# Deleted photo from hardrive & recycle bin, still showing in LR. Can I get it back?



## Uphilldeb (Jun 16, 2012)

K. So I accidentally deleted a photo from my hard drive. Then my computer crashed and my husband fixed it, but he also deleted my recycle bin - with the accidentally deleted photo! But it still shows in Lightroom with the ? and the missing file info. Is there a way to restore the photo since it is still showing in Lightroom? Thanks!:blush:


----------



## b_gossweiler (Jun 16, 2012)

Welcome to the forums, Uphilldeb 

Lightroom shows you what's available in the Previews folder, which can be extracted. I know of 2 different ways to do it for LR4:

Using an Adobe provided script
Disadvantage: The images are not assigned any color profile, so you'd have to manually embed an AdobeRGB color profile into them in a second step to get accurate colors. Come back here if you need instructions on how to do that.
Using the Preview Exporter Plug-In

Regardless of which method you use, the quality and resolution of the recovered preview will depend on what's available in your Preview cache, and both methods will provide a JPEG of the photo, and not the original format if that was Raw, TIFF, DNG.

Beat


----------



## Kiwigeoff (Jun 16, 2012)

Beat's right Uphilldeb, welcome to the forum too!!

........... now go back to enjoying your holiday Beat or I'll make sure you are banned for the next two weeks!!!!


----------



## Uphilldeb (Jun 16, 2012)

Hi Beat! 

Thanks for the welcome - and double thanks for the answer. THERE'S HOPE! Yaaay!!  

I'm going to give your suggestions a whirl, come Monday morning. Doing the Father's Day celebrations today and tomorrow with the hubby and kids. Gotta go fishing! I'll let you know how I progress through your guiding suggestions. They are pretty much Greek as I see them, but I'm up for the challenge! 

Again, many thanks. 
Deb


----------



## Brad Snyder (Jun 17, 2012)

Here's a third way, but it may require a higher level of general computing skills than the two already mentioned, and may be overkill for retrieving just the one image.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/adobe_lightroom/discuss/72157603510380245/


----------



## Uphilldeb (Jun 18, 2012)

*Well...rats. I didn't get far with my search and rescue project. Here's what I did...*

Morning Fellas,

1) Tried Beat's first suggestion:
_Lightroom shows you what's available in the Previews folder, which can be extracted. I know of2 different ways to do it for LR4:_


 
_Using an Adobe provided script. Disadvantage: The images are not assigned any     color profile, so you'd have to manually embed an AdobeRGB color profile     into them in a second step to get accurate colors. Come back here if you     need instructions on how to do that._

K. The steps outlined worked great, and were easy to follow until I got to step#6 where it said, "_In Lightroom, choose the ExtractPreviews from theScript menu. Note: In Windows, the script menu is the last menu on the right.”_

_When I select Scripts in LR, it says, “Open User Script Folder”.  Of course, there is nothing in there, and I don’t know how to put anything in there, because the instructions didn’t tell me how to put anything in there. And, I have a thing on my desktop namedExtract Previews since I was directed to put it there (but I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with it, either). Obviously, I’m missing something._

_2) So, I tried Beat’s second suggestion:_
_· Using the Preview Exporter Plug-In_
_Whoa! No step by step instructions from this very nice developer. I don’t know what to do with the thing (program/application/?) I just downloaded from his website._

_Conclusion:_
_I figure if I couldn’t do the two easy things Beat gave me to try,there’s no way I’m going to attempt the hard thing Brad suggested.  So, I hate to admit it, but apparently I need remedial help. Shoot. :blush:_

_Thanks,_
_Deb_


----------



## Uphilldeb (Jun 20, 2012)

So...

I opened LR this morning to find that the picture I've been trying to recover was gone! The keywording and file information are still there, but the preview picture is gone, and only a gray box remains. I am mystified. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Deb


----------



## Victoria Bampton (Jun 20, 2012)

Hey Deb, sorry we missed your previous reply.

Er, yes, well spotted in the instructions.  After you create the Scripts folder, it should tell you to copy the downloaded file into it.

But that's not going to make any difference if the preview's missing from LR.  Sorry!


----------



## Uphilldeb (Jun 20, 2012)

Thanks, Victoria. I was afraid of that.  Darn.


----------



## Uphilldeb (Jul 9, 2012)

K. So, I continue to have massive problems with my computer. Shuts down anytime I try to render more than a couple of photos at a time in 1:1 previews. But that's not the point. Here's what happened...

This weekend, we spent a zillion hours with a computer tech friend to see if he could figure out the mystery of my crashing computer.  This morning, I discoverd nothing new upon rendering...in other words, the computer is still crashing. BUT!!!! There is something new.

Everytime when I start LR up, I get a screen that I've never seen before. It is a white screen asking me which back-up of LR I would like to open. It shows the latest back-up being June 11 2012. That is NOT my last back-up, of course. So I clicked on the only UNDATED back-up option available. And low and behold, what was there but the picture I was trying to recover when I first started this thread!  It still has the question mark on it, but I can't find the picture. BUT!! But, it must be in there somewhere. 

Soooo...
Can we start this thread over and can you help me figure this out? I mean, recover the picture? The preview thumb looks like it did when I first loaded it into LR. None of my developments are on any of the pictures. I don't know if those are all lost or what, or are living in some other dated back-up I can't find now. What I do know, is that LR will NOT make any current back-ups upon shutting down. When I re-open it, it will only return to that white screen, and offer me the 6-11-2012 backup as the most recent save, or I can choose the undated option.  

If anyone is out there right now, I'd LOVE the help. I'm sitting here in front of my computer totally stumped and kinda flipped out. I've been wading through this mess, and possibly newly created messes since I first started. I'm trying really hard not to cry from the frustration.

Thanks so, so much


----------



## Jim Wilde (Jul 9, 2012)

The white screen is probably this:

View attachment 2560

If so, it's because you have (probably inadvertently in conjunction with your "tech friend") changed the "Default Catalog" option in the General Tab of the Lightroom Preferences to "Prompt me when starting Lightroom".....so whenever you start Lightroom it offers a list of recently opened catalogs and expects you to select the one you want. Other options are "Load most recent catalog", or a open a specific catalog (which is the way I have mine set).

As far as not taking a backup, do you mean it won;t take one even when you try, or do you mean it ain't asking you if you want to take one? If the latter, that's an option in the General Tab of your Catalog Settings.

In terms of your missing picture, if it can't be recovered the only  option is to try to create a jpeg from the preview that you found in the  backup catalog.....quality will depend on the preview quality settings  of course. You could try using this: http://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/kb/extract-previews-lightroom-4.html


----------



## Victoria Bampton (Jul 9, 2012)

I'm only here for a couple more minutes, but I'll do what I can.

For your shutting down problem, I'd be thinking overheating as a first port of call.  Or not a powerful enough power supply perhaps.  LR shouldn't be able to shut down a whole computer - only a hardware or OS bug should be able to do that - but LR can tax its capabilities.

If the question mark's still on the photo, that means the original's still missing.  If you can see a picture of it in your undated backup option (I'm not clear on this bit!) then it may be possible to rescue the preview though.

Do you know how to use the Snipping Tool to take a screenshot?  It would really help to see what you're seeing.


----------



## Uphilldeb (Jul 9, 2012)

I went back through the instructions given to me above...

From Beat: _
Lightroom shows you what's available in the Previews folder, which can be extracted. I know of 2 different ways to do it for LR4:
__Use an Adobe provided script
_From Victoria:
A_fter you create the Scripts folder, it should tell you to copy the downloaded file into it. _(This was missing info in the intructions provided by Adobe)

I did this...

1) Opened LR. Saw the white screen showing dated back-up options. I chose the option with no date. It loaded my files. I saw the picture in the preview thumbs that previously went missing.

2) I opened _Adobe provided script_ and followed the instructions, i.e., 
            1- I right-clicked on the script link and saved to my Desktop ExtractPreviews.lua. I assume it extracted the preview script. 
                Otherwise, I don't know how to do that, and it didn't tell me how.
            2- In LR I chose Edit > Preferences.
            3- I chose the Preset tab and selected Show LR Presets Folder
            4- I found the Scripts Folder in LR
            5- I copied the downloaded jibberish into the Scripts folder (but it did not tell me to do so, I just tried to follow Victoria's  
                               step)
            6- I quit and re-opened LR
            7- I clicked on Scripts and clicked on Extract Previews.
            8- It asked me where I wanted to put the extracted preview, and I made a folder for it in my pictures folder so I could find 
                it.  
            9. I opened the folder, and WA-LA! The JPG was in there!!!  

Thanks so much for your help with this issue (I'm still having others), but this case is closed!  I posted my steps just in case someone else might have the same problem. It would be good of Adobe to amend thier instructions to include the additional steps, however. 

Again! THANK YOU ALL!

With warm regards,
Deb


----------



## Uphilldeb (Jul 9, 2012)

UGH!!
Shoot, I don't know how to use the snipping tool. I wish I could, because after I just wrote this whole thing above, I wanted to shut LR and re-open to tell you of the White back-up options screen. Unfortunately, I got a new screen (which I can't snip for you), but it says...LR is unable to back up the catalog named "Lightroom 4 Catalog". Please check your folder permissions, and make sure that you have available space on your backup drive and main catalog's drive.  The choices are "Try Again, Choose Different Backup Folder... or Exit.  I'm not sure what to do. I think Jim might be right, my friend may have made some changes to my backup protocols, but I don't have a clue how to fix this mess now. But I did get my picture back! Ha.


----------



## Uphilldeb (Jul 9, 2012)

Oh, and yes, Victoria, the shutting down thing IS an overheating problem. But in my task manager, there is nothing else using the CPU except LR and the task manager!  We've taken everything else off and done all the usual things. I've been copying/backing up as you told me to on another thread. But my friend thouht he may have solved the problems without us having to re-format the drives, etc.


----------



## Uphilldeb (Jul 9, 2012)

TNG said:


> The white screen is probably this:
> 
> View attachment 2560
> 
> ...



I don't know about the "Snipping Tool" but I cropped and pasted a screen shot. Uh...well, it doesn't let me past anything here. Hmm...
Well, here is what the screen says from the top down...

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom - Select Catalog

Select a recent catalog to open

Lightroom 4 Catalog.Ircat     C:\Users\Deb\Pictures\Lightroom
Lightroom 4 Catalog.Ircat     C:\Users\Deb\Pictures\Lightroom\Backups\2012-06-08 1542
Lightroom 4 Catalog.Ircat     C:\Users\Deb\Pictures\Lightroom\Backups\2012-06-11 1832
Lightroom 4 Catalog.Ircat        C:\Users\Deb\Pictures\Lightroom\Backups\2012-06-07 1810
Lightroom 4 Catalog.Ircat         C:\Users\Deb\Pictures\Lightroom\Backups\2012-06-08 1757
Lightroom 4 Catalog.Ircat        C:\Users\Deb\Pictures\Lightroom\Backups\2012-06-06 1800

Always load this catalog on startup                                        Test integrity of this catalog

Note: Lightroom Catalogs cannot be on netwok volumes or in read-only folders

Choose a Different Catalog...       Create a New Catalog...                         Open    Quit

K. That's what I see on the screen. As you can see the dates are whacked in relation to being recent. My friend may have done this all - he's new to LR.

Thanks


----------



## Jim Wilde (Jul 9, 2012)

A couple of things....

1. Lightroom will stress your hardware very well.....so any weaknesses are likely to be found out by simply running LR. Check out the Task Manager when doing simple things like exporting a few files....it can easily cause overheating if your cooling system isn't totally efficient.

2. The snipping tool is easy to use. Start it up, and use the mouse to drag a crop rectangle to cover the required area. Save as a jpeg or png, then attach to your post. See these posts from our Tips & Tricks section.


----------



## Uphilldeb (Jul 9, 2012)

TNG said:


> A couple of things....
> 
> 1. Lightroom will stress your hardware very well.....so any weaknesses are likely to be found out by simply running LR. Check out the Task Manager when doing simple things like exporting a few files....it can easily cause overheating if your cooling system isn't totally efficient.
> 
> 2. The snipping tool is easy to use. Start it up, and use the mouse to drag a crop rectangle to cover the required area. Save as a jpeg or png, then attach to your post. See these posts from our Tips & Tricks section.



Thanks Jim, will try the snipping tool here now!  AWesome instructions, Jim! And yes, there must be some weakness with my system. The only thing that the task manager shows as using the CPU is LR and the task manager. We already removed the Microsoft Media Player Network (something or other) that was hogging the CPU with LR. Now...just LR and the task manager will shut things down. LR sometimes uses 100% of my CPU, and when it clocks at 100% it crashes.

Hm... well, shoot. I can't use the snipping tool in here. Even though I selected "From Computer", the little picture icon above will not show a Browse button or a box to type into and insert a file to upload. I tried dragging and dropping, but that doesn't work. 

Yes, Jim. My computer is most definately not working correctly.


----------

