Sixty-five hundred photos instantly disappeared

[georgef34613995]

Help. I "did something", I honestly don't remember what, and instantly all 6500 of my photographs became gray squares. I watched a course video in which the instructor said, don't worry, they're still there but he didn't say where!

[drtonyb]

@georgef34613995 

Based on the scant information you have provided, no one here can help, except suggest you give more information.

Do you mean something in a course video that you followed made all your photos turn gray? If so, what video?

[Rob_Cullen]

My first thought- You have deleted (moved, or renamed) the Previews cache file. <Your catalog name>previews.LRDATA

LrC would then show gray squares until it slowly re-builds the images in previews.    

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/kb/lightroom-gives-error-preview-cache.html?x-product=Help...

[georgef34613995]

I followed the instructions in the link to the letter but the gray squares remain. Sadness. Can you think of anything I might try?

George

[Noel Orridge]

Hi @georgef34613995, Thank you for reaching out —I'm here to help!

To better understand your issue, please share a few more details. Specifically:

• Which version of Lightroom Classic are you using?
• What is the version of your Mac OS?
• What steps did you take before the issue occurred?

As @dj_paige kindly suggested, including screenshots or a screen recording showing the problem would be beneficial. You can upload them to a public file-sharing service like Google Drive, WeTransfer, or any other platform you prefer, and share the link here.

Also, building on @Rob_Cullen's suggestion, look at the Folders panel on the left side when you're in the Library module. Do you see a question mark (?) or photos with a small exclamation mark (!) icon in the Library module folders? These symbols can help us identify if Lightroom has trouble locating your files.

Cheers! 

[georgef34613995]

Thank you guys so much for hanging in there with me. Whether “we” solve the problem or not, please know that I deeply appreciate the effort.

My Mac is running Sequoia 15.5
Lightroom Classic is running 14.3.1

As you can see in the photo attached, I see only exclamation points, everyone screaming: “You idiot! What did you do?

George

[drtonyb]

@georgef34613995 

You still haven't provided a screen shot.

If you are seeing ? on all your folders, that means LrC can't locate your photos. If so, easily fixed when we see your folders panel in a screen shot.

[georgef34613995]

I have attached a jpg of the screen twice and explained why I could not
take a screen shot. Can you not access an attachment?

Sent from Gmail Mobile

[drtonyb]

@georgef34613995 

No attachment:

You don't need an app to take a screen shot on the Mac: Shift+Cmd+3

[Per Berntsen]

You cannot attach images when replying by email.

Reply to this thread using a web browser, then use the Insert Photos button in the toolbar to insert screenshots directly in your post.

[georgef34613995]

I have a screen shot ready to go and my computer receives Google text messages so I can reply there as you’ve asked but I have no idea how. I’m reading now on the internet how to do it but I understand nothing of what I’m reading.

[Per Berntsen]

Click the link below, which should open a web browser, and take you to this thread.

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/sixty-five-hundred-photos-instantly-dis...

[georgef34613995]

 

[georgef34613995]

Thank you!

[dj_paige]

Your photos are missing as indicated by the exclamation point icon. This is because for some reason, the photos are not where LrC expects them to be.

This document explains how to fix this by pointing LrC to the actual location of the photos. https://www.computer-darkroom.com/lr2_find_folder/find-folder.htm

You can also fix this for entire folders of photos if you need to do that, scroll down to Figure 3 and associated text.

[georgef34613995]

So far no suggested remedies have worked. Do you know an expert on the Alabama coast who might help me out in person? Im happy to pay.

[dj_paige]

Show us a screen capture of the entire Library Module screen including the gray squares. Use the "Insert Photos" icon to include your screen capture in your reply. Do NOT attach files.

[georgef34613995]

Sorry for attaching a photo. My new computer seems to be missed the Grab It screen capture app.