Comments on: How do I restore a Lightroom backup? http://www.lightroomqueen.com/blog/2009/01/23/how-do-i-restore-a-lightroom-backup/ Tips, Tricks and Lightroom Updates Mon, 06 Sep 2010 18:36:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Vassyl http://www.lightroomqueen.com/blog/2009/01/23/how-do-i-restore-a-lightroom-backup/comment-page-1/#comment-2086 Vassyl Tue, 24 Aug 2010 05:50:31 +0000 http://www.lightroomqueen.com/blog/?p=284#comment-2086 Dear Lightroom Queen, I am in need of your expertise. I accidentally removed finished images from LR library before I had a chance to export them as jpgs. For some reason I thought if I import the RAW files to LR again all of the changes I have done in post-processing will be present. But, I learned that’s not the case; I lost everything I have worked on. I hope I can somehow recover this information; I followed your advice with LRCAT file, but this file contains information pertaining to the most recent LR import. After I removed my finished images I imported the raw set again but the LRCAT file contains all of the information attached to this set not the older edited one that I need. I am hoping for another trick in the hat where I will be able to recover the previous import; otherwise I will have to go through all of these images again. I wish I found your blog before I imported the new set; next time I will know. I just hope you may a miracle trick that I will be able to use and save myself some time. Thanks in advance for all of your help. <em>[Hi Vassyl, it depends on whether you have a backup copy that includes the edits for those photos. If you do, it's possible to merge those settings back into your working catalog. If you don't have a recent backup with those settings, I'm afraid you're going to have to put it down to experience, sorry. For a future safety net, you might want to go to Catalog Settings and turn on 'automatically write to xmp' which will store the most important edits with the files as well as in the catalog. If you'd written to xmp, then reimporting the files would have brought most of the edits back too. - VB]</em> Dear Lightroom Queen,
I am in need of your expertise. I accidentally removed finished images from LR library before I had a chance to export them as jpgs. For some reason I thought if I import the RAW files to LR again all of the changes I have done in post-processing will be present. But, I learned that’s not the case; I lost everything I have worked on. I hope I can somehow recover this information; I followed your advice with LRCAT file, but this file contains information pertaining to the most recent LR import. After I removed my finished images I imported the raw set again but the LRCAT file contains all of the information attached to this set not the older edited one that I need. I am hoping for another trick in the hat where I will be able to recover the previous import; otherwise I will have to go through all of these images again. I wish I found your blog before I imported the new set; next time I will know. I just hope you may a miracle trick that I will be able to use and save myself some time. Thanks in advance for all of your help.

[Hi Vassyl, it depends on whether you have a backup copy that includes the edits for those photos. If you do, it's possible to merge those settings back into your working catalog. If you don't have a recent backup with those settings, I'm afraid you're going to have to put it down to experience, sorry. For a future safety net, you might want to go to Catalog Settings and turn on 'automatically write to xmp' which will store the most important edits with the files as well as in the catalog. If you'd written to xmp, then reimporting the files would have brought most of the edits back too. - VB]

]]> By: Zsuzsi http://www.lightroomqueen.com/blog/2009/01/23/how-do-i-restore-a-lightroom-backup/comment-page-1/#comment-2037 Zsuzsi Sat, 07 Aug 2010 15:56:17 +0000 http://www.lightroomqueen.com/blog/?p=284#comment-2037 I have just read this entire thread and it's great so thanks for that. Without sounding completely clueless I am confused about backing up my files to the very basic part. When I backup my catalogue I am assuming that has any edit that I have done to my photos included, not just ratings and keywords. Then what will saving and XMP to the photo do? And how can I save all of the XMPs to my older files (do I even need to if my catalogue is saved?) ... Thanks as I am genuinely confused. <em>[Yes, everything is stored in the catalog. XMP is only a secondary backup that's only used if you import photos into a new catalog or choose Metadata menu > Read Metadata from Files. As long as your catalog is safely backed up, you have everything you need. - VB]</em> I have just read this entire thread and it’s great so thanks for that. Without sounding completely clueless I am confused about backing up my files to the very basic part. When I backup my catalogue I am assuming that has any edit that I have done to my photos included, not just ratings and keywords. Then what will saving and XMP to the photo do? And how can I save all of the XMPs to my older files (do I even need to if my catalogue is saved?) … Thanks as I am genuinely confused.

[Yes, everything is stored in the catalog. XMP is only a secondary backup that's only used if you import photos into a new catalog or choose Metadata menu > Read Metadata from Files. As long as your catalog is safely backed up, you have everything you need. - VB]

]]> By: Andrew http://www.lightroomqueen.com/blog/2009/01/23/how-do-i-restore-a-lightroom-backup/comment-page-1/#comment-1078 Andrew Tue, 18 May 2010 18:07:13 +0000 http://www.lightroomqueen.com/blog/?p=284#comment-1078 I have a related weirdness which I can't find any solutions for. I just recently started using LR2. And so I upgraded my catalog from LR1, and at first my keywords did not appear at all. I did this again, and now they do appear, but are not linked to all the photos. In other words, the list of keywords is present but no longer is 'connected' to the vast majority of images that I keyworded, in LR 1. Its strange that it did retain some of the keyword connections.... In any case, with about 40K images, which have been carefully keyworded over the last 3 years, I am super frustrated to have to go about keywording everything again! (nauseating idea really...) ..... So, is there any way to get LR 2 to restore the connections between the keywords (in the list) and the photos that were keyworded before, but somehow have lost their keywording in the upgrade process? Perplexed... AFS <em>[That's a really weird one Andrew. Did you skip straight to 2.7? There were some keyword bugs in 2.0. Drop by www.lightroomforums.net and we can chat there more easily and figure out how to solve it for you. - VB]</em> I have a related weirdness which I can’t find any solutions for. I just recently started using LR2. And so I upgraded my catalog from LR1, and at first my keywords did not appear at all. I did this again, and now they do appear, but are not linked to all the photos. In other words, the list of keywords is present but no longer is ‘connected’ to the vast majority of images that I keyworded, in LR 1. Its strange that it did retain some of the keyword connections…. In any case, with about 40K images, which have been carefully keyworded over the last 3 years, I am super frustrated to have to go about keywording everything again! (nauseating idea really…) ….. So, is there any way to get LR 2 to restore the connections between the keywords (in the list) and the photos that were keyworded before, but somehow have lost their keywording in the upgrade process? Perplexed… AFS

[That's a really weird one Andrew. Did you skip straight to 2.7? There were some keyword bugs in 2.0. Drop by http://www.lightroomforums.net and we can chat there more easily and figure out how to solve it for you. - VB]

]]> By: Laurie Knowlton http://www.lightroomqueen.com/blog/2009/01/23/how-do-i-restore-a-lightroom-backup/comment-page-1/#comment-1017 Laurie Knowlton Tue, 11 May 2010 19:18:10 +0000 http://www.lightroomqueen.com/blog/?p=284#comment-1017 i actually made headway! And i have most of the files back in the chaos I had them. Now i just need to organize them! What are your thoughts about moving the catalog into LR3 and organizing from there (after doing a backup in 2 of coarse!) i bought your book today (LR3 version) and it looks great! <em>[Well done! LR3 is a beta so it comes with risks, although it's pretty stable. You won't be able to transfer your existing catalog at the moment, so it'll only work out if you're starting from scratch. Or import into LR2 for now, organize them there, and then upgrade your catalog when LR3 comes out. - VB]</em> i actually made headway! And i have most of the files back in the chaos I had them. Now i just need to organize them!

What are your thoughts about moving the catalog into LR3 and organizing from there (after doing a backup in 2 of coarse!)

i bought your book today (LR3 version) and it looks great!

[Well done! LR3 is a beta so it comes with risks, although it's pretty stable. You won't be able to transfer your existing catalog at the moment, so it'll only work out if you're starting from scratch. Or import into LR2 for now, organize them there, and then upgrade your catalog when LR3 comes out. - VB]

]]> By: Laurie Knowlton http://www.lightroomqueen.com/blog/2009/01/23/how-do-i-restore-a-lightroom-backup/comment-page-1/#comment-1014 Laurie Knowlton Tue, 11 May 2010 17:15:06 +0000 http://www.lightroomqueen.com/blog/?p=284#comment-1014 luckily, i only really had edited about 200 or so, so it may be easier to just import again and start over. At least i know it will be clean. I also just realized that you have been kind enough to be helping me over at the Adobe forum for LR3. I have been dying to delve into 3, but had been concerned about stability issues. Once I get LR2 fixed, and a good backup on the clean catalog, I think i will switch over to LR3 beta. Are you fairly confident in LR's catalog process and that in cases unlike mine, it does work using the backup? i'm running scared right now. I've also been a little nervous about using a beta before it's released. But i figure it should be released soon. thanks again for your help! <em>[Yeah, LR's catalogs and backups are fine as long as you have sensible backups. If you want a belt-and-braces approach, check the XMP section in the book. - VB]</em> luckily, i only really had edited about 200 or so, so it may be easier to just import again and start over. At least i know it will be clean.

I also just realized that you have been kind enough to be helping me over at the Adobe forum for LR3. I have been dying to delve into 3, but had been concerned about stability issues.

Once I get LR2 fixed, and a good backup on the clean catalog, I think i will switch over to LR3 beta.

Are you fairly confident in LR’s catalog process and that in cases unlike mine, it does work using the backup? i’m running scared right now. I’ve also been a little nervous about using a beta before it’s released. But i figure it should be released soon.

thanks again for your help!

[Yeah, LR's catalogs and backups are fine as long as you have sensible backups. If you want a belt-and-braces approach, check the XMP section in the book. - VB]

]]> By: Laurie Knowlton http://www.lightroomqueen.com/blog/2009/01/23/how-do-i-restore-a-lightroom-backup/comment-page-1/#comment-1012 Laurie Knowlton Tue, 11 May 2010 15:49:02 +0000 http://www.lightroomqueen.com/blog/?p=284#comment-1012 thanks for not saying "you silly girl"! The file salvaging changed everything -- they are not by dates anymore (and i can't even sort on my hard drive by date -- the computer is reading them as the date the salvage took place). the filenames were ones generated by the camera. <em>[Hmmmmm, ok, you do have a job on your hands! I do have one idea, that would, in theory, be quicker than re-editing 25k pictures. It involves 2 basic ideas.... and of course, before attempting it, you make sure you've got backups of absolutely everything. 1. You import the photos into a new temporary catalog, which, in the process, would allow you to rename the photos to a YYYYMMDD-HHSS filename (taking the capture date and time of the metadata of the file, obviously) and put them into the same kind of folder structure that you had before. You'd then delete that catalog, because it would have served its purpose, to get all of the photos into the right folder structure with reproducible names. And you'd back that up somewhere safe!!!! 2. You'd have to take a chunk of files - 9999 I guess, or less if you were doing it in smaller chunks - and duplicate them and use them as 'dummy files'. You'd rename them to the camera filenames - IMG_0001 to IMG_9999 - and drop them into the same kind of folder structure that LR's expecting. That would allow LR to see 'dummy' files, so it would stop thinking that files are offline, although it would actually be looking at the wrong files. Once LR thinks there are files back, it will allow you to rename them to the YYYYMMDD-HHSS names using its existing capture times from the metadata. Having done all of that, you can delete the dummy files, and replace them with the ones you created in step 1. Confused now? I didn't say it was going to be easy, but depending on how much editing you've done to those 25k, it might be quicker. - VB]</em> thanks for not saying “you silly girl”! The file salvaging changed everything — they are not by dates anymore (and i can’t even sort on my hard drive by date — the computer is reading them as the date the salvage took place).

the filenames were ones generated by the camera.

[Hmmmmm, ok, you do have a job on your hands! I do have one idea, that would, in theory, be quicker than re-editing 25k pictures. It involves 2 basic ideas.... and of course, before attempting it, you make sure you've got backups of absolutely everything.

1. You import the photos into a new temporary catalog, which, in the process, would allow you to rename the photos to a YYYYMMDD-HHSS filename (taking the capture date and time of the metadata of the file, obviously) and put them into the same kind of folder structure that you had before. You'd then delete that catalog, because it would have served its purpose, to get all of the photos into the right folder structure with reproducible names. And you'd back that up somewhere safe!!!!

2. You'd have to take a chunk of files - 9999 I guess, or less if you were doing it in smaller chunks - and duplicate them and use them as 'dummy files'. You'd rename them to the camera filenames - IMG_0001 to IMG_9999 - and drop them into the same kind of folder structure that LR's expecting. That would allow LR to see 'dummy' files, so it would stop thinking that files are offline, although it would actually be looking at the wrong files. Once LR thinks there are files back, it will allow you to rename them to the YYYYMMDD-HHSS names using its existing capture times from the metadata. Having done all of that, you can delete the dummy files, and replace them with the ones you created in step 1.

Confused now? I didn't say it was going to be easy, but depending on how much editing you've done to those 25k, it might be quicker. - VB]

]]> By: Laurie Knowlton http://www.lightroomqueen.com/blog/2009/01/23/how-do-i-restore-a-lightroom-backup/comment-page-1/#comment-1011 Laurie Knowlton Tue, 11 May 2010 15:41:29 +0000 http://www.lightroomqueen.com/blog/?p=284#comment-1011 sorry -- forgot to say THANKS! <em>[You are very welcome Laurie! - VB]</em> sorry — forgot to say THANKS!

[You are very welcome Laurie! - VB]

]]> By: Laurie Knowlton http://www.lightroomqueen.com/blog/2009/01/23/how-do-i-restore-a-lightroom-backup/comment-page-1/#comment-1010 Laurie Knowlton Tue, 11 May 2010 15:41:09 +0000 http://www.lightroomqueen.com/blog/?p=284#comment-1010 lol. i was such a bad person prior to this, and my folder structure was horrible. really the only stuff i had done was import by date, so i do have that. very few were actually named. :( i know, i know. live and learn the hard way. and my collections and star system still seems to be in place, but it's impossible to see what the picture is. and oddly, i just tried to find the files to rebuild the catalog, nothing seems to be matching up. I think what i may have to do is just reimport all i have and start fresh -- overwhelming when you are talking 25,000 shots. How can i point LR to a new location? for each folder? <em>[Import by date's pretty good going! So, are the photos themselves still in those dated folders or not? Or did the file salvaging change everything? What kind of filenames DID you have in LR? And what filenames do the files have now? I do have a few ideas, depending on where you're up to so far, and what filenames are like, so I wouldn't panic about 25k quite yet. There are still solutions... it just depends... - VB]</em> lol. i was such a bad person prior to this, and my folder structure was horrible. really the only stuff i had done was import by date, so i do have that. very few were actually named. :( i know, i know. live and learn the hard way. and my collections and star system still seems to be in place, but it’s impossible to see what the picture is.

and oddly, i just tried to find the files to rebuild the catalog, nothing seems to be matching up. I think what i may have to do is just reimport all i have and start fresh — overwhelming when you are talking 25,000 shots.

How can i point LR to a new location? for each folder?

[Import by date's pretty good going! So, are the photos themselves still in those dated folders or not? Or did the file salvaging change everything? What kind of filenames DID you have in LR? And what filenames do the files have now?

I do have a few ideas, depending on where you're up to so far, and what filenames are like, so I wouldn't panic about 25k quite yet. There are still solutions... it just depends... - VB]

]]> By: Laurie Knowlton http://www.lightroomqueen.com/blog/2009/01/23/how-do-i-restore-a-lightroom-backup/comment-page-1/#comment-1008 Laurie Knowlton Tue, 11 May 2010 15:01:35 +0000 http://www.lightroomqueen.com/blog/?p=284#comment-1008 I have followed your blog, and must say i love it and enjoy reading it. I never thought that i would be needing to post a plea for help, but here i am. I had the incredible bad luck of having two hard drives crashing -- first my computer, and then apparently the new external drive i had been using for LR backups. Luckily, i had an old catalog back up drive (the last was from last August, but it's better than nothing). I have restored the catalog. The proper # of photos show up, names, dates, keywords -- everything is there except the thumbnail preview (and the picture itself). It says the file is missing. So i assume i will have to somehow re-build my catalog? How do i do that? Also, I had the (and i swear -- this really has happened to me -- you should see my back up system now) bad luck of losing another external drive back in December and that data was salvaged by a professional. but it's not on the same drive and nor is it sorted by dates (it was the only way he could pull the data off the damaged drive). So without preview thumbnails, it's very hard if not impossible to rebuild the catalog. Any insight/words of wisdom would be very appreciated! <em>[Ouch, you have been in the wars Laurie! When LR says the file is missing, it means that it's not in the location or with the name its expecting. To solve that, you either put the photos back where they were, or you point LR to the new location. So, do you have recent backups of the photos, or as the salvaged drive as good as it gets? And if the salvaged drive is as good as it gets, do the photos at least have the same filenames as they did before? What kind of folder structure did you have?- VB]</em> I have followed your blog, and must say i love it and enjoy reading it. I never thought that i would be needing to post a plea for help, but here i am. I had the incredible bad luck of having two hard drives crashing — first my computer, and then apparently the new external drive i had been using for LR backups. Luckily, i had an old catalog back up drive (the last was from last August, but it’s better than nothing). I have restored the catalog. The proper # of photos show up, names, dates, keywords — everything is there except the thumbnail preview (and the picture itself). It says the file is missing. So i assume i will have to somehow re-build my catalog? How do i do that? Also, I had the (and i swear — this really has happened to me — you should see my back up system now) bad luck of losing another external drive back in December and that data was salvaged by a professional. but it’s not on the same drive and nor is it sorted by dates (it was the only way he could pull the data off the damaged drive). So without preview thumbnails, it’s very hard if not impossible to rebuild the catalog. Any insight/words of wisdom would be very appreciated!

[Ouch, you have been in the wars Laurie! When LR says the file is missing, it means that it's not in the location or with the name its expecting. To solve that, you either put the photos back where they were, or you point LR to the new location. So, do you have recent backups of the photos, or as the salvaged drive as good as it gets? And if the salvaged drive is as good as it gets, do the photos at least have the same filenames as they did before? What kind of folder structure did you have?- VB]

]]> By: Julia http://www.lightroomqueen.com/blog/2009/01/23/how-do-i-restore-a-lightroom-backup/comment-page-1/#comment-708 Julia Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:35:29 +0000 http://www.lightroomqueen.com/blog/?p=284#comment-708 HELP! :) I am a very new user of LR but think it's fantastic! Unfortunately though, I have spent a week importing, keywording and filing into Collections, a whole heap of images from a number of photographers setting up our image library in LR. Our designer then handed on an external harddrive which included additional and duplicate images from the same designers bar one. I imported these from the hard drive to LR on my laptop (wrong thing to do?) and all my previous Folders and Collections have disappeared.(AGH!) I tried going through the steps above but can't find Lightroom backups in My Documents. Have I set it up wrong? Is there any hope of retrieving the 700-odd images which have gone? HELP :) <em>[Sounds very odd. Probably easier to chat on the forum than by blog comment. It may be something really simple and easy to fix. Drop by www.lightroomforums.net and we'll see if we can get you back on track. - VB]</em> HELP! :) I am a very new user of LR but think it’s fantastic! Unfortunately though, I have spent a week importing, keywording and filing into Collections, a whole heap of images from a number of photographers setting up our image library in LR. Our designer then handed on an external harddrive which included additional and duplicate images from the same designers bar one. I imported these from the hard drive to LR on my laptop (wrong thing to do?) and all my previous Folders and Collections have disappeared.(AGH!)

I tried going through the steps above but can’t find Lightroom backups in My Documents. Have I set it up wrong? Is there any hope of retrieving the 700-odd images which have gone?

HELP :)

[Sounds very odd. Probably easier to chat on the forum than by blog comment. It may be something really simple and easy to fix. Drop by http://www.lightroomforums.net and we'll see if we can get you back on track. - VB]

]]>