel the weekly backup of the catalog

I only have two other catalog backups, each over a year old. I don't know where/how/ or even IF the current catalog I was working with is saved anywhere on the computer (because I neglected the "backup catalog" feature). 

Where was the current version of the catalog being saved/stored? Is there a way to restore the catalog without the backup?

[cmgap]

Lightroom is installed in your Pictures folder by  default. If you go to  your Pictures folder and open  the Lightroom folder you will see any and all of  your previous catalogs. Also by default Lightroom appends the file name with a -2.lrcat. Depending on whether or not you have periodically deleted old catalogs you will see and can check 'date last opened' to find  the most recent catalog you were working in.

Check your Backup folder in the same Lightroom directory. If you haven't cleaned that out you will also find your backups  there. If you don't  have  a  secondary auto backup to an external hard drive or cloud service you may want to relocate your backups somewhere  other than your  local drive. This way if you have to  retrieve it if you run into a problem with  your computer  it will be accessible.

[misty66]

 I usually do back up on my external but didn't after the last dumb. The pictures I can find, but even my collections are all wrong. I can't get it back to the way it was. The backups are not there either. Yes I had it on auto backup. 

[cmgap]

To be clear on what happens when you install Lr Classic - please refer to this Adobe Lightroom help article:

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/kb/catalog-faq-lightroom.html

Where are my images and catalog located?

See Open a file in Explorer or Finder to learn about where your images are saved. Do note that your images are not stored in the Lightroom Classic app.

Your Lightroom Classic catalogs are located in the following folders, by default:

• Windows: \Users\[user name]\Pictures\Lightroom
• macOS: /Users/[user name]/Pictures/Lightroom

To check your default catalog, choose Edit > Preferences > General and check Default Catalog.

[Theresa J]

Lightroom has to upgrade your catalog to be compatible with the upgraded application. Lightroom handles this upgrade without deleting your current catalog, by making a copy that is upgraded. 

Open your current good catalog. Say yes to the message telling you it has to be upgraded. Lightroom automatically takes care of everything for you. Just be patient while the upgrade process takes place.

[misty66]

Yes I know this, so I did the update, then it said it wanted to update my catolog and it did and poof my current catalog is gone. 

[Just Shoot Me]

2 things have to happen for an UPDATE to try and update an older catalog. Notice I used All Caps for UPDATE. The reason for that is an Update is a new Point release of the same major version of any piece of software you have installed. Like from verions 1 to version 1.1. In the case of LR Classic which is currently at version 9 an update would be from V9 to 9.1 and right now LR Classic is at version 9.2. It has had 2 point release since the Major UpGRADE from version 8.x to version 9.x

So back to the 2 reasons.

1) You did NOT do an Update. You did an Upgrade from an older version. Which IMO is a very hard thing to do at this point. Version 9 has been out for months. The initial release of version 9 was in November 2019. 9.1 was released in December and V9.2 was released in February, about 7 days ago.

2) The install of the point release update of LR Classic verion 9.1 to 9.2 somehow didn't see you had an Upgraded catalog and or it only saw an older catalog.

So in any event your original catalog is still someplace on your drive.

Not to Nit Pick but another reply said LR is installed in your pictures folder. That is completely incorrect.

LR Classic by default installs to the C drive on a Windows computer and into the "Program Files" folder and on a Mac to the Applications folder in the ROOT of the Macintosh HD (the Mac Hard Drive.

What gets placed in your Username Pictures folder (on either Windows or Mac OS X) by Default is your images, when imported from a memory card (they are copied into a subfolder of the Pictures folder) and the LR Classic Catalog file.

So someplace on your drive you have the catalog you are looking for that has a Reference to your images.

As for the actual image file they are also someplace on your drive. The first place to look is in your Username Pictures folder in subfolders under that folder.

[misty66]

Ok So I went back to the verison and I have 9.1.  I will look on the hard drive again for this catalog. Like I told someone else it is not the photos, I have those but all my collections and presets. Should I look for the catalog first or do the update again first? 

[Theresa J]

Yes, find the catalog first. Open the catalog by double clicking on it. Do this without opening Lightroom first.

What I missed, and Just Shoot Me explained very clearly is that you updated the application, but you have not UPGRADED the catalog. The catalog contains your collections and presets. You are missing those because you opened a new or different catalog.

[misty66]

This right here is what started this whole mess. 
So when I click on my catalog this is the message that I get. 
It's like I am missing a whole years worth of work. From presets to collections. 

[cmgap]

Say Yes! User the newer upgraded Catalog. It will upgrade your catalog and append it with a -2.lrcat and it will not remove your older catalog.

Your user presets have  not been deleted. There is a preference setting which allows you to store your catalog preset in  the same folder as your .lrcat in a Lightroom Settings folder. If you have not checked this option all of you user  specific presets are stored in the system/user level. You can  find them by going into your Preferences > Presets > Show All Other Lightroom Presets. Clicking on the button will open the folder via  the finder. At that point you can copy and paste to the  Lightroom Settings folder in your Lightroom folder in  your Pictures folder.

[misty66]

Nothing has worked aside from starting a new catalog and importing all my presets into it. What could have happened, and Why didn't it back up when it was supposed to. So frustrated. 

[CSmith0320]

Same here. None of these solutions worked. Very frustrating. No, I don't need a tutorial on how Lightroom stores catalogs. A clear bug here.

[DdeGannes]

You can report your findings and bug report in the official forum for such reports.

https://feedback.photoshop.com/topics/lightroom-classic/5f5f2093785c1f1e6cc40872

[CSmith0320]

Thank you very much. Lesson learned: don't turn off Lightroom backup and make sure to back up regularly. 

[Pd_dizzle_edges]

i hate lightroom now, what a joke

[florintache]

This is why I'm trying to look for alternative of lightroom. I've worked fine all the years, but now, seems to get anoying this frustrating upgrade and updates of this and that. Why? Because, I m working a full event which has about 2k photos to adjust, work today, tomorrow and so on, from time time export some of edit (because I lost all i've done in 2 days for example just with this crap of upgraded catalog, where you can not solve anything. Recently I had 750 photos , about 200-300 edit yesterday, and today wanted to continue till finish them and export and "bam", your catalog will be upgraded. Now ok, but how about the time and work i've been done yesterday? Puf puf, disapear again. Can not use the main catalog where is store my work of those photos, and the upgraded catalog come fresh and new . This is happened to me twice from now, last one i lost a work of 1k photos, a week of work for this. I just can't do it anymore. I'm sorry lightroom, i'll cancel my all subscription. A simple solution was to ask for this, like hey dude, we will upgraded your catalog, click over here to save all your work and continue with the new catalog, or somehow import the one you've worked earlier. But no!!!!! This has to be whithout the option to back up your work . Let's make a save button and save every picture we edit. This windows of the upgraded catalog pop up like nowhere, and the option are exit like go away, upgrade and lost what you worked yesterday, the folder imported, and so on, or chose a diffrent catalog, but not the one you worked , the other name of a new catalog. I click choose a diffrent catalog, it appears my curent catalog, click to open it and back again at he window to upgraded catalog. Sorry adobe, I was trying to look here for an official answer at this problem but no solution worked so far. this is like a major bug not fixed, but just used more often. 

[DdeGannes]

Better option do not select to update automatically, there is an option to get notifications. You can then update at your convenience so you do not get surprises.

[Clint24592451cssy]

I feel your pain and I'm in the exact same predicament.  I've used LR since it was first released in 2007 but I'm about to uninstall it from my computer. I'm sick and tired of every other time there's a LR update it updates my catalog to a coimpatible version and I lose all my photos.  I've been using the same file storage methodology forever and for some reason I now have this repeating problem.

To make matters worse, after 20 years of photography I don't shoot as much as I'm just too busy.  As a consequence I don't use LR as much either so when ever there's this issue of catalog mixups I spend HOURS trying to get it sorted when what i should be doing is working on my photos which I don't get to do much anymore.  I have literally thousands of hours of edits stuck in LR spanning the last 15 years and I'm so fedup I'm ready to just walk away from the whole mess.

This is the problem with subscription software...it's always 'updating' and in the end you don't own anything.  I just want a standalone package that doesn't require a subscription and constant updates that mess up my work flow.

[Jillian_Micas5587]

I don't know if you will get this, but same thing just happened to me. I looked everywhere for my file to "choose the catalog" and it wasn't there... i clicked create new and now all my photos and my presets are MIA. I have been crying for an hour over this. 

[John Waller]

@Jillian_Micas5587  Which operating system?

Did you search for a file type .lrcat using Explorer or Finder? It's there somewhere.

i clicked create new and now all my photos and my presets are MIA.

That's inevitable if you click Create New. You need to find the existing catalog.

See also Solved: Locating correct folder for Presets - Adobe Community - 13413341

[cmgap]

Please post a screenshot of your Pictures/Lightroom folder.

You can find your presets by opening your preferences and selecting the Show All Other Lightroom Presets.