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Updated Lightroom Catalog & Now I'm Missing 4,500 Photos!

New Here ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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A couple of weeks ago, Lightroom prompted me to udate my catalog to the latest version. After I did the update, I subsequently opened Lightroom to find only 30 photos in my catalog. Which should have approxamately 4,500 photos. I didn't have time to figure out what the hell happened as I was getting married in a couple weeks. However, now the wedding is over and I need to figure out how to fix this issue. 

 

When I open my folders from which I import my RAW Files, the RAW Files & the paired XMP Files are still there (which you can see in the screenshot below), but when I open Lightroom my Catalog is EMPTY. 

RAW & XMP.PNG

 

Please, help. I have no clue how to fix this. I am far from a Lightroom Expert.  

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LEGEND ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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You have upgraded the wrong catalog file.

 

In Lightroom Classic, use File->Open Recent and try opening each catalog shown there until you find the one you want.

 

If that doesn't work, then use your operating system to search all disk(s) for any file whose name ends with .LRCAT, then double-click on each one until you find the one you want.

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New Here ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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Hi dj_page, 

Thank you for responding. I will give this a try and see if I can find anything. I have only every had a single catalog, so I'm not sure how I could have multiple catelog files...? Unless I am just missing something. Thanks again! TBC 

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New Here ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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Hello again dj_paige,

So, after searching my computer for the file extension, I found my full catalog! I am not really sure how the second catalog even came into existance because they are just duplicates of photos that exist in my real catalog. Can I just delete the duplicate catelog with the 30 photos w/o causing any issues? That way I don't run into this issue again. 

 

Thank you again for all your help!

Sincerely,

Nick D.

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LEGEND ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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I can only guess how multiple catalogs might have happened, and guessing how this happened is kind of pointless.

 

I never provide my opinion on whether a catalog can be deleted. YOU (not me) have to look at the contents of both catalogs and determine if the contents of the smaller catalog are needed.

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New Here ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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Ok, sorry to bother you again, but I went to close out Lightroom (with my found catalog) and backup the catalog & this message popped up. Any thoughts??? 

Backup Message.PNG

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Community Expert ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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I had something similar recently, whereby accepting an option in the Microsoft account settings to have my user files synced via the cloud, caused the location of  my Documents folder (and Pictures, one or two others) with all contents, to move (within a new "OneDrive" parent folder). Unexpectedly! That may be the reason why your previously used backup location is no longer to be found where it used to be. Same move applies for "Desktop" location but LrClassic does not much care where a Catalog is opened from - it just, having been moved, failed to be found as a recently opened Catalog.

 

Click "choose" button to select a currently valid location where Catalog backups should be saved hereafter.

 

Catalog backups allow you to "roll back" to an earlier day, in the event of corruption or wholesale unwanted change / image removal happening to your working Catalog - but cannot protect you from losing everything if that backup lives on the same physical disk as your working Catalog does - were that entire disk to become unusable for whatever reason.

 

So backups to a different physical disk are safer. Periodic offsite disconnected redundant copy backups are better still, of the Catalog and also of all the image files that LrC has got imported (since those image files are not included when LrC makes a Catalog backup).

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New Here ,
Apr 20, 2021 Apr 20, 2021

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Hey Richardplondon, 

Ok, that makes sense. Thanks for the advice! 

And yeah, I recently picked up an External SSD so I could start backing up everything off-site. 

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