Spinning wheel never ending when opening LR Classic on Mac M1, cannot even go to preferences...

[elisabetho51918731]

Hi, 

I try to open LightRoom Classic but after three seconds the spinning color wheel turns up and won't leave. I have restarted computer, tried to use a different catalog, but can't seem to get through. What do I do now???

[JohanElzenga]

If you can't reset the preferences, then delete them before you start Lightroom. https://www.lightroomqueen.com/lightroom-classic-file-locations/

[KR Seals]

I'm a PC and Mac user. My experience with this situation is limited to my PC system but it may apply to Macs as well. A corrupt catalog can cause that behavior. 

If resetting preferences does not fix it for you. Try a backup catalog.

Also, if Lightroom Classic was not properly shut down, it will leave a XXXXX.lock file in your Lightroom Classic folder. XXXX represents the name of your catalog. If you find a .lock file, delete ONLY that and try restarting Lightroom Classic.

[elisabetho51918731 · Accepted solution]

Thanks for your suggestions. I found my backup and re-installed an older version of Lightroom Classic. Will have to stick to that, don't want to risk not being able to connect...

[dj_paige]

Here's an example of a user whose LrC 14.4 would not start, and it was fixed by reinstalling the MacOS and creating a new user profile

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/loading-lrc-14-4/m-p/15412297#M409338