Unable to backup LR Catalog files upon closing LR

[raphaels28255986]

Hi guys,

When I tried to close LR - backing up the LR Cat files in the process, I got the following:

I removed my external drive for these backups and tried to close LR again. The same alert re-appeared and I had no option but to click Continue, but in the end LR closed without the files being backed up. I read their explanations in Learn More which meant nothing to me - too technical.

What's going on and what now? - in plain English, please. Thanks a lot.

Raphael

[Michael J. Hoffman · Accepted solution]

Hi Raphael,

Lightroom stores backups of the catalog in a zip compressed format to save space. If you need to recover from a backup, you'll need to unzip the archive to get the .lrcat file backup you need.

Because your catalog file file is over 4Gb, your native MacOS tools can't extract it. You'll need to use a 3rd party product to open these archives in the future (a utility such as 7zip or Stuffit Expander).

This dialog is just an informational warning. It's new, because in earlier releases, if your catalog exceeded 4Gb, LR didn't compress it.

Mike

[raphaels28255986]

Thank you Mike. The question for me is, do I need all these backups?

As I understand it, it's OK to delete older ones. Am I correct?

[Michael J. Hoffman]

Yes, you can delete older ones. I usually keep the last 3-4 of them. If you're really really picky, you're opening the newer backups to make sure they are fully intact, before erasing older ones. I've not been that careful myself, honestly.

MIke

[raphaels28255986]

In theory I only need one, the latest, provided it's not corrupted, right?

I have tens of them.

[Michael J. Hoffman]

Correct. Like I said, I keep 3-4 just to be safe.

By the way, one other thing I do: I set Lightroom to store the backups in a folder within my Google Drive sync folder. That way, it's automatically backed up to the cloud (you could equally well use Dropbox, or Box, or OneDrive, etc.)

That way, even if my computer fails or is lost or destroyed, my catalog backups are safe and can be recovered.

Mike

[raphaels28255986]

Mike, we are talking about this kind of file "Lightroom Catalog.lrcat.zip"?

Laura and joseph, I meant by that that I chose to not backup the files because somewhere down the road they will be backed up, once I clear the other ones. Right?

[Laura Shoe]

I'm afraid I'm not sure what you mean by "they will be backed up, once I clear the other ones", Raphael.  No backups happen automatically. When you get this 4 GB dialog, hit Continue so that Lightroom will back up your catalog.   Independently of this, you can delete most of your backups - I keep 3-4 of the most recent ones.

[raphaels28255986]

Thank you Laura. I meant: once I've received the right information from you guys and deleted everything but the most recent 3-4 backups, I can go back to backing up as usual, never keeping more than 3-4 of the previous backups. Correct? I back up cat files automatically every time LR closes.

But the one thing I need first is an answer to the question I asked of Mike in my previous message: we are talking about deleting this kind of file "Lightroom Catalog.lrcat.zip", right?

[Michael J. Hoffman]

raphaels28255986 wrote:

But the one thing I need first is an answer to the question I asked of Mike in my previous message: we are talking about deleting this kind of file "Lightroom Catalog.lrcat.zip", right?

Hi Raphael,

Yes, you're exactly right. I'm sorry for not clarifying that earlier.

Mike

[raphaels28255986]

Thank you Mike. Very helpful!

[Laura Shoe]

Yes, you can go back to backing up as usual, Raphael. Note that your catalog may not even be over 4 GB, and if not, you won't need to use a third party utility to unzip it in the event of catalog corruption and restoring from a backup. It seems that all Mac users, regardless of catalog size, are getting this message in error at this point.

[raphaels28255986]

Thank you Laura. Following these discussions I deleted all but 4 cat files. One good thing done.

And yet the same alert appears as you pointed out. Hello Apple/Adobe!

I do have another question to ask but ... later because I am dying to go back to my book "The Art of Rivalry" - Matisse vs Picasso, Lucian Freud vs Francis Bacon, etc.

More to come. It's re: files I can't delete.

[Laura Shoe]

You're welcome Raphael! Please post unrelated questions in a new thread – otherwise other people won't be able to find and benefit from the discussion.

[raphaels28255986]

Indeed. Thanks a lot.

[u2jimbo]

Very helpful thread regarding the 4GB backup limit.  Answered the question I was preparing to ask very precisely!  Thank-you all.

Jim

[Laura Shoe]

Hi Raphael, I see Mike's answers, which I agree with, but you say that in the end Lightroom closed without backing up your catalog. Is this the case, or did you find the backup?

[josephlavine]

"....but in the end LR closed without the files being backed up"

I would check the date on your most recent backup to confirm that you are truly backed up. 

[Guest]

Thank you Laura and Michael for your helpful answers, I was wondering what was going wrong with this catalog warning.
Best regards
Marc

[Laura Shoe]

You're welcome, Marc!