LrC syncing from new catalog/library to Lr cloud with existing photos

[meganp29915902]

It's been a while since I used Lr (like a year, and prior to that, many years), and when I opened LrC, there were a number of pop-ups and prompts that I can't remember what exactly they were or what order they were in, but I know there was one about a corrupt catalog, and a pop-up asking if I wanted to sync to the current catalog or another catalog, and I can't remember which one I selected because I was confused on what either of them were and what would happen if I selected one or the other. My current lrc catalog/library is completely empty, but I still have my thousands of photos in my lr cloud. I have new photos that I just took yesterday that I want to add to lrc and eventually sync to the cloud. 

1) Do I have to sync my existing photos from the cloud to lrc and therefore downloading them to my computer, before importing new photos into my currently empty lrc if I want to sync the new photos to my cloud where all my other photos are?

2) Will syncing from an almost empty lrc (compared to before) new library/catalog to the cloud remove the photos I already have in my cloud?

I hope that makes sense. I just don't want to lose my existing photos in the cloud (since they're no longer in lrc) if I sync from an essentially new library/catalog since I can't find my other one, but I still want to import/edit new photos I took.

Any help is appreciated.. I feel so lost and don't want to mess things up more.

[sarabt98]

The same thing happened to me !  I am having the same problem except all my files are kept on an external hard drive. I can see the book module but all of the photos are not editable. HELP!!

[Rob_Cullen]

I willl attempt to answer some of your questions, but you are goint to need more advice-

1)  "a corrupt catalog"-  Usually means what is says, and rarely fixable. Restore from a backup catalog.

2)  "sync to the current catalog or another catalog"-  Lr-Classic can only sync one catalog. You can change the catalog that syncs, but better if you could find a catalog that has synced previously (if not corrupt), and that references your photos. Search in File Explorer for .LRCAT files or your catalog backups to restore from a backup catalog.

3) "My current lrc catalog/library is completely empty" - Suggests you have created a completely new catalog, possibly because of 1), and this would also invoke 2).

4) "I still have my thousands of photos in my lr cloud"-  And how did they get there?  Photos synced UP from Lr-Classic are NOT fullsize original photo files. They are only proxy (smart Previews) - So you will NOT have your photos in the Cloud. You need to locate backups of your photos where you store them in your local system drives. (Photos taken on iPhone, iPad  will be full-size.)

5) "Do I have to sync my existing photos"- Don't sync anything just yet  ('Pause' syncing with the Cloud icon) until you have located a working catalog (from backups) AND original photos (from backups) in your local system drives.

6) "Will syncing from an almost empty new catalog to the cloud remove the photos I already have in my cloud?" This gets very complicated.  If you don't have any original full-size files stored locally then there are only the small previews that I believe you can sync down from the Cloud.  And for details on this topic I best refer you to Dan Harford at SYNCING- Everything to know- Dan Hartford Photo  

Summary-

You need to locate a working Catalog (existing .LRCAT file or a catalog backup) that references all your photos.

You need to locate all your camera files that are stored locally (known folder location or a backup drive).

I you can not do these steps you will need further advice (as in the Dan Harford link) to preserve the previews in the Cloud (you will have nothing else 😞  ).

[meganp29915902]

Thank you for your thorough response, I appreciate it. When I look through my folders on my computer I only see 2 lightroom catalogs (one of them being corrupt), and they're both the same and completely empty when I open them, which is what has me worried. Prior to this past weekend, the last time I opened lrc was last year, and prior to that it was many years ago, so things have been dormant for a while. I have my settings in lrc to backup my catalog weekly, but the last time it backed up was probably November of last year when I was in it last, and I think that catalog is the one that is corrupt and now empty along with the other one. So I think I'm just SOL since no catalog in my computer is anything but empty.

My photos that are currently in the cloud are from the last catalog I did have before I opened lrc this past weekend and somehow ruined and lost everything. That's why I was wondering if I should sync the photos from the cloud to lrc then have that be my new catalog, before I start adding/editing more photos to lrc. I believe I had to do that before last year when I opened lrc for the first time in years, and everything synced with the original photos and edits and everything. I lost my presets though, which was expected.

Before I posted my original post, I had turned the syncing on and photos started downloading and falling back into lrc (complete with the edits, flags, stars, etc), but then I stopped it because I don't have enough room on my computer to download all of them. So if I do have to do that and sync from cloud into lrc, then I'll have to house that catalog and those downloads on my external hard drive. Do you think that will be my best bet since both of the catalogs I can find in my computer are empty? 

[Rob_Cullen]

Let me begin by saying I am not the guru when it comes to these syncing problems. I have never experienced this situation so my comments are just ideas gained from reading other forum posts .

If it worked before It may be worth trying the Sync to auto download into the empty catalog.

But before you turn on syncing in the 'empty' catalog- Goto preferences > Sync tab and choose your destination folder for the downloads to the external drive so as not to fill up your internal drive.

I do not know if you will have images available to develop in the catalog. You might experience the "File not found" error message as you don't have the matching original fullsize files locally in your computer. 

As a last resort, if nothing else has worked, you might be able to Export the Cloud files and import them to a new Catalog.-

1)  In Internet browser goto Lightroom.Adobe.com  (the web version of Lightroom-mobile), sign in with your Creative Cloud ID and PW.

2) When your photos show in the grid- Select, and Download these to your local drive.

*You will need space to download (any connected hard-drive) (Multiple files download in a zip file)

*You can batch the downloads (eg. by only downloading an album at a time)

*The files that download will be small versions of your originals (Smart Previews long edge 2048pixels) that may be <1MB each.

It is a sad lesson to learn if full backups have not been made for both Catalogs and Original camera files.