# "An error occured when attempting to change modules" – time-starved mum needs help!



## TwigHouse (Dec 8, 2010)

I have been using Lightroom 2.0 on my MacBook (OSX 10.4.11) for over two years with no problems. I'm not a professional (my partner is), so I'm using the software at a very basic level, just importing new pictures and making collections and sending images to print via Snapfish. Yesterday I tried to open Lightroom and got the message "An error occurred when attempting to change modules", then when it did launch, a featureless screen with only a few menu options and no sign of my content. My partner hasn't ever come across this problem through his own use of Lightroom, so I'm loathe to let him tinker blindly... 
Can anyone help with a idiot-friendly guide to what to do when this happens? I've had a look at this forum and can see people have suggested various options (and read with dread the phrase 'grey screen of death'!), but they all seem to rely on an understanding of the abstract workings of computers that I don't have. I'm mad with irritation over this, so would be so grateful for help – I am the mother of two-year-old twin boys, so have zero time to deal with computer malfunctions, and really don't want to contemplate having to reimport files or remake collections... of course, I was due to back-up my catalogue this very week, but hadn't found the time...
Thanks so much in advance for any guidance you can give.
Best
Ally, London


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## Mark Sirota (Dec 8, 2010)

Welcome to Lightroom Forums.

I would suggest taking the free upgrade to 2.6 or 2.7 before fiddling any further.  There have been many bug fixes since 2.0...


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## Victoria Bampton (Dec 8, 2010)

Hi Ally, welcome to the forum!

Don't panic, it's probably not that serious.

First things first, go find your catalog and duplicate it somewhere safe.  That's likely in your Pictures folder in a Lightroom folder, and by default it would be called Lightroom 2 Catalog.lrcat.  That'll do the same as backing up.

Next, try holding down Opt when you start LR and see if it will let you start a clean catalog somewhere (desktop would do).  That'll help decide whether it's a catalog problem or a global problem.

If it's catalog, we go into catalog rescue mode.  If it's global, it could be a corrupted preset or something like that.  Again, we can step you through checking those very easily, so don't worry about it.


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## TwigHouse (Dec 12, 2010)

Victoria

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply to my distress call. Really appreciated. Sorry it's taken me a few days to get back to you... both of my boys have been under the weather in the last few days, so I haven't been able to sit down and concentrate on this until now.

Right... I just did what you advised. Backed up catalogue file, then held down Opt when launching Lightroom, and it did allow me to create a new catalogue, which I've saved on the desktop. So that means we need to rescue the catalogue, right? If you could send instructions about what to do next, I would be very, very grateful – expert information is a godsend when you are in the middle of a panic like this!

Thank you.

Best

Ally


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## TwigHouse (Dec 12, 2010)

Thanks for this, Mark. Will look into it. Best, Ally


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## Victoria Bampton (Dec 13, 2010)

Hope your boys are feeling a bit better now.

So, first update to 2.7, as there were some catalog bug fixes that went in, which could help.

And then onto a few questions... 

1.  If you go find your catalog on your hard drive, is there a presets folder next to it?  If so, rename it or move it elsewhere temporarily.  A corrupted preset can cause those symptoms, so try opening your problem catalog again.  Never know, it might work.

2.  If that didn't do the trick, do you have recent backups?  That would be the easiest way to rescue the catalog.


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## TwigHouse (Dec 13, 2010)

Hello again, Victoria! Yes, boys all mended, thanks.

OK, will update to 2.7 tonight.

There is no presets folder next to my catalogue – just a file that appears to contain data for all my previews.

I backed up the catalogue file in September (a 'recent' back-up in my world!), so I could use that file as a rescue vehicle, right? But is it worth just trying to open the existing catalogue that's in the Lightroom folder in my hard drive, or will it have been corrupted by whatever gremlin caused 'the grey screen of death'? I'd done quite a lot of collections editing since the September back up, so would really rather not to have to go back to a previous version of my collections unless that's the only way. 

Now that, as instructed, I've successfully opened a new catalogue that's currently living on my desktop with no pictures in it, how does that effect the old catalogue's status? Will just attempting to open it override the other one, or can you have one or more 'in the system' with Lightroom? I must have a look at the Lightroom instructions book my partner bought home for me (the one that seems to make almost zero reference to the word 'problem' or 'bug'!).

Thanks again – is great to have the hope that this might not be the nightmare I anticipated!

Best

Ally


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## TwigHouse (Dec 13, 2010)

Victoria

Success! Downloaded LR 2.7, it opened fine, then I asked it to re-launch using my feared-I-had-lost-it catalogue, and there everything was – all intact, including all my (very time-consuming) recent collection edits. I am VERY relieved! You have certainly helped save my sanity... I was getting extremely upset about this. Thanks so much for leading me out of the fog!

Does that mean, then, that it was just a LR 2.0 bug? I guess nothing had corrupted, right?

Yours feeling very grateful for the internet, and for the kindness of people who take the trouble to help strangers out of a hole... have a very Merry Christmas!

Ally


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## Victoria Bampton (Dec 14, 2010)

That's brilliant news!

In some of the later 2.x builds, there were additional corruption fixes put in, so hopefully that's done the trick for you now.


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