Missing photos from lightroom

Thank you to everyone who has tried to help me out.

There doesn't seem to be an answer to my dilema.

I've restored my catalog from the last backup and everything is now back to normal.

The links between the LR folders and the catalog file appear to have been corrupted somehow.

Anyway - I'm back up now - thanks again everyone.

THere is a thumbnail of the image highlighted. When I go to the folder as in the last screenshot there's a message that there are no photos in the selected folder.

If you right click on this thumbnail and select "Go to folder in Library", does it show the thumbnail in the folder ?

The images on the C drive shouldn't really be there as I don't store my
photos on the C drive.

If these folders on C are shown in the catalog, it's because at some point in time you did import photos from these folder. Since they are now marked as missing (the question mark), I suspect that at some other point in time you moved them somewhere on the D drive, but you did it outside of LR, so LR didn't update their location in its catalog.

I agree with a previous comment, you must fix your photo storage structure mess before doing anything else with your catalog.

See the forest through the trees.

So, often, clicking on All Photos is helpful for diagnostics to find missing photos. But it is showing the entire computer, and much of the missing might be on a specific drive.

Recommend, clicking on a parent folder instead. Not at a computer, cannot remember if clicking on drive will work

How much if the missing is drive C? As opposed to D?

. 

when I go to the LR folder location it then tells me that there are no photos in that folder .

Hmm, another doublecheck, are you confusing number of photos in a folder with number in subfolder,?

see:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LZSqvXBwBw

I recommend that you spend some time restructuring your photo file structure.

Perhaps, create a folder in the root of D drive, name it, perhaps, Images_by_Vanja.

In that folder create subfolders as you see fit.

This should be done in LrC, in the folders panel.

Move your photos into the new folders, this also done in LrC. (If you in fact have nicely named, functional folders, that we simply do not see in your screen capture, sure, move the folders)

Point is to get folder management under control. And to know exactly where your photos are, were they are not, and what you should be backing up.

Second up, actually a continuation of first up, in the folders panel, under D drive, a folder, Ok, but then D again? Odd.

A folder named 30 may pastels, then D:, followed by three folders, then continuing on with various folders in alphabetical order.

Do you actually have a folder on drive D, named D drive?

Bit of a puzzle

First up after seeing a bit of your folders panel. Some file structure cleanup. Your catalog is a SQL database, it does not like missing records.

Now, you said you keep the photos on your D drive, but I see some C drive entry's. Might be some old detritus, might be photos you want. And many of those with ? mark next to the folders. I recommend that you spend some time checking those out, correct any folder location issues., Remove from LrC, any empty folders (no photos), Move any photos you meant to have on D drive. 

Fix folder location issues, before attacking missing photos issues, fixing folders may fix missing photos, and accomplish multiple missing photos quicker, Missing or relocated or renamed folders could be the toot if a problem.

Expand the folders panel, any other folders with issues?

Make sure that you expand the folders in the folders panel as to see the parent folder.

When the folders panel is in better shape, go and optimize the catalog.

Make sure you have a new backup before optimizing.

Thank you to everyone for trying to resolve this issue.  Here are some screenshots and more details.

You can use Windows finder to check the pictures. The most obvious reason to have no pictures shown is to have an active filter (like show all blue labelled pictures) and not having one picture matching the filter.

And as to backups, where do you backup your photos?

How do you backup your photos?