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My catalog gets corrupted very frequently

Community Beginner ,
Aug 22, 2021 Aug 22, 2021

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I have a problem with my catalog which gets corrupted very frequently and I have to create new catalogs, one after the other. 

I am aware that this problem always happens when there is an interruption of energy  between the computer where Lightroom Classic is installed and the external drive where the catalog is saved. I am told that I should have the catalog and the files in the same location. But, how could I do this if the computer has a limited local hard drive? I need to have an external hard drive to storage all the photos (raw files) plus the edited files. 

I need some help. 

 

 

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Community Expert ,
Aug 22, 2021 Aug 22, 2021

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How is the external drive connected USB? If so you can try another cable and and or USB port.

Provide specs of the external drive including capacity and actual free space available.

 

Regards, Denis: iMac 27” mid-2015, macOS 11.7.10 Big Sur; 2TB SSD, 24 GB Ram, GPU 2 GB; LrC 12.5, Lr 6.5, PS 24.7,; ACR 15.5,; Camera OM-D E-M1

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Community Beginner ,
Aug 22, 2021 Aug 22, 2021

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Thank you for your answer. I have tried another USB cable and it did not help.

On the system space I have now 24,7 GB free (of 117 GB), and the LrC folder
is on a USB drive with 794 GB (of 3,63 TB). (I have already said this to JimHess who kindly replied tome, as you can see).

Maybe I have here all the ansers I needed.

Thank you again.

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LEGEND ,
Aug 22, 2021 Aug 22, 2021

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when there is an interruption of energy  between the computer where Lightroom Classic is installed and the external drive 

 

Why are you having this interruption?

Do you mean you loose power?

Or perhaps the drive goes asleep to save electricity?

 

 

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Community Beginner ,
Aug 22, 2021 Aug 22, 2021

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I am not sure. I hear a sound typical of that sound when you disconnect the
hard drive without closing it, immediately Lightroom fives a notice that it
cannot find the catalog. It is a connection via USB. I have changed the
cable, but it still happened.

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LEGEND ,
Aug 22, 2021 Aug 22, 2021

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Check your power management options. You do not want to let Windows power down those hard drives to save power while running LrC

 

https://www.itsupportguides.com/knowledge-base/windows-10/windows-10-how-to-control-hard-drive-power...

 

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Community Beginner ,
Aug 22, 2021 Aug 22, 2021

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I was reading the article that you sent and it made so much sense to me: "By default Windows 10 will power down hard drives after 20 minutes of inactivity (or if the computer is a laptop, 10 minutes when on battery). So, I changed my Power options, and I may never have this problem again, at least I hope.

 

Thank you so much!

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Community Expert ,
Aug 22, 2021 Aug 22, 2021

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quote
I am not sure. I hear a sound typical of that sound when you disconnect thehard drive without closing it, immediately Lightroom fives a notice that itcannot find the catalog. It is a connection via USB. I have changed thecable, but it still happened.
By @Teresa Teixeira

 

If you are disconnecting the external drive while Lightroom is running, that's definitely the cause of the corruption.

Don't ever do that, close Lightroom if you have to disconnect the drive.

Having the catalog on an external drive doesn't necessarily lead to problems, many people who use both a desktop and a laptop computer do it.

But as others have pointed out, Lightroom will be faster with the catalog on an internal (preferably SSD) drive.

Your raw files can be anywhere, but again, if they are on an external drive, the drive has to be connected when you use Lightroom. 

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Guide ,
Aug 22, 2021 Aug 22, 2021

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The situation you describe is intolerable for productive use of Lightroom Classic.

 

You definitely need to have the catalog and previews on your internal drive (hopefully an SSD). If that drive is limited in space, do what you can to delete/uninstall unneeded apps and any thing in the operating system "photos" folder. That folder could be relocated to the external drive. Also, check your "downloads" folder for files you no longer need. Otherwise, upgrade the internal drive to a larger one. A computer repair shop can do that for you. If that is not possible on your computer, get a newer computer with a larger internal drive.

 

Ken Seals - Nikon Z 9, Z 8, 14mm-800mm. Computer Win 11 Pro, I7-8700K, 64GB, RTX3070TI. Travel machine: 2021 MacBook Pro M1 MAX 64GB. All Adobe apps.

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Community Beginner ,
Aug 22, 2021 Aug 22, 2021

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I understand what you say and I really thank you for your advice. But, do
you think that is possible to have everything in the computer, when you are
a photographer and have thousands of raw files and this is growing everyday?

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LEGEND ,
Aug 22, 2021 Aug 22, 2021

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The Catalog should be on the internal drive. The photos can be on another drive. (Or you can keep the catalog on an external drive, this will probably slow it down, but as long as the drive is continuously connected, you shouldn't get catalog corruption)

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Community Beginner ,
Aug 22, 2021 Aug 22, 2021

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Thank you so much for your good advice an time! I have plenty here to think about and choices to make.

Best regards

 

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LEGEND ,
Aug 22, 2021 Aug 22, 2021

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I would agree. It would be best to have your catalog, previews and other associated Lightroom files on the internal computer hard drive. The image files can be stored on the external hard drive with no problem. If the internal hard drive is so small that it cannot handle the catalog and other Lightroom files then you need to consider upgrading that internal hard drive. Preferably it should be a SSD.

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LEGEND ,
Aug 22, 2021 Aug 22, 2021

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The LrC folder can be on a different drive than the imported and exported image files. How much freespace do you have on the system drive and what size is the LrC folder on the USB drive?

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Community Beginner ,
Aug 22, 2021 Aug 22, 2021

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On the system space I have now 24,7 GB free (of 117 GB), and the LrC folder
is on a USB drive with 794 GB (of 3,63 TB).

Thank you for your attention.

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Community Expert ,
Aug 22, 2021 Aug 22, 2021

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Ok.

 

Regards, Denis: iMac 27” mid-2015, macOS 11.7.10 Big Sur; 2TB SSD, 24 GB Ram, GPU 2 GB; LrC 12.5, Lr 6.5, PS 24.7,; ACR 15.5,; Camera OM-D E-M1

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LEGEND ,
Aug 22, 2021 Aug 22, 2021

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You could definitely use a bigger system drive. But if you only have 794 GB available on that USB drive then it is essentially full because a drive needs at least 20% free at all times to function efficiently. You are pushing the limits on both drives now. The EHD only has about 22% free, and I have heard it stated that the minimum free should be 25%. So that could be the cause of your catalog becoming corrupted frequently. 22% free space is pushing the limit in my opinion.

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Community Beginner ,
Aug 22, 2021 Aug 22, 2021

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Yes, maybe I have to start by updating my computer and buy a new larger external hard drive. 

Thank you so much for your help.

Teresa

 

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Guide ,
Aug 22, 2021 Aug 22, 2021

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@Teresa Teixeira I'm sorry if I wasn't clear in my answer. I am recommending that the Lightroom Classic catalog and the associated PREWIEW files should be on the internal drive. The photo image files can continue to be on an external drive. However, you need to determine why the external drive is not maintaining a good connection. Drive failing? Bad cable?

As you add photos to your catalog, the .lrcat file will slowly grow along with the preview files. This is reason enough to have a big internal drive. 1TB would probably be optimum.

Ken Seals - Nikon Z 9, Z 8, 14mm-800mm. Computer Win 11 Pro, I7-8700K, 64GB, RTX3070TI. Travel machine: 2021 MacBook Pro M1 MAX 64GB. All Adobe apps.

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LEGEND ,
Aug 22, 2021 Aug 22, 2021

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794 GB available on the external USB drive should not be causing this issue. What I suspect is that the USB drive is going into low power standby mode, which causes the disconnect in LrC. What exact make and model USB drive are you using?

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Community Beginner ,
Aug 22, 2021 Aug 22, 2021

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Thank you for your reply. Where can I get this information?: "What exact
make and model USB drive are you using?"
If you mean the external hard drive? It is a WD (Western Digital) My
Passport 25E USB device (4 TB).

Thank you again.

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LEGEND ,
Aug 22, 2021 Aug 22, 2021

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Download the WD Drive Utility and install it.

Windows

https://support.wdc.com/downloads.aspx?p=171

 

Mac

https://support.wdc.com/downloads.aspx?p=157

 

Next download the WD Drive Utility manual and follow the instructions on page 27 to set the Sleep Timer to OFF. By default it is set to power down the drive after 30 minutes, which may be what's causing your disconnect issue.

 

https://documents.westerndigital.com/content/dam/doc-library/en_us/assets/public/wd/product/external...

 

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Community Beginner ,
Aug 22, 2021 Aug 22, 2021

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LATEST
Thank you so much for your reply and help. I will do immediately what you
say, and then let you know the results.

Thank ou again

Regards

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