Missing photos

[muggo]

Operating System

1. Windows 10

I've unfortunately lost the hard disk containing 20,000+ photos.
I've recovered the files to a new drive.but they all now have the suffix -2.
For example 20181208-IMG_5460 on hard disk is now 20181208-IMG_5460-2 in LR.
Therefore, the locate missing files function doesn't work as it's looking for a -2 suffix.

I'd be very grateful if someone has a solution for me.

 

[Replytoken]

I've unfortunately lost the hard disk containing 20,000+ photos.
I've recovered the files to a new drive.but they all now have the suffix -2.
For example 20181208-IMG_5460 on hard disk is now 20181208-IMG_5460-2 in LR.
Therefore, the locate missing files function doesn't work as it's looking for a -2 suffix.

I'd be very grateful if someone has a solution for me.

Welcome to the forum. And sorry to hear about your disc issue. It sounds like you re-imported the files back into LRC as LRC would only give a file a "-2" if it found a file already imported with that same file name. Is that correct?

If so, do still have a copy of the catalog from prior to that import? Ideally, it would be better if you did not re-import the files. Instead, you could point LRC to the recovered files in their new location. Can you provide a bit more information about how you recovered the files and where they are now located?

--Ken

 

[muggo]

Hi Ken, thanks for getting involved.
I follow what you are saying & it makes sense to me.
I'm starting LR from the old LR Cat file which pointed to Drive F which died on me. I've done a straightforward restore to drive G & the files there don't have the suffix. The original files plus edits & tags are all there. I have a recent backup of the LRCat file before the disk failure.
How can I point LRC to the recovered files in their new location? I can't see the option in catalog settings.
Alternatively., should I start a fresh import using a new Catalog name to avoid the suffix issue? Will that bring over the colour attributes & virtual copies too?
Thanks, Paul

 

[Replytoken]

Hi Ken, thanks for getting involved.
I follow what you are saying & it makes sense to me.
I'm starting LR from the old LR Cat file which pointed to Drive F which died on me. I've done a straightforward restore to drive G & the files there don't have the suffix. The original files plus edits & tags are all there. I have a recent backup of the LRCat file before the disk failure.
How can I point LRC to the recovered files in their new location? I can't see the option in catalog settings.
Alternatively., should I start a fresh import using a new Catalog name to avoid the suffix issue? Will that bring over the colour attributes & virtual copies too?
Thanks, Paul

You are welcome. That's what the forum is for.

One way to resolve this, IF the files and folder structure is the same on drive G: as it was in F: is to rename the drive to drive F:. LRC would then see the original files in the location that it believes where they reside. And if you re-imported all of the files in one Import, you could delete what you re-imported. But the ease and success of this action primarily depends on the recovered files on G: having the same folder structure as they did on the F: drive that died. The advantage of this approach is that it would re-create what you had before the crash.

Have you ever changed a drive letter in Windows? If not, this video should explain the process: https://youtu.be/S4ShigHdRQ8?si=cuOxgSiC5h_pD1m8 . If any of this is not clear, do check back before trying it. Better to ask questions in advance than to have to do more clean-up due to a misunderstanding.

--Ken

 

[muggo]

Hi Ken, thanks for getting involved.
I follow what you are saying & it makes sense to me.
I'm starting LR from the old LR Cat file which pointed to Drive F which died on me. I've done a straightforward restore to drive G & the files there don't have the suffix. The original files plus edits & tags are all there. I have a recent backup of the LRCat file before the disk failure.
How can I point LRC to the recovered files in their new location? I can't see the option in catalog settings.
Alternatively., should I start a fresh import using a new Catalog name to avoid the suffix issue? Will that bring over the colour attributes & virtual copies too?
Thanks, Paul

You are welcome. That's what the forum is for.

One way to resolve this, IF the files and folder structure is the same on drive G: as it was in F: is to rename the drive to drive F:. LRC would then see the original files in the location that it believes where they reside. And if you re-imported all of the files in one Import, you could delete what you re-imported. But the ease and success of this action primarily depends on the recovered files on G: having the same folder structure as they did on the F: drive that died. The advantage of this approach is that it would re-create what you had before the crash.

Have you ever changed a drive letter in Windows? If not, this video should explain the process: https://youtu.be/S4ShigHdRQ8?si=cuOxgSiC5h_pD1m8 . If any of this is not clear, do check back before trying it. Better to ask questions in advance than to have to do more clean-up due to a misunderstanding.

--Ken

Thanks again, Ken
Yes, I believe the folder structure is the same so I can try changing the drive letter and know how to do it.
Currently I'm restoring another 38k images to my new drive & it's across ethernet so is taking some time. About another day or so before I can change drive letter & see if it works. I'll keep you updated.

 

[muggo]

Right, making progress!
By replicating the path exactly, I have successfully restored a catalog of 38k files.
My other catalog of 20k files is still showing the -2 suffix in Grid view. However, here I'd backed up Previews.lrdata and Smart Previews,lrdata as well as .lrcat. Could this be the reason it thinks they are duplicates?
If I delete the Previews files & launch from .lrcat, could this be the solution?
I haven't tried as you advised to ask first!
Thanks, Paul

 

[Johan Elzenga]

My other catalog of 20k files is still showing the -2 suffix in Grid view. However, here I'd backed up Previews.lrdata and Smart Previews,lrdata as well as .lrcat. Could this be the reason it thinks they are duplicates?
If I delete the Previews files & launch from .lrcat, could this be the solution?

No, it wouldn’t. If Lightroom shows files with a -2 suffix in their names in this catalog, then that means these files existed on the drive. In other words; there were copies on that drive, and this catalog used those copies rather than the originals. That has nothing to do with previews or smart previews. If the original images aren’t used in the other catalog, then you could consider renaming them with a utility that can add ‘-2’ to their names. Then Lightroom will see them again.

 

[muggo]

OK, here's the issue (I think).
When restoring files in Windows, I somehow got them nested eg 2015/12 also contains a folder /12 ie 2015/12/12
That's why it's seeing duplicates & the -2 suffix.
I know it's a simple fix in Windows, but LR doesn't like that.
I need some form of merge in LR, but don't think it has one.

If I were to delete in LR than reimport, would they come across afresh? I have tags, edits, tifs etc that i've spent hours creating & would need to import all my hard work too.
Thanks

 

[muggo]

No, it wouldn’t. If Lightroom shows files with a -2 suffix in their names in this catalog, then that means these files existed on the drive. In other words; there were copies on that drive, and this catalog used those copies rather than the originals. That has nothing to do with previews or smart previews. If the original images aren’t used in the other catalog, then you could consider renaming them with a utility that can add ‘-2’ to their names. Then Lightroom will see them again.

Thanks for the suggestion.
I've tried using a file rename utility, but there are quite a few exceptions in edited files for some reason.
.dng & .xmp convert well, but.tif is erratic
For example, LR catalog shows
IMG_1084-Edit.tif (not missing)
IMG_1085-Edit-2.tif (missing) &
IMG_1086-Edit-3-Edit.tif (missing)
This makes no sense to me.
It's not the end of the world as I have the original files, but it's not ideal.

 

[Johan Elzenga]

IMG_1085-Edit-2.tif (missing) &
IMG_1086-Edit-3-Edit.tif (missing)
This makes no sense to me.

By itself, these files make perfect sense. They are almost certainly ‘Edit in Photoshop’ results. If you re-edit a TIFF by sending it to Photoshop, and you use ‘Edit a copy with Lightroom adjustments’, then this is what you will get. I obviously can’t tell you why they are missing, but this could be a result of the recovery software seeing them as duplicates that did not needed to be recovered.

 

[muggo]

By itself, these files make perfect sense. They are almost certainly ‘Edit in Photoshop’ results. If you re-edit a TIFF by sending it to Photoshop, and you use ‘Edit a copy with Lightroom adjustments’, then this is what you will get. I obviously can’t tell you why they are missing, but this could be a result of the recovery software seeing them as duplicates that did not needed to be recovered.

Yes, they are PS edits, so that does indeed explain it.
I didn't use any Recovery software - just copy & paste in Windows from another drive.
Still, I'm better off than I was yesterday!

 

[Johan Elzenga]

Yes, they are PS edits, so that does indeed explain it.
I didn't use any Recovery software - just copy & paste in Windows from another drive.
Still, I'm better off than I was yesterday!

If you still have that other drive, then search for your missing photos there and copy them to the new drive if you’ve found them.

 

[muggo]

If you still have that other drive, then search for your missing photos there and copy them to the new drive if you’ve found them.

The other drive died suddenly, or life would be so much more simple!