Lightroom has forgotten my imports.

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Penpal

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I opened up lightroom (2.4) today to check over the photos I did for a shoot that was two weeks ago, but looking down my left hand pane, the date wasn't there. The images, according to lightroom, haven't even been imported. But I did import them, and make a bunch of edits, two weeks ago... and every image I've uploaded and edited since then (quite a few) have also "not" been imported. This is incredibly frustrating, and it's the latest version of my catalog... What can I do? I don't know what to do at all. I've tried closing down lightroom, creating a new catalog and loading the old one, but nothing. All of my edits have vanished.

Why? I took my laptop off of my external HDD today, but I've done that before without this happening. Is there a way I can get my edits back, or is it a lost cause?

This sucks.
 
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Sounds like you have a back-up catalog active. Check your system for .lrcat files and see what you come up with........
 
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HI,

Same thing happened to me. It turns out I somehow imported them into a file called Lightroom Backups. You know when the import screen comes on and it shows, usually, the last place you imported your photos to? I always import them to the same "My Lightroom Photos" and had stopped really checking what showed in that import screen. I have discovered, that for some reason LR just changed it up on me on day. I spent days looking for my photos and could not find them. Them just as mysteriously they reappeared one day when I started LR. It is almost as if there are two versions of LR running. When I was operating in the backup folder(although I didn't know I was) my photos were not there nor were the keywords I had assigned to them. Then when it, for some reason switched back to the main catalog, my edits, keywords, etc., were back.

A very nice man named Bob suggested I go to File>Open Recent and see what showed there. That didn't work for me until I was back in the main catalog. ??????? I have no clue why. I am sure your photos are there somewhere.

Robin
 
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Sorry to hear that PenPal (and Robin too!). There have been a few reports (albeit only a few), all on Windows, all on 2.4, but no one can figure out what's going on. It'd be great if we could get a bit more info from you, to try to narrow down what's going wrong.

Mac or Windows. Exact system version would be great if you know.

Catalog on internal drive, or on external drive.
- if on external drive, how connected? (USB or Firewire)
- if on internal drive, what kind. (this one I don’t really expect to get an answer to, but would be useful)

How long (approx) was the session in LR, before the files went walkabout?
 
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Victoria,

I hope this info helps and was what you were looking for.

Windows Vista Sp1
32bit OS

2 Internal HD - Samsung 5'1LJ

Photos get imported to My Lightroom Photos on internal drive. Backup to USB connected external drive.

The photos were in Lightroom about 2 weeks before going missing. One folder I had been working on the other folder I had not been opening and closing.

I had been working on the photos one day, closed LR, and when I restarted the next day LR opened with those two folders missing. What I think happened is that when LR opened that day, for some reason, it opened in a catalog called Lightroom backups. There was not indication that I was in that catalog and not my main LR catalog. In looking on my HD I saw my main catalog, again remember that I didn't know I wasn't in that one when I opened LR, but the main catalog only contained these little icons and not actual photos. When I clicked on any of the icons it told me that Windows could not locate it and asked me if I typed the name correctly.

Then all of a sudden, one day when I opened LR, they were back. Keywords, edits and all. They are back in LR but here is a link to what I am seeing on my computer.
 
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Robin, to link an image from Flickr, log into your photostream, view the actual image, above the image click on "All Sizes", choose the size you want, then below the image, find the URL box to cut and past the direct image link.

It will look something like this: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2432/37'16'5833_3c44519b3e_o.jpg

Paste that in your message, and it will enable folks to click on it to see it at flickr. Or, click on the inline image button, far left of the second line in the preview post editor, and then paste the flickr url in the box for inline viewing, thusly:

[img width=6'' height=4'']http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2432/37'16'5833_3c44519b3e_o.jpg[/img]
 
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Robin, if you just imbed the screen capture it will be ina size we can read it!!To do this click the additional options button below the Reply window and you can add the picture file from your desktop direct. Just check the size first.
 
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[quote author=rzarbo link=topic=7419.msg5'892#msg5'892 date=1249352974]
I am trying this both ways and so far not having any luck.


[/quote]

This is the best way !! Well done!!
 
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You are doing just fine!!I thought I'd responded but it seems to have vanished!!We need to track down your missing folders still??If so can you give us a screen shot like this that shows you HD and the folders including the missing one.
 
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Geoff,

I know there have been many posts on this in a couple of threads so you might have missed my post that after a week missing they reappeared in LR.

When they were first imported they showed in the list of folders on the left of the LR screen by import date. They were there for approximately two weeks. I did quite a bit of work on one of the folders over that two week period but the other folder I had not opened since import. Then one day when I opened LR they were gone. Not just the pictures but there was not even a greyed out import date, nor were the keywords I had assigned to them in the keyword list. It was as if they never existed in LR.

I looked for days on my HD and could not find them. Then, just as mysteriously as they disappeared, they reappeared when I opened LR one day. There they were, back, with the edits and keywords. They are still there although if I go to My Pictures>Adobe>Lightroom>My Lightroom photos>2''9 the photos do not show, just those flower icons you can see in my screen shot. When I click on one of those icons it tells me that Windows cannot find that photo and asks me if I typed it correctly.

I am certainly relieved to have all my edits back but I would like to know where they went for a week and why, and how did they reappear? I would certainly accept the idea that I did something wrong when opening and closing that one folder as I worked on the photos but the other folder that went missing I had not touched other than to verify that they photos had all imported off the card.

Robin

Robin
 
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What do you get when you right click on one of the missing and now found files in the LR Grid view?
 
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I get the normal list of options

Open in Loupe
open in Compare
________________

Lock to second window

____________________

show in explorer
sow in second window

etc., etc., .....

It does not give a location if that is what you are looking for.

If I hover my cursor over the folder import date on the left hand side it gives the location C:\users\Robin\Pictures/My Lightroom Photos\2''9

but as you can see from my screen shot that folder contains those flower icons that when clicked say "Windows cannot find"


I really appreciate your efforts on my behalf and hope you have some ideas. I need to head off to bed now as it is after midnight. I will check back in the morning.

Robin
 
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Before I go to bed FWIW this is my theory. LOL

On my hd is a folder called Lightroom Backups. Now I don't remember that folder being there before I installed 2.4. It may have been and I just never noticed it because before this little mishap I did not do as much rooting around my hd. Anyway, when I open that folder it opens in to LR and contains "most" of my other imports in to LR. I don't know how they got there as I have always backed up to an external hd but anyway they are there BUT not the two most recent folders that went missing. They are not in there, nor are their keywords or import date. So I think what happened is that one day when I opened LR it opened in to that Lightroom Backup folder. I don't know why it would have opened that way but it would explain why I saw my other photos but not the two that looked like they were missing. Then, for some reason, one day it opened back in my main LR folder, again I don't know why.

Why would LR have opened that way all of a sudden and then reverted back? And, why are all those darn daisy icons saying the photos can't be found when they are found?

Robin

Robin
 
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Robin, do a search with your explorer and see how many ".lrcat" files you can find.
As for the files they are somewhere!!
Also try the right clicking one of the files again and try the "show in explorer" please.
 
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How do I do a Search in Explorer for .ircat files. I tried opening Explorer and then in location I choose computer and in the search box I typed .ircat. No luck so a figure I probably am not doing it correctly. I also tried narrowing it down to Robin>Pictures and then .ircat in the search box. Still nothing.

Here is what I see when I right click on a photo and then click open in Explorer.
 
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Robin, I'm not a PC/Windows user so can some one else please answer this, thanks.
 
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[quote author=rzarbo link=topic=7419.msg5'948#msg5'948 date=1249416189]

How do I do a Search in Explorer for .ircat files...
[/quote]
Note that it is not .ircat but .lrcat (LRCAT) !
 
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