TIFF image has been taking over 5 minutes with no movement on the progress bar

[alexfreund]

After updating my catalog from Lightroom Classic V12 to V14.0.1, it now runs ridiculously slow to the point where it's practically unusable.  I've escalated this to Adobe tech support and did an hour plus support session (case #ADB-36901627-L0Q7), but they were unsuccessful in fixing the issue.

I sent Adobe support my existing catalog and they confirmed that there is nothing wrong with the catalog (ie: not corrupt).  I even imported my entire catalog into a *brand new* catalog and the problem is persisting.  My computer has exceeeds the specs but simle actions lag and literally take minutes for LR to catch up (system specs below).

Some examples of the problem:

• Importing ONE TIFF image has been taking over 5 minutes with no movement on the progress bar (screen grab attached).

• Setting star ratings on a selection of 10 images takes almost a minute.

• Quitting lightroom, the system sporadically stalls and doesn't quit for over a minute.

• Etc.

I've run diagnostics on my computer hard drive and there are no problems there either.  This is happening on my second computer as well.

Computer specs:

Lightroom Classic version: 14.0.1 [ 202410161356-30922cfc ]
License: Creative Cloud
Language setting: en-US
Operating system: Mac OS 14
Version: 14.5.0 [23F79]
Application architecture: arm64
Logical processor count: 12
Processor speed: NA
SqLite Version: 3.36.0
Power Source: Plugged In, 100%
Built-in memory: 98,304.0 MB
Dedicated GPU memory used by Lightroom: 410.0MB / 73,728.0MB (0%)
Real memory available to Lightroom: 98,304.0 MB
Real memory used by Lightroom: 15,709.2 MB (15.9%)
Virtual memory used by Lightroom: 444,832.3 MB
Memory cache size: 15,424.9MB
Internal Camera Raw version: 17.0 [ 2043 ]
Maximum thread count used by Camera Raw: 5
Camera Raw SIMD optimization: SSE2
Camera Raw virtual memory: 99MB / 49151MB (0%)
Camera Raw real memory: 100MB / 98304MB (0%)

Cache1:
NT- RAM:0.0MB, VRAM:0.0MB, Combined:0.0MB

Cache2:
m:15,424.9MB, n:0.0MB

U-main: 834.0MB

Standard Preview Size: 3600 pixels
Displays: 1) 3600x2338, 2) 1920x1080

Graphics Processor Info:
Metal: Apple M2 Max
Init State: GPU for Export supported by default
User Preference: GPU for Export enabled
Enable HDR in Library: OFF

Application folder: /Applications/Adobe Lightroom Classic
Library Path: /Users/guapo/Pictures/Lightroom/AF_LIGHTROOM_20241024-v16/AF_LIGHTROOM_20241024-v16.lrcat
Settings Folder: /Users/guapo/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Lightroom

Installed Plugins:
1) Flickr
2) Helicon Focus Export
3) jf Extended Search
4) jf Folder Watch
5) jf Preview Extraction
6) jf Smart-Collection Sync
7) LR/Instagram
8) LR/TreeExporter
9) ON1 HDR 2023
10) ON1 NoNoise AI 2023
11) ON1 Resize AI 2023
12) Photo list importer

Config.lua flags:

[jslsvg]

Hola:

Ahora trabajo con Mac pero antes tenía windows y me pasó algo parecido. Tras muchas pruebas descubrí que era el antivirus, en mi caso Avast. Fue quitarlo y todo volvió a la normalidad.

Saludos

[GoldingD]

Library Path: /Users/guapo/Pictures/Lightroom/AF_LIGHTROOM_20241024-v16/AF_LIGHTROOM_20241024-v16.lrcat

That file structure looks a bit odd, like their is a redundant folder. Did the Adobe Techs cause that? I am speaking of the AF_LIGHTROOM_20241024-v16 listed twice.

Are you using the correct catalog?

[alexfreund]

Yes that's the new catalog. It's inside a folder i created within my photos folder. Nothing strange about it. 

[Toastman3000]

I'm on a Mac as well and have noticed significant lag (using LR for like well over 10 years now) and this is the worst I've seen it. 

It's not minutes for me, but like it takes 10-20 seconds to change removal tools and draw masks. 

On an M1 Max 64GB so it shouldn't be this bad

[dj_paige]

@Toastman3000 you have a different problem unrelated to Importing. Please start a new thread and explain your problem from the beginning. People will be happy to help you in a new thread.

[Toastman3000]

Importing takes ages too

[dj_paige]

Importing takes ages too

By @Toastman3000

You didn't say that in your original post. It seemed like you hwere talking about a different problem.

[alexfreund]

No, the issue I reported is that EVERYTHING is lagging with Lightroom after the update. I'm actually considering rolling back to v12

[Toastman3000]

You're not alone

[dj_paige]

Try as an experiment: turn off synchronizing with the cloud. If you don't use that feature, please check and double-check that it hasn't been turned on accidentally. Also, turn off face detection and address lookup. If you don't use those features, please check and double-check that they haven't been turned on accidentally. 

As an experiment, turn off your Anti-Virus.

[alexfreund]

Unfortunately, cloud sync is the only reason I updated to V14. And I'm on a Mac so I don't have any antivirus software running.  This bug has been there since V13 so Adobe really needs to fix it ASAP. I'm considering moving to Capture One at this point. 

[Aleke]

Hi @alexfreund! I'm just checking in to see if you're still having these issues. A new version of Lightroom Classic was recently released—did it solve the problem?

If not, I recommend trying these troubleshooting steps: https://adobe.ly/3OZcNl5. These are some standard solutions to performance issues in Lightroom Classic.

Let me know how it goes!
Alek

[alexfreund]

Hi @Aleke no the 14.1.1 update did not fix the issue.  I had to spend several hours on the phone with Adobe tech support and eventually got my case escalated to a senior tech who helped me downgrade back to Version 12.0.  This has helped the performance problems greatly but obviously I now cannot access any new features and the sync engine is no longer compatible with lightroom cloud so I cannot sync images at all.

It's also worth noting that the performance seemed to slow down over time, so there seems to be some sort of memory leak in the current version when dealing with large catalogs.

He confirmed this is a known issue and said there is a new update coming in January which I hope will address the problem.  As things stand now, I have not been able to use the most recent version of lightroom since the V13 update, which means I'm paying since last October for an application which is unusable.  I reported this when it first happened back in 2023, and it's had an impact on my business, so I'm obviously disappointed that Adobe has let it slide this long.

[alexfreund]

FYI @Aleke  my case is still active - it's case number ADB-37675435-M7G1

[alexfreund]

@Aleke  So this problem has been going on for over 6 months.  I spoke with Adobe support and literally spent 4-5 hours on the phone with them.  In the end, the only solution that worked was when I insisted on rolling back to Lightroom V12.  The tech swore the issue would be fixed with the February update - I just updated to 14.2 and am still having the same problem.  The only clue as to what's going on is that now Lightroom shows progress on writing XMP which seems to be part of the problem - every time I open it, there is a massive number of files it's writing XMP for (and the number just keeps growing as it progresses and never finishes), and the XMP writing goes ridiculously slow.  I have over 650,000 images in my archive and growing so this is insanely frustrating.  

I've been using Lightroom to manage my archive since 2004 so this has turned into a major problem for my business.  At this point I'm most likely going to have to ditch lightroom and migrate to Capture One because their software actually works (unlike Lightroom).  Adobe REALLY needs to fix this issue immediately - obviously I'm not the only person experiencing it (Adobe support confirmed they are already aware of the bug).   It's unacceptable that paying customers have to wait over half a year for an update and it never gets fixed.    

[Aleke]

Hi @alexfreund!

First of all, I'm really sorry for the delayed response and that we haven't been able to help yet. I understand how frustrating this must be.

Slow XMP writing in Lightroom Classic can be caused by various factors, such as an overly large catalog, too many presets or plugins, or disk space issues.

To address this, you can try optimizing the catalog by going to File > Optimize Catalog.

Could you also try disabling your plugins one by one to see if any of them are causing the issue? If you find a plugin affecting your performance, please ensure it's fully updated and compatible with your version of Lightroom Classic.

Another thing we can try: Syncing images uses CPU and system resources to create previews and upload/download images from Creative Cloud. Temporarily pause Sync With Lightroom while you import and edit your images on your desktop computer. Then resume Sync With Lightroom and let the application sit open overnight for the syncing process to complete.

Hope this helps!

Alek