Help. Lightroom Classic 8.0 fails to launch

[Mr_RossDuncan]

Lightroom Version Number

Lightroom Classic 8.0

Operating System

1. Windows 10

Hi,
I would be very appreciative If anybody could post the steps I should take to reinstall Lightroom Classic 8.
I recently updated, which worked fine for a couple of days, now disaster, nothing.
Trying to launch Lightroom this morning I received an error message,
"Lightroom Catalog could not be found. Would you like to use an existing catalog or use the default one?"
On choosing use an existing catalog the error message disappears and nothing happens.
I know the existing catalog is there, I used it yesterday.
Photoshop will not launch correctly either, on launch I get a black screen with the menu bar across the top with my normal choices of File Edit Image Layer Type etc.
I can use the open option to navigate to an image and open it but not having the home screen launch as normal is clearly an error somewhere.
I feel I should reinstall the whole program but obviously don't want to just delete everything and start again without first some long consideration of the consequences.
I have back-ups of my catalog, backing up every time I exit Lightroom, but wouldn't reinstalling Lightroom Classic 8.0 and then reimporting a backup up catalog just be reinstalling what seems to be a corrupt catalog?
Questions, Questions.
Should I delete the whole Lightroom Classic CC File Folder off my drive and download a new program?
Any tips.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

Yeah, I'd uninstall, REBOOT and reinstall. I've seen a couple of reports of Lightroom simply not launching right which seems to be down to a corrupted install rather than a corrupted catalog. The fact that PS isn't launching correctly either lends extra weight. I'd uninstall both before rebooting the computer.

 

[PaulJL]

I have twice had a problem with CC updates failing on Win7 and needing CC to be uninstalled completely and re-installed. This only happened on Win7 and the same updates on my Win10 machine worked fine though. Victoria's suggestion seems the way to go.

 

[aaalegre]

It happens to me sometimes i reboot my external drive where the catalog is and it worked

 

[Mr_RossDuncan]

Yeah, I'd uninstall, REBOOT and reinstall. I've seen a couple of reports of Lightroom simply not launching right which seems to be down to a corrupted install rather than a corrupted catalog. The fact that PS isn't launching correctly either lends extra weight. I'd uninstall both before rebooting the computer.

Hi Victoria,
Thanks for getting back to me, much appreciated.
On my Windows 10 computer I have an Adobe folder on the C: drive/Program Files that contains the following folders.
Adobe Bridge CC 2017
Adobe Bridge CC 2018
Adobe Lightroom Classic CC
Adobe Photoshop CC 2015
Adobe Photoshop CC 2015.5
Adobe Photoshop CC 2018
Adobe Photoshop CC 2019
I also have another Adobe folder, also on the C: drive but this one Program Files (x86)
This folder has the following folders.
Acrobat Reader
Adobe Creative Cloud
Adobe Creative Cloud Experience
Adobe Sync
Photoshop Elements 11
Reader 11.0
Aside from these two Adobe folders I have an additional folder, that contains my Lightroom Catalog, helper, previews, smart previews etc.
This runs off an external hard-drive.
I'm assuming your suggestion to uninstall would refer to the first folder only, the folder that contains the Lightroom CC and 4 versions of Photoshop ( no idea why there are 4 versions).
After the uninstall process, then a reboot, should I then visit the Adobe homepage and using my login profile download brand new versions of both Lightroom CC and Photoshop 2019.
From Adobe Creative Cloud
Will Adobe have any issue with me downloading more versions of their software, I've had a quick look at that page above but get repeated error 500: Internal server error messages.
I'm a bit worried about deleting the programs and then having trouble downloading new versions.
Thanks for your time.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

Yes, you've got the steps right. You shouldn't have any problems downloading them again, and I guess if they don't launch, there's probably not a lot to lose anyway! The multiple PS version folders are probably due to plug-ins that didn't get uninstalled with the rest of the program. Save them and drop them into the 2019 version when you've reinstalled. Oh, and back up your catalog/photos before you start, for peace of mind.

 

[PhilBurton]

Hi Victoria,
Thanks for getting back to me, much appreciated.
On my Windows 10 computer I have an Adobe folder on the C: drive/Program Files that contains the following folders.
Adobe Bridge CC 2017
Adobe Bridge CC 2018
Adobe Lightroom Classic CC
Adobe Photoshop CC 2015
Adobe Photoshop CC 2015.5
Adobe Photoshop CC 2018
Adobe Photoshop CC 2019
I also have another Adobe folder, also on the C: drive but this one Program Files (x86)
This folder has the following folders.
Acrobat Reader
Adobe Creative Cloud
Adobe Creative Cloud Experience
Adobe Sync
Photoshop Elements 11
Reader 11.0
Aside from these two Adobe folders I have an additional folder, that contains my Lightroom Catalog, helper, previews, smart previews etc.
This runs off an external hard-drive.
I'm assuming your suggestion to uninstall would refer to the first folder only, the folder that contains the Lightroom CC and 4 versions of Photoshop ( no idea why there are 4 versions).
After the uninstall process, then a reboot, should I then visit the Adobe homepage and using my login profile download brand new versions of both Lightroom CC and Photoshop 2019.
From Adobe Creative Cloud
Will Adobe have any issue with me downloading more versions of their software, I've had a quick look at that page above but get repeated error 500: Internal server error messages.
I'm a bit worried about deleting the programs and then having trouble downloading new versions.
Thanks for your time.

I think you have all those different versions of the same software because Adobe doesn't uninstall an old version when it installs a new version of the same software. On my system, Photoshop CC 2019 was just installed, but Photoshop CC 2018 is still on the disk. Unless you are very careful, you could run into no end of problems. And I am guessing that new software that was installed when you had only Photoshop 2018 installed, might not be updated to now use Photoshop 2019.

So my suggestion would be to uninstall the following:

• Bridge 2017
• Photoshop CC versions 2015-2018
• Either Reader 11 or Acrobat Reader (whichever is older)
• Check to see if Adobe Creative Cloud and Adobe Creative Cloud Experience look the same when you start them up. If so, then look inside the folders of both of those applications to see file and folder dates, and uninstall the older version.

Here is the link for the Adobe uninstaller tool. Use the Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool to solve installation problems. If you are using a Windows system, you might also find this utility useful: Revo Uninstaller Pro - What is new in Revo Uninstaller Pro 4. There is a free version and a paid version with more features.

Before you do any of these uninstalls, please wait a day for other forum members to comment with better suggestions than mine.

Phil Burton

 

[Victoria Bampton]

And I am guessing that new software that was installed when you had only Photoshop 2018 installed, might not be updated to now use Photoshop 2019.

You guess correctly. There is a checkbox when you install which would uninstall previous versions, but it's hidden under a disclosure triangle.

Also, if you have certain plug-ins, even after uninstalling, the folders may get left behind, waiting for you to manually transfer the plug-in and delete the now-empty folders.

I'd uninstall the old versions. Should be fine.