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Eagha50
Inspiring
May 29, 2025
Answered

Trying to load catalog after computer crash

  • May 29, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 1428 views

Some background:

1.  My WINDOWS computer has two SDDs, A 2TB (drive C) and a 4TB (drive D).

2.  My Lightroom Classic program is on Drive C:

3.  My pictures and catalog back ups are on Drive 😧

4.  My drive C: had a catastrophic crash and stopped reading or writing.

5.  I had to replace drive C: and reload the operating system and all my program software.

6.  Now when I try to reload my existing catalog from drive 😧 it says "fixing errors in castalog," and goes into the twilight zone.  The only way to get back to Lightroom, is to restart my computer.

7.  In my back up section of data on Drive 😧 I have several backed up catalogs.  I'm using the one with the latest date.

8.  In case that one was truly corrupted when the drive failed I even went back to a previous catalog, but still no-go.

 

I have over 20 YEARS of processed pictures, I would hate to lose hundreds of hours of processing!

 

Help!

 

Eddie

Correct answer Eagha50
quote

...

NOW, when I open Lightroom NOT as an Admin, it says file is corrupt, needs to be fixed, and crashes.

Even when I go to the New folder Lightroom Catalog 2025, Right click on the LRCAT file and say open with Lightroom, it crashes.

The ONLY way I can run Lightroom is as an Administrator!


By @Eagha50

 

It seems you don't have full access right to the appropriate folder in which the catalog is located (including subfolders).

https://v2cloud.com/blog/how-to-change-folder-permissions-on-windows

 

 


OK, new problem.  My original problem is solved, but this might be related so I'm posting it here.  If I need to make a new post, let me know.

 

So, thanks to @AxelMatt I can now open Lightroom without beeing in Admin mode.  However, when I look at my pictures, all the keywords are missing in each picture.  The full list of keywords is there, but the individual keyword in the pictures, did not import.

 

Also, I don't appear to have a way to ADD kewwords to individual pictures.  I have a "Klick Here to Add keywords" box, but when I add a keyword it disappears!  Please see attached.

2 replies

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dj_paige
Brainiac
May 29, 2025

Now when I try to reload my existing catalog from drive 😧 it says "fixing errors in castalog," and goes into the twilight zone. The only way to get back to Lightroom, is to restart my computer.

 

Explain the steps in detail involved in "reload my existing catalog", leaving nothing out.

E
Eagha50Author
Inspiring
June 1, 2025

OK, here is where I am now.  The only way I can run Lightroom is as an Administrator.  Every step I mention, I'm running Lightroom as Administrator.  So keep that in mind.  When I say start Lightroom, its as an Admin.

 

I went to my last back up which was a zipped file.

I unzipped it, and put it in a new folder.  this is two files, the LRCAT file, and an associated folder.

I started Lightroom, and asked it to create a new Catalog.

I called this folder Lightroom 2025 Catalog.  So I now have an empty catalog.

I used the Import Another Catalog command and imported the unzipped previously saved LRCAT file.

It opened just fine and all my photographs were there.  So far, so good.

I have set up Lightroom to ALWAYS back-up every time I close.

I Exit Lightroom, it asks if I want to back up, I say yes.  It closes, I check the Back-up folder, and the new back up is there.

 

NOW, when I open Lightroom NOT as an Admin, it says file is corrupt, needs to be fixed, and crashes.

Even when I go to the New folder Lightroom Catalog 2025, Right click on the LRCAT file and say open with Lightroom, it crashes.

The ONLY way I can run Lightroom is as an Administrator!

 

I'm about to tear out what little hair I have left!

 

Help!

 

 

 

AxelMatt
AxelMatt
Community Expert
June 4, 2025

OK figured it out!  Theres actually a box that let's you rename the parent folder.  Did that and then removed all the old catalog stuff from that folder.

 

Thanks again, for your help!

 

Eddie


OK. The renaming would have been sufficient for now. But anyway.

Do you have restore the catalog from the backup and open it in Lightroom? What has happened?

Does it work now?

 

My System: Intel i7-8700K - 64GB RAM - NVidia Geforce RTX 3060 - Windows 11 Pro 25H2 -- LR-Classic 15 - Photoshop 27 - Nik Collection 8 - PureRAW 5 - Topaz Photo
Per Berntsen
Per Berntsen
Community Expert
May 29, 2025

It's strange that the C drive crashing should corrupt catalogs on the D drive.

Maybe you should check the D drive for errors.

Sometimes importing a corrupted catalog into a new one can fix the corruption.

Create a new catalog (File > New catalog), then go to File > Import from another catalog and choose to import from the original catalog.

E
Eagha50Author
Inspiring
June 1, 2025

Thanks. I'm assuming the corruption ocurred when C: drive crashed and Lightroom did not have the ability to back up, since the whole computer froze.  Had already tried your suggestion.  See my new post.

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