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Post by blackmutt on Oct 31, 2019 1:32:56 GMT
I did something really really dumb. It would appear that I deleted one of my .lrcat files. I have two external hard drives going. Don't ask... I can find probably most if not all the photos in my picture folder on my hard drive on my laptop but is there a free photo recovery program that anyone can recommend that they have used. Although winter is coming, guess I can keep myself busy. I hope I am not the only one here that is so hapless....
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Post by Sepiana on Oct 31, 2019 1:40:59 GMT
Judy, first of all, don't be so hard on yourself! I have done the same -- deleted files which should not be deleted. I use Recuva (which was highly recommended on the EV forum). I just have the free version but I am very pleased with the results. www.ccleaner.com/recuva |
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Post by blackmutt on Oct 31, 2019 1:52:42 GMT
Thanks, I tried the free version last night and it ran all night and this am it did step 2 and came up blank. I posted a question in their forum to see if I did something wrong. Can you believe I may have done something wrong???!! I dug out the photo I REALLY needed and got that squared away so I can at least sleep tonight.  |
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Post by Sepiana on Oct 31, 2019 2:06:07 GMT
You are most welcome!
This has happened to me. The first scan comes up blank; then, I do a second one (deeper) and it finds the deleted files.
I am curious. I would like to know the answer to the question you posted on their forum.
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Post by blackmutt on Oct 31, 2019 15:58:06 GMT
I have not heard anything yet. I may try the scan again. I did look at my c/drive pictures folder which has thousands of photos and I did find the RAW version of the photo that was requested so I imported that one back into lr. I think alot of the photos are there very deep in the c drive. Scary what else you find there too! I will keep you posted.
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Post by fotofrank on Oct 31, 2019 16:27:27 GMT
Judy,
Did you do a backup of your catalog and have you attempted to restore from the backup?
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angelag
Junior Forum Member
Posts: 298 
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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Post by angelag on Oct 31, 2019 16:43:51 GMT
Maybe I misunderstood, in which case, please forgive me, but if it was the catalogue you deleted, won't your pictures still be there? Then all you need to do is generate a new catalogue. It may not be as bad as you think. I certainly hope not!
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Post by blackmutt on Oct 31, 2019 17:15:25 GMT
Judy, Did you do a backup of your catalog and have you attempted to restore from the backup? I have not, since quite frankly I am unsure and don't want to make a bigger mess. Secondly, I have two catalogs. #1 is the one missing the lrcat file. When I want something from that ehd I plug it in and do whatever I am going to do. This may be a problem because when I exit lr I will (most of time, unless I haven't done anything big) have my ehd that I use for backups of lr plugged in and do a backup (ehd3). So, for one thing, what actually is it backing up - what is on ehd#1 or what is in lr on internal hard drive. I would say ehd#1. When I am working on ehd#2 and I exit lr I would be backing up ehd#2, yes? There in lies one of many problems, all self induced. I tend to learn by hands on and not following some video or reading a book. Makes it tough when you live in an area of desolation for knowledge of software. That is why I don't want to restore from my backup because I don't know what I am restoring. I have made a mess.... |
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Post by blackmutt on Oct 31, 2019 17:16:56 GMT
Maybe I misunderstood, in which case, please forgive me, but if it was the catalogue you deleted, won't your pictures still be there? Then all you need to do is generate a new catalogue. It may not be as bad as you think. I certainly hope not! I hear you, but as you can see I am clueless. I think what I may do is import from the bowels of my internal hard drive the photos I want. |
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Post by blackmutt on Oct 31, 2019 19:31:46 GMT
Sepiana - here's the response to my question of why it was blank.
The file count whilst running includes live as well as deleted files. If you are not seeing any deleted files in the l/h pane then possibly there is some selection criteria entered which does not match any file found. It sounds as if you were running a deep scan which I don't think finds RAW files.
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Post by Andy on Oct 31, 2019 22:14:43 GMT
Deleting a Lightroom catalog file will not delete your pictures. The catalog just contains links to where the files are.
Backing up a Lightoom catalog will backup only the catalog itself, not your pictures. It will backup only the active catalog that you are working on when you exit Lightroom. So if you are working on Catalog A on Drive C, that is what it backs up. If you are working on Catalog B on an EHD, that is what it backs up. Where those backups are stored is controlled by your settings. The backups could be anywhere you put them.
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Post by Sepiana on Oct 31, 2019 22:28:00 GMT
Sepiana - here's the response to my question of why it was blank. The file count whilst running includes live as well as deleted files. If you are not seeing any deleted files in the l/h pane then possibly there is some selection criteria entered which does not match any file found. It sounds as if you were running a deep scan which I don't think finds RAW files. I am curious. I would like to know the answer to the question you posted on their forum. Judy, thanks! This explains the problem I had with some of the scans -- the deleted folder contained RAW files. |
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Post by blackmutt on Nov 1, 2019 0:13:58 GMT
Deleting a Lightroom catalog file will not delete your pictures. The catalog just contains links to where the files are. Backing up a Lightoom catalog will backup only the catalog itself, not your pictures. It will backup only the active catalog that you are working on when you exit Lightroom. So if you are working on Catalog A on Drive C, that is what it backs up. If you are working on Catalog B on an EHD, that is what it backs up. Where those backups are stored is controlled by your settings. The backups could be anywhere you put them. Sorry to be so thick, but when I plug in the ehd that I deleted the lrcat, alot of the folders on the left side of LR are notated with ? which means the files can't be found. Correct? To restore from my back up (ehd #3) if I was last working with the ehd that has only 2019 photos and is intact I would assume that is what my restore would be that. Don't know how I would restore the ehd that is missing the lrcat. I am sorry I am being so dumb. I do appreciate your efforts to help me - REALLY! A dim lightbulb just came on - i take it that it would be wise to have two folders on my ehd that I use for backup - one for catalog 1 and one for catalog 2. Duh? |
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Fauxtoto
Established Forum Member
Quebec, Canada
Posts: 418
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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Post by Fauxtoto on Nov 2, 2019 20:42:34 GMT
Judy, As stated by Andy , your catalog does not contain any photo. The LR catalog is simply one single file that has a specific “.lrcat” extension. It is a text database file containing information about your photos, including the changes made to them within LR and where they are stored. When Lightroom closes, it does not backup the photos. It only backs up the catalog which is in use, as it is at this precise moment. It does so by creating a copy of the single file which constitutes the catalog, the “.lrcat” file, and by storing this copy somewhere else. Each time you choose to backup the catalog when closing LR, it creates a new additional copy of the “.lrcat” file. Although the copies keep the same name as the original ".lrcat file", each time they are inserted in a new folder to which a different name is given based on the date. Thus, depending of your settings and configuration, it is possible that sitting on one of your drives you have many copies of the “.lrcat” file your are looking for, made at different moments in time. For this reason, it might be a good idea to perform a search by name on each of your drives for a “.lrcat” file. By doing so, maybe you could find a copy of the catalog as it was not too long before you lost it. If you find such “.lrcat” file, maybe one of us can help further from there. In the meanwhile, just in case you find your catalog, I would not move my photos. |
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Post by blackmutt on Nov 2, 2019 23:53:49 GMT
Judy, As stated by Andy , your catalog does not contain any photo. The LR catalog is simply one single file that has a specific “.lrcat” extension. It is a text database file containing information about your photos, including the changes made to them within LR and where they are stored. When Lightroom closes, it does not backup the photos. It only backs up the catalog which is in use, as it is at this precise moment. It does so by creating a copy of the single file which constitutes the catalog, the “.lrcat” file, and by storing this copy somewhere else. Each time you choose to backup the catalog when closing LR, it creates a new additional copy of the “.lrcat” file. Although the copies keep the same name as the original ".lrcat file", each time they are inserted in a new folder to which a different name is given based on the date. Thus, depending of your settings and configuration, it is possible that sitting on one of your drives you have many copies of the “.lrcat” file your are looking for, made at different moments in time. For this reason, it might be a good idea to perform a search by name on each of your drives for a “.lrcat” file. By doing so, maybe you could find a copy of the catalog as it was not too long before you lost it. If you find such “.lrcat” file, maybe one of us can help further from there. In the meanwhile, just in case you find your catalog, I would not move my photos. See my post in This n That. Thank you!!!! |
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