Lost files by overwriting

  • Thread starter Thread starter lisabythesea
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
L

lisabythesea

Guest
Hello, I need help! I'm panicking! I have used and love the new beta and plan to buy it when it's available. HOWEVER, after exporting several shoots in the past month or so with no problem, today, I have 'lost' my files when I attempt to export. Here is what I did. Please tell me if you have suggestions for recovering the files:

I went to library
selected All
Selected Export
Selected to export to hard drive
selected the specific folder I wanted to send them to
This is what I did differently from the past exports: I chose to overwrite existing files rather than put them in a new folder
Clicked export
LR attempted to export but gave me an error message saying the files could not be found
To make matters worse, the original files that I had saved on the computer when I dumped them from my memory disk are GONE.
To make matters even worse, I have erased the files from the memory disk to do another shoot.
SO, no originals anywhere.
I can SEE the edited photos in lightroom, but I cannot find a way to export them.
I did a screengrab and copied one to paint. That worked, but obviously that is not going to be quality.
HELP!!!

Lisa
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Lisa, welcome to the forum! Sorry to hear of your disaster.

There's a good reason why Adobe specifically say that it's for testing purposes only and only with duplicate files... there are some big bugs. One of those nasty bugs is that it will allow you to overwrite your originals - and gets stuck in a loop in the process, trying to read the file and trying to write it at the same time. The whole point of LR is that it's non-destructive, so it shouldn't let you do that, and by the time it's released, that should be fixed.

For now though, let's see what we can do to help you salvage the situation. For a start, you mention that you've erased the files to do another shoot, but have you actually overwritten them yet? If you haven't (or even if you have, without filling the card), I'd try image rescue software as the first port of call. And you don't have any other backups anywhere?

If the originals are definitely long gone, the next best thing we can do is to help you retrieve the LR previews. Quality won't be as good as the originals, but it's better than nothing, and usually better than a screengrab. First things first, duplicate your previews (*.lrdata) file just in case something else goes wrong. The download LR/Viewer - that'll let you extract the previews. http://basepath.com/ImageIngester/LRViewer-info.php

And finally (I'm guessing you've gathered this bit from now...), update your backup strategy, especially if you're going to use beta software. You want offline backups that don't go anywhere near the beta.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Lisa, you want the Reply button at the bottom. :D

Lisa wrote:
Thank you SO much for your suggestions. You're working with a technilogical novice here though, so let me just clarify...I did delete the originals, format the card and reshoot. So that would qualify the originals as long gone? :o( If so, I am going to move on to the next suggestion. Create duplicate of the previews. Not sure how to do that but will work on that now...then your next suggestion...! Thanks again for your help...I really appreciate you!
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hmmmm, yes, sorry, if you've filled the card completely, they're probably long gone. If it was only partially refilled, you might retrieve some. Might be worth a shot with a trial version of image rescue software, just to see if there's anything there.

So go find the *.lrdata file/folder next to your catalog - by default that's usually in the My Pictures/Lightroom folder. And then copy and paste it somewhere safe so you're working on a copy - or even better burn it to a DVD just in case. Never can be too careful.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Oops sorry for the double post...I'm freaking out a little bit obviously! :o) Am trying the copy and paste right now...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Ok, I backed up the "Lightroom 3 Catalog Previews.lrdata" folder and i wanted to know if this is the right folder. Also, I wanted to know if I dumped the pictures onto the computer 12/22 there was a backup from 12/23 so i wanted to know if I could open that as a last resort because I didnt really want to risk losing all of the picture previews I already had.

Thanks Again,
Lisa
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Okay, so I read the info on LR/Viewer, downloaded it and attempted to open the previews. I'm probably doing something wrong b/c when I open "Lightroom 3 Catalog Previews lrdata" a series of files labeled '-9 and a-f appear. Clicking on any one of them opens up a lot more folders with labels, clicking one of them opens up a blank space. In short, nothing will open to the viewer. Any ideas of where I am going wrong?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Oh, erm, try opening the .lrcat file with LR/Viewer - that's the catalog which LR/Viewer can read, and then it'll go looking for the previews hopefully. As long as you've got it all duplicated/backed up (catalog too), then you should be good to go. My only query is whether LR/Viewer has been updated to open a LR3 catalog yet - not sure on that one.

What are these backups? LR's catalog backups, or backups you've done yourself?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Thanks for continuing to try...nothing opens. >:D Not sure if it's not opening b/c it's not there, because I didn't save them properly or b/c I'm doing something wrong in the opening of...

The backup is a LR backup that I was prompted by LR to do on 12/23.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Ah ok, the backup wouldn't help as that's only the catalog - the data about the settings, not the photos themselves.

I'm wondering if Lr/Viewer can't read the LR3 catalog yet then, but I can't check that as I'm on a dodgy internet connection and I can't download anything. Brad, any chance you can check?

Other than that, one final possibility. If you go to Print module, you can print to jpeg format - if you set it to 'draft quality' it'll use whatever previews are already there. That might be your last hope for now, at least until the other programs are updated to work with LR3 catalogs (so keep your catalog and preview backups!!)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Upvote 0 Downvote
When we tried to print the pictures as you said the printer spit out just a blank sheet of paper, so does this mean that my last hope is gone and I should just stick to screen grabs? Thanks.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Okay, Guys, I am giving up for the day. I do at least have the images saved as screengrabs...they are lo res but maybe better than nothing. I am so disappointed in myself for not backup! Lesson learned the hard way. I SO appreciate you both trying to help me out. If you think of anything else to try, please post as I will definitely check back! And, Victoria, I will save everything as you suggested just in case things sync up later on when the program is official...

Thanks, again and Happy Holidays!
Lisa
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Lisa you may want to try a data recovery application on the drive where they were. You did move them off the card first??
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Yeah, I'm afraid I'm stumped then. The LR/Viewer option was a long shot - Jeffrey's version of it specifically says it doesn't work with the LR3 beta, so I guess something major changed in the database. Hopefully once it's out properly, you'll be able to rescue the previews.

What do you mean the printer was spitting out blank sheets of paper? Printer shouldn't have done anything at all - in the Print Job panel, the top dropdown changes from Printer to Print to JPEG, and that should ask you where to save them.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hi, Geoff! Thanks for the advice...yes, I did move the original files off the memory card, erased, then formatted and then shot a new shoot on the card after that, so probably those original files are lost, right? The data recovery application you're recommending would be something I would do to the computer's hard drive right? I did have the originals saved in Adobe Photoshop and that is where LR 'overwrote' them with blank files, so perhaps they are still there?! That would be awesome. I don't know how to do the data recovery application. Is there software you would recommend or a tutorial online somewhere?

Hi, again, Victoria...Yes, I am definitely hopeful I would be able to rescue the previews once the program is up and running officially if I can't get the originals back some other way beforehand. In the meantime, I did a test print of some of the screengrab files at a local lab and up to 8x1' is acceptable quality, so at least all is not lost. :o) As for the printer, I just selected print and the paper spit out, no questions or prompts or anything. I went back in just now and specifically followed your instructions. It did prompt me where to save it...I was so excited! When I opened the file I had saved it to (in photoshop) it was there, but it was blank. :o( Good thought, though!

Lisa
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hmmmmmmmmm, of course you have searched your HD looking for the files by the file names??
Yes, the data recovery I was meaning was for the HD, you could try on the card as well as unless you have filled it up completely you may have some luck retrieving some of the files. Give them both a shot, card first!!
Good luck!!! :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hi, Geoff, yes, I did search the HD looking for a few of the file names...:o(...no luck. Does that mean there is no point in doing the data recovery?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Not at all, it sure is worth a go!! :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top