# Missing files



## Hillary Turner (Mar 22, 2014)

My last MacBook Pro had a virus and much corruption of files.  Apple gave me a new replacement MacBook Pro and I have been trying to sort out all my photos.  I am a professional photographer, and it has been a nightmare trying to get a workflow back.  The problem I am writing about concerns missing photos.  There is now a master 3 TB external drive with a complete set of photos.  
What is the best way to deal with missing photos?  I have tried to import from the drive to LR.  I have also tried to go to LR, Library, Find All Missing Photos.  Each time I check the box that says do not import suspected duplicates.  What I end up with is lots of duplicates and triplicates and a big mess.  What is the correct way to import the master list into LR from the external 3 TB dirve?
Hillary


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## Jim Wilde (Mar 22, 2014)

Hi, welcome to the forum.

First thing, please stop trying to fix the problem by re-importing, that is the ultimate last resort which hopefully you'll not need to use. 

Second thing, can you fill in some of the gaps, especially from the point where Apple gave you the new MBP. What catalog did you start using on the new system? I'm assuming you were able to restore the catalog and the photos either from a backup or from the original system? I'm also assuming that the photos were restored to a different drive? If so, was the original folder structure preserved?

Are you able to revert back to the catalog that you started using on the new MBP? The "usual" recovery method in this situation is simply to tell Lightroom where the photos have been moved to, but obviously if you now have a host of duplicates in the catalog it would be far simpler to revert back to the "clean" catalog and then fix the missing files issue.

Sorry for all the questions, but if you can answer them all we'll hopefully be able to get you back up and running fairly quickly.


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## Hillary Turner (Mar 24, 2014)

Jim Wilde said:


> Hi, welcome to the forum.
> 
> First thing, please stop trying to fix the problem by re-importing, that is the ultimate last resort which hopefully you'll not need to use.
> 
> ...





Thanks so much!  I will try my best to answer these questions.  My internal hard drive is now full, using the method you said was just a last resort...

I first tried to use the latest catalog from the old MBP that was recovered by a data retrieval company--from Time Machine.  It was obvious that this wasn't working on the new MBP immediately.  It was way incomplete, and was corrupted, and was full of duplicates.

I then created a new catalog from the last uncorrupted catalog  (Dec. 29th 2013)  and added images that were missing, from a master 3 TB External drive.  This drive's inventory was created by merging all images from 4 other external drives into one, new, good one.

The folder structure was, for the most part preserved.  Unfortunately, the corruption caused much fragmentation, so I might open what looks like a folder for a unique client and find photos for maybe 6 unrelated jobs.  It is an unholy mess, that will take a long time to clean up.  I have a work flow whereby I have a master folder for each client, then inside of this there are sub folders for each job for this client, by date.  Then, as I edit, I make collections and smart collections for each edit.  The collections seem to be much more intact than the folders, but are far from perfect.

I tried to take one of the external drives that had all the photos, in the folders, and get rid of duplicates.  Someone helped me with this using Disk Inventory X, and
cloning everything to their huge capacity PC.  Then they gave me the drive back supposedly without duplicates.  

However, when I tried copying the "clean" version in the new catalog  (from the above drive to the new 3 TB master drive)  to the MBP,  into LR,  lots of duplication happened and my MBP filled up before this transfer was completed.

This is where I am now--with only 1.35 GB left on my Mac.  EEEK!!

I hope I have explained this clearly enough to be understood.  Please ask more questions if anything is not comprehensible or just doesn't make sense.  I am extremely grateful for this help!

Hillary


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## Jim Wilde (Mar 24, 2014)

Hillary, apologies but it's at the end of a very long day over here, and I need to be more alert than I currently am in order to digest your response. If it's Ok with you I'll try to look at this in the morning, unless Cletus has time to look at it sooner (he's on Texas time).


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## Hillary Turner (Mar 25, 2014)

No apologies necessary!  When you have time and feel up to it is more than fine!!
Hillary


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## clee01l (Mar 25, 2014)

Hillary Turner said:


> No apologies necessary!  When you have time and feel up to it is more than fine!!
> Hillary


Unfortunately I'm now at the end of a long day too.  I'll be happy to look at your issue tomorrow if Jim has not re-entered the conversation. 

I'll try to give you an OSX experience viewpoint when I do reply.   How big is your primary HD that has only 1.35GB free?   What are you storing on there that is filling it up?  Can you do a "Get Info" on the Pictures folder to gauge its size?


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## Jim Wilde (Mar 25, 2014)

Hillary, where are you based? Reason for asking is that I suspect that trying to deal with this issue via to-and-fro posts in the forum is going to take a very long time. We'll first need a much better understanding of the problem usually via lots of screenshots, before we can even think about how to get things fully sorted. I'm happy to try, we have done this kind of recovery before, though it can stretch into weeks. However, if you happened to live near to one of the experts here, it might be possible to hook up, which would certainly move things along more quickly.

Cletus may have some better idea when he surfaces, but right now I'm not seeing a quick solution to the problem. At the very least, it looks like reverting initially to that end of December catalog will be needed....get that sorted, try to understand the "corruption/fragmentation" that you referred to, fix it if possible, then move on from there. But it will take some time....


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## clee01l (Mar 25, 2014)

Hillary, I don't see a quick solution either.  There are lots of unknowns to be determined.  I asked you a couple of questions last night and I am about to probe deeper.

Tell me about your old computer. How were the files organised on it?  Where (what folder) did you store the primary LR catalog? Did you have multiple primary catalogs or just one master?
The contents of several EHDs were combined into the 3TB HD.  Where are those EHDs now?
On the old computer, how often did you use the LR catalog backup function.  Where were these backups stored (path)?
Can you search the new computer and all attached HDs looking for catalog files (files with an extension ".lrcat" (that is a LRCAT btw))  Would you report the results?

While you are digesting these requests, let me offer a suggestion. For new and current work, create a NEW Empty catalog.  Give it a meaningful name not "Lightroom 5 catalog.lrcat"   Import any new and previously uncataloged images to this new catalog.  You can work on these unimpeded while we sort out your original images and find a good catalog to recover from.


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## Hillary Turner (Mar 26, 2014)

I looked at the contents of the internal memory of the MBP, using Disk Inventory X, to see exactly what was taking up what memory.
In the Pictures folder, DNG files are using 1,89.8 GB.  ( LR itself is using 3,82.7 GB, a merged catalog, 15.4 GB)  
NEF files are using 88.8 GB
PSD files, 51.6 GB
Previews, 44.9 GB
Canon Camera Raw files, 15.1 GB
Adobe LR Library, 6.1 GB
Adobe LR Data, 1.7 GB
XMP, 35.1 MB, etc.
Also, the Desktop is taking up about 15 GB  and the Library is 1.7 GB
Does this help?
I will still be getting the answer to Cletus' question #4...
Hillary


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## clee01l (Mar 27, 2014)

Hillary Turner said:


> ...In the Pictures folder, DNG files are using 1,89.8 GB.  ( LR itself is using 3,82.7 GB,


I don't know how to read these numbers.  the commas are too close to the period. In American terminology, the thousand separator is the comma and the period is the decimal (i.e 1,000,000.99)
You have DNGs, NEFs and CR2s  _Do the DNGs duplicate any of the other RAW format files? _


> a merged catalog, 15.4 GB)
> ...NEF files are using 88.8 GB
> PSD files, 51.6 GB
> Previews, 44.9 GB
> ...


_What are you storing on your Desktop? _


> Does this help?


It helps some.   Without the size of your primary HD it does not mean much.  _"How big is your primary HD? ... Can you do a "Get Info" on the Pictures folder to gauge its size?" _Direct answers to these questions are really what I need first. 


> I will still be getting the answer to Cletus' question #4...


 And please don't overlook Q's #1, #2 &#3


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## Hillary Turner (Mar 27, 2014)

Maybe you didn't receive my answers for your questions #1, #2, and #3.  I sent them yesterday.  It's been a really long day and I'm too wiped to send them again now.  Unless I get a second wind, I'll resend them tomorrow, and hopefully #4 as well.  I just looked at the thread, and you are of course correct--my answers for 1, 2 and 3 aren't there.  I hope to find them!  It took me a long time to get these answered.  I'll try to do it later tonight if possible...
I realize the commas and periods are weird.  I copied it as presented, but I think that something like 3,10.89 means 310.89 GB.  It's the only thing that makes sense in this overall picture.
Thanks again!
Hillary


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## Hillary Turner (Mar 27, 2014)

Cletus,
I am new to these forums.  I spent a long time to carefully answer your questions yesterday, and got most of the answers except for #4.  They were long answers.  I guess all of this disappeared, as I just looked everywhere I could think of.  Oh well.  I will be on location tomorrow until mid afternoon.  When I get back, I will do my best to re do all of this to give you a good sense of what is clogging up my innards, where the drives are, catalogs, etc.  Sorry!  I must have done something wrong yesterday when I sent this in.  I think I will save replies in the future!
Hillary


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## clee01l (Mar 27, 2014)

Hillary Turner said:


> Cletus,
> I am new to these forums.  I spent a long time to carefully answer your questions yesterday, and got most of the answers except for #4.  They were long answers.  I guess all of this disappeared, as I just looked everywhere I could think of.  Oh well.  I will be on location tomorrow until mid afternoon.  When I get back, I will do my best to re do all of this to give you a good sense of what is clogging up my innards, where the drives are, catalogs, etc.  Sorry!  I must have done something wrong yesterday when I sent this in.  I think I will save replies in the future!
> Hillary


It does not matter if you are new or an old hand.  I've spent several minutes (more than once) crafting a well thought out and long answer, only to discover a  few hours later that I closed my browser and forgot to hit the {Post Reply} button.

Yes, if you don't see it in the thread, it never got sent.  
I checked out the app that you used.  "3,10.89 means 310.89 GB" is probably correct., The program author is just putting unnecessary commas but they do confuse. 

I'll look for a redo of my earlier questions  when you have time.


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## Hillary Turner (Mar 28, 2014)

My location day took longer than I had thought and I have a someone coming over in an hour or so, so I will do what I can now and resume tomorrow AM.  Back to your questions...

1)  On the old computer, the files were organized as:   MBP/Users/hillaryturner/Pictures/LR/photos/client folders/sub folders/collections
     The primary LR catalog was stored on the internal memory of the MBP
     I used one Master catalog.  It was also backed up to 2 mirror EHD's: 2 identical, 1 TB LaCie Quadras.  This backup happened every time I entered photos from a new camera 
     memory card's images.  

2)  The old EHD's and a 3 TB drive dedicated to Time Machine, and 2 new Porsche 3 TB drives are all connected to the MBP.  Since there are fewer ports each model, they are connected
     either to the MBP directly or to a hub that is connected directly to the MBP.  The 2 new 3 TB drives are for the images, supposedly without duplication, and the other is for the entire  
     system.  These are to be  (when the problems are solved)  archival only--shelved.

3)  On the old computer, I used the LR backup function once a week.  I now have it set to every day.  The backups were stored on this path:  LaCie Quadra 1/Photos/client folder/sub  
     folders/Collections.  And this was copied directly from LR to LaCie Quadra 2 at the time of importing in the photos.

4)  This will be answered tomorrow.  Really.

For new work, I did create a new and empty catalog.  I named it New Master.  When I tried to import all the photos into this is when the internal memory got so full.  I tried to do this 
import by clicking on Copy  (Copy photos to a new location and add to catalog).  I had been hoping to be able to work on some recent jobs in the interim.  Unfortunately, with only 2 GB's
on the internal memory, I can't do much of anything.  I tried to remove the "Previous Import", which was about 7,000 photos.  This worked and that # is now 0.  That action got me 1 GB more space.  When I tried to remove the 70,000+ Missing Photographs, I got a window that said  "Delete the 65,980 selected master photos from disk or just remove them from LR?"  It also said  "Delete moves the files to Finder's Trash and removes them from LR.  9225 files can not be deleted because they are missing.  4353 virtual copies will also be removed.  You will not be able to undo this or any prior action.  You can only undo removal of 1,000 photos or fewer."  This was when I realized I needed help!!

Thank you and I hope this makes some sense,
Hillary


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## clee01l (Mar 28, 2014)

I'm still looking for "How big is your Primary HD?" 


> The primary LR catalog was stored on the internal memory of the MBP


Not quite.  It is a file stored on your HD like every other file. The default location is "MBP/Users/hillaryturner/Pictures/Lightroom/[yourMaster CatalogNameGoesHere]/[yourMaster CatalogNameGoesHere]catalog.lrcat"

I think I am going to want to see a most recent catalog backup file.  Far back enough to be one of the backup catalogs before your initial debacle.  According to the information above, there should be a series of date named folders in the folder listed as "LaCie Quadra 1/Photos/client folder/sub folders/Collections/". It should be the same name as your (old) master catalog because it is a copy of it.  Preferably I would like the most recent good backup catalog because this is most likely the one we will use to put everything back together.  It will be too large to attache here. So, you will need to copy it to a public folder where I can download it.  Do you have DropBox installed and running on your computer?  It is an app included with your OSX install but it is not an Apple app.  If you have DropBox, I can tell you how to put a copy of the LRCAT file in your Public Folder and how you can provide me with a link to download the file.   There are other file sharing options if you don't have Dropbox. 

Once I get a copy of your (good) catalog, I can inspect it with Lightroom and with a SQLmanager app to look directly into the database.   After getting a good understanding of what's in this catalog, I will be able to direct you to reconstruct your folder structure so that LR can find the master images.  I'm also going to try to help you park large chunks of files & folders on one or more of the EHDs so that you have enough free primary HD space to work.

For Now, I would like a screen shot of column view of your current Pictures folder. This is a view of mine.  Mine is open showing my "../Pictures/Lightroom/Master/"  contents where my master catalog is stored. If you could show me the subfolder where your NewMaster catalog resides that would be great. 








​


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## Hillary Turner (Mar 30, 2014)

Thanks so much for the above!  I needed to take a couple of days to deal with a family emergency, but will have time to get back to this tomorrow.  In the meantime, I wanted to let you
know how much I appreciate your thoughtful and helpful responses.  Many thanks...

And, my primary HD is 16 GB...

Hillary


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## clee01l (Mar 30, 2014)

Hillary Turner said:


> ... and, my primary HD is 16 GB...


 You are confusing your size of your RAM with the size of your HD.

Click on the Finder in the Dock
Choose "Macintosh HD" for the dialog and right click to produce a Context Menu
Choose "Get Info" from the context menu 
The window that opens will have all of the information that I' am looking fo about your Primary HD 
Please pose a screen shot of that window. 

It should look something like this.


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## Hillary Turner (Mar 30, 2014)

Sorry-not thinking.
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Is this large enough to see?  The capacity is 500 GB, and there is 377 GB available.  Before I had to leave computer world, I finally was able to decongest the HD.  I probably did it incorrectly, but I will tell you what I did, and then look at your email and respond to that.
First I deleted all LR catalogs from the internal drive.  Then I took the LR4 catalog and copied it onto the drive with the original photos.
Next, I launched LR5 and imported LR4  (the catalog from Dec. 29th, which seemed to be the last good one).
Lastly, I updated the catalog and saved the actual catalog onto the drive with the original photos.
This gave me a lot of room in the internal drive, finally, and then I started to clean up some corruption from recent jobs that are severely over due.
All this worked fine the first night, and things looked as though a workflow was actually attainable.  There were 106,000 photos listed in All photos, which is correct.
I opened and closed the MBP several times, just to see if this was consistent.
However, when I opened it today, all new work is gone.
Before I try anything else that might make things worse, I will read your info carefully and try what you are suggesting.
Hillary


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## clee01l (Mar 31, 2014)

Hillary Turner said:


> ...The capacity is 500 GB, and there is 377 GB available.


This is the information that I needed for some time. My purpose for asking this was to try to understand why your Primary HD was full. 





> Before I had to leave computer world, I finally was able to decongest the HD.  I probably did it incorrectly, but I will tell you what I did, and then look at your email and respond to that.


Well space on the HD is not a problem now.  But it makes me wonder what else is a new problem.  It you want our help you need to be patient with us and with your self The very first thing that Jim said in his initial response was 





> First thing, please stop trying to fix the problem


 If you keep doing things that are not a direct request from those of us here that are trying to help you, you only run the risk of creating more problems and making the final solution harder and farther away. 





> First I deleted all LR catalogs from the internal drive.


I certainly hope that you did not delete a critical catalog.  How can you know?  All the way back in my reply #8 I requested"

Can you search the new computer and all attached HDs looking for catalog files (files with an extension ".lrcat" (that is a LRCAT btw)) Would you report the results?
I think you have pretty much precluded getting a useful answer to that question


> Then I took the LR4 catalog and copied it onto the drive with the original photos.
> Next, I launched LR5 and imported LR4  (the catalog from Dec. 29th, which seemed to be the last good one).
> Lastly, I updated the catalog and saved the actual catalog onto the drive with the original photos.


If by "import" you mean to use the "Import from Catalog"  function.  The request to not do any more importing was also in Jim's initial reply.





> ...
> All this worked fine the first night, and things looked as though a workflow was actually attainable.  There were 106,000 photos listed in All photos, which is correct.
> I opened and closed the MBP several times, just to see if this was consistent.
> However, when I opened it today, all new work is gone.
> ...


 So, What catalog did you open today?  What do you mean when you say "all new work is gone." Are the 106K image in the photo count gone? Are the changes to individual images not longer present? or Are the thumbnails blank or have the missing file (!) symbol?  What was the name of the catalog with 106,000 images?  Does that catalog exist on the primary HD and the "onto the drive with the original photos"?   If so, which one did you open today?

Here's what I am driving toward _now_.  I still want to look at the catalog with 106K images.  I'll only need to do that IF you can find it and IF it has missing photos.  I want to make sure that you have all of your images in one catalog and that the catalog file knows the location of each master image file. Once we are at that point if the master image files are scattered over several HDs, I want to help you consolidate then into a common location or 2 locations if performance on the MBP is an issue. 

Hillary, I will stay with you but you need to stay with me and not jump ahead of the game.


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## Hillary Turner (Mar 31, 2014)

Cletus,  I totally understand your frustration with me.  I had a client call late at night on the weekend, with an "emergency," needing some images right away.  I was just trying to do something to provide these.  I do have a 3 TB drive that has all old catalogs, and everything else, that hasn't been touched.  I will be able to provide you with all that you are requesting--old catalogs, etc.  There are still all 106,00+ images, intact, on this drive, and all the folders, as well as all the old catalogs.  And, all the images are in one catalog on this drive.

My problem now is that my partner had an urgent health problem and I've been back and forth to the hospital for the last few days, and same with our 18 year old cat to the vet.  It got a bit hard to concentrate.  Please excuse my lack of focus for right now.  Things should settle down very soon, one way or another, and I will get back to this, with full brain, ASAP.  I really do want to work with you, and not sabotage your generous efforts!

I do have DropBox, btw.

Thank you for your patience and for staying with me.  I am totally looking forward to getting back to this and to consolidating everything into one happening workflow.  Again, it is all there, and backed up on the LaCie Quadra 3 TB drive.  This drive was renamed and has taken the place of the LaCie Quadra #1, which I'm not using now.  When I come back home later today and am able to work, I will explain this in coherent detail, and hopefully answer your questions.  Gotta run...

Thanks!
Hillary


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## clee01l (Mar 31, 2014)

My early suggestion was to start a new catalog and import new and current work into that.  This would be clean and separate from the catalog jungle.  When this is your profession and not a hobby, you need to carry forward with the current workload and having a fresh clean catalog is IMO a way to sidestep the bigger problem of your master catalog.  Later, we can merge your current work into the master catalog once the master catalog is stable and complete. 

Why don't you adopt that suggestion and create a new catalog for new and current work and we can tackle the master catalog as your time permits?


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## Hillary Turner (Apr 1, 2014)

I've got a short break, so I thought to send what I can...

 Catalogs: 
Lightroom 2 Catalog.lrcat
Lightroom 2 Catalog 1.lrcat
Lightroom 3 Catalog.lrcat
Lightroom 4 Catalog.lrcat
lrcat.6
Lightroom 5 Catalog-Master
New Master.lrcat
March New Master .lrcat
merge test march7.lrcat
There are also catalogs that read the same except they say -journal or Previews...

Next,  the catalog that I opened "today"  (2 days ago),  where I said the new  work was gone, was  the New Master.lrcat.  When I said that all the new  work was gone, I meant that this catalog referred to the date Dec.  29th 2013--the last intact catalog.  It had, for "All Pictures," 91,000+  images, instead of the 106,000+ photos.  In other words, all the jobs  I've shot since the end of last year.  The previews just weren't there,  as opposed to being there and having the little ! at the upper right  corner.

The 106,000 images exist on the EHD now named "LaCie  Quadra."  What I did to satisfy the client who was in such a frenzy, was  to import the missing photos from the recent shoots into the catalog.   They are still there.

Consolidating the 91,000 images with the  remainder of the 106,000 would be wonderful!  What the biggest obstacle I  see to doing that is that after the debacle, as you so aptly put it, a  huge amount of what I call fragmentation, and redundancy occurred.   Stuff has gone all over the place, has broken off and replicated  itself.  It is a huge mess, as I've indicated.  I will be patient and  work with you, no matter what pushy clients want.  What I want is my  work flow back!  And, I want to learn how to organize LR much better.   When I looked at your work flow, I realized what real organization  looked like.  Mine was never that together, and I would certainly like  to learn how to create this.

Earlier you had suggested that I  send you via DropBox, a recent catalog backup file.  Would you still  like to see this?  If so, could you let me know the best way to send  this?  With DropBox, I usually just insert individual photos or folders.

What is an SQLmanager?

Hillary


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## Hillary Turner (Apr 3, 2014)

OK.  Your last communication has disappeared, but what I remember from reading it last night was that you asked that I set up a new catalog.  This is to be used solely for new jobs.  I have done that.  I hope I'm not forgetting anything else.  Please let me know if I am.  What I would like to do, to stay on the same page, is to make sure I'm doing each step correctly...

The new catalog is named forums.lrcat    I have started importing into it just new, high priority jobs.  My first question is:  (the first import has editing that is by color rating).  What is the best way to create a collection from each import, and then smart collections for each edit?

Thanks,
Hillary


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## clee01l (Apr 3, 2014)

Ok Hillary, Monday's and Tuesdays are my busiest  days.  Sorry I was not able to reply sooner. 

I would like you to try to find a catalog that has all 106K images or a catalog that has the 15,000 images that are not in the catalog that has 91,000 images (NewMaster.lrcat)  If that is not possible then your next option is to import the 15,000 images on "LaCie Quadra" into "NewMaster.lrcat"  This you can do using the "Add" option on the import dialog.  Before you do that, I think it might be useful for me to look at the inside of your "NewMaster.lrcat"  I have an application (SQLManager) that will  let me peek at the individual tables inside the database file called "NewMaster.lrcat".  I want to see which volumes are referenced as the path location of the 91,000 images.  Once I understand, I can guide you through the import of the remaining 15,000 images 

Using another approach for the 15,000 images, I'll need to know which folders are involved on "LaCie Quadra".  Can you report that?

When you are ready, can you close LR and *copy* "NewMaster.lrcat" to the public folder in your DropBox folder.  Then if you right click on the copied file one of your choices in the context menu is {Copy Public Link}. Choose that the  click on my Login  on the left of this message and choose {Send Private Message}   Paste the Dropbox link into the private message.  When I receive the message, I can click on the link and retrieve the file onto my computer.   Aftre I've had a chance to look at it, I'll share my assessment of the contents of your catalog.


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## Hillary Turner (Apr 5, 2014)

Still dealing with medical interruptions.  Will get to the 106 K, etc. files ASAP.  I understand what you are asking me to send you and will do it shortly...
In the meantime, I do have a very nervous client who is waiting for their web gallery.  I have the photos in a new catalog, as per your suggestion;  a new catalog set up only for recent jobs.  It now has about 1,400 images only.  Fresh!
What is the best way to edit--to make collections, smart collections, etc.?  At this point, I would like to do everything according to your suggestions, and not create any new problems.  I asked about this a few days ago, but think you might not have received the thread...I have done a first edit by color rating and have selected about 60% of the job for the first edit.  I
usually do 3 or 4 edits for this kind of project.
Thanks!
Hillary


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## Hillary Turner (Mar 22, 2014)

My last MacBook Pro had a virus and much corruption of files.  Apple gave me a new replacement MacBook Pro and I have been trying to sort out all my photos.  I am a professional photographer, and it has been a nightmare trying to get a workflow back.  The problem I am writing about concerns missing photos.  There is now a master 3 TB external drive with a complete set of photos.  
What is the best way to deal with missing photos?  I have tried to import from the drive to LR.  I have also tried to go to LR, Library, Find All Missing Photos.  Each time I check the box that says do not import suspected duplicates.  What I end up with is lots of duplicates and triplicates and a big mess.  What is the correct way to import the master list into LR from the external 3 TB dirve?
Hillary


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## clee01l (Apr 5, 2014)

Hillary, I'm not sure what you mean by "best way to edit?  To me edit means post process develop and that to me is a personal preference.  Are you shooting RAW or JPEG? 

Perhaps by edit you mean culling?  For that I pass through the series and flag images (P) or (X)  If I have several images of the same subject, I will attempt to isolate the best with a (P) and no flag the other possible keepers.  Eventually I arrive at a set of potential images for keeping and these I might group into static collections. 

I hope this is helpful.   If not  let me know. 

I'm in the field today shooting photos and won't be back on the net before Sunday AM PDT.


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## Hillary Turner (Apr 7, 2014)

Thanks for clearing that up!  I guess I do mean "culling."  It seems that  in LR 5 it works better to select with flags--I've tried and it's  fine.  I used to do it by stars or colors but they don't seem to do it  now.  And yes, then I make collections and smart collections...It's great to be able to make certain I'm doing the details correctly.  I really am looking forward to cleaning up all problems and starting off with no mistaken maneuvers, large or small.
I had to take the weekend off from work, but will be able to get back to your communication regarding the 106K, etc. photos and catalogs, hopefully tonight--haven't forgotten.


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## clee01l (Apr 7, 2014)

Operators are standing by...


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## Hillary Turner (Apr 14, 2014)

I have purchased a new 3 TB drive and hope to be able to finally send  you the catalog you requested.  After rereading your communications,  this seemed like the most practical way to get things on track.  I am  really trying to stay on the same page!  My computer was tied up for 3  days the first time, but I needed to do the transfer twice.  I believe  that this time it is OK. 

There are now  124,039 images.  I had checked the box that says not to import  suspected duplicates and don't know yet the reason for the increase.

   For some reason, my DropBox membership has disappeared.  Tomorrow I  will have time to renew this and send you the entire catalog.  I was  thinking of also sending the catalog you suggested I create that is for  new shoots.  Is this a good  idea?

Thanks,
Hillary


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## clee01l (Apr 14, 2014)

Hillary Turner said:


> There are now  124,039 images.  I had checked the box that says not to import  suspected duplicates and don't know yet the reason for the increase...


 Did you import?  I only asked for a copy of the catalog that has 91,000 images (NewMaster.lrcat)  I also ask you to try to find a catalog that has all 106K images.  I did not ask you to import anything new into these older catalogs or to create a new catalog with your existing master images. My early suggestion was to start a new catalog and import new and current work into that. This would be *clean and separate* from the catalog jungle and would permit you to be productive with new and current jobs. 

You have two jobs right now. One is to produce product for your current clients and you can do this with a separate catalog.  The other job is to help me help you sort through the morass of catalogs and master images.


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## Hillary Turner (Apr 15, 2014)

Thanks for getting back to me!  The new catalog was created because of the instability that has plagued this entire process, and caused the problems in the first place.  I had a virus originally, and a lemon older MBP.  The hardware was replaced, but some of the corruption has continued through and has affected all the photos, folders, catalogs, etc.

I intended to send you the catalog that had the 106K photos, but it totally disappeared.  Then I tried to send you the one with the 91K photos  (NewMaster.lrcat), and found that it was corrupted badly.  So, I created a clean, manageable catalog that could be sent and opened.  Also, one that I will be able to use and eventually clean up.   It has corruption inside;  images migrating out of their folders, names of photos or folders disappearing, extensions being incorrect, etc.  But, at least it will open, and so far, retain the general outlines and structures.  It has more images because of the inclusion of the newer photos.  The number seems accurate.  This catalog was created by merging the useful parts of the other corrupted catalogs so that I could archive the other drives and simplify this process.  

Do you still want to see the limited and corrupted versions of the catalogs that had the 91K, the 93K and the 96K?   Parts of the Lightroom 5 Catalog.lrcat still have a limited number of images--from the LaCie Quadra3 drive.  Most of the others either say 0 photos or can't locate the photos  (there are the ! marks on each image).

I have set up the catalog for new jobs, and that has proved stable.  I have been using it to cull and create collections and so far there have been no problems.  Your suggestion of flagging photos to cull, instead of using color coding is fine, and I have been getting rid of the color designations as I work.

I will send you the most complete catalog, but please let me know if you want something else...I appreciate your patience and am really trying to get you what it seems you want to look at.

Hillary


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## clee01l (Apr 16, 2014)

Hillary, At this point, I'm not sure what you need of me.  Initially, you had a problem of missing photos in your master catalog after recovering from a virus and corruption of files.  To solve that, you/me needed to isolate the missing photos on the master catalog and determine where LR expected them to be and proceed to locate them for LR.   I suggested that you put your current work into a new clean catalog so that the old master catalog would not continue to move a way from the point where you first posted your missing files problem.  The old master catalog is the container for all of your Develop work, keywords and collections of your master inventory. Each time you import master files into a new catalog you lose all prior work history, keywords and collections associated with those master images.   Now you have a catalog with 129K images  Is that what you want?  Are you happy with having all of your  images in this new catalog?


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## Hillary Turner (Apr 18, 2014)

This is really difficult.  I so wish we could speak on the phone, but I know it isn't part of the program.  I just feel that I'm not understanding what you want, and that I'm doing things incorrectly.  I'm really trying hard to be on the same page and am so sorry I'm being problematic!

The main reasons for getting the last EHD was to have a complete body of photos, but also so that I wouldn't lose prior catalogs by creating this new one.  On the older drives, which I was planning to archive, there are earlier catalogs.  Some just sort of self destructed, and some disappeared--before I created any new ones.  There is enough there in some of them to access prior info—they aren’t deleted.  There are key words, history, collections, etc.  There is a lot there.  I see I wasn’t clear in communicating this.

I do need your help, desperately!  Please don’t give up on me!
I  spent all of today and yesterday editing a 4 part new job.  I did this on the new catalog that is limited to only new jobs—forums.lrcat  Everything was fine with the editing in LR  (I don’t do further editing in PS until proofs are selected from the web gallery).

Then, I tried to make a web gallery.  I referenced an older catalog from LR4 and took a screen shot of how the web gallery info was listed.  What I found is that the format is really different from LR5, and the new OS, and several configurations don’t work.  Also, I used to use Fetch but found that it isn’t compatible with LR5 and with Mavericks.  So, I need to create a new design for making web galleries.

Back to your email…  I would like to start using just the forums.lrcat from now on, and archive everything else.  There are 6 new jobs in there now  I do need to learn a lot from you about how to clean up the 127K images in the future.  I need to know more about how to create a web gallery with the updated applications.  I need to learn so much from you about what I did incorrectly before, that added to the corruption, and how to avoid it.

Again, I’m really trying to do what you suggest.  I think I sometimes just don’t understand the basic terms—you say one thing and I think I’m responding correctly but then find out I’m way off base.  I know I really need help and will do whatever it takes to try and follow your suggestions
correctly!

Your thankful fan,   
Hillary


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## clee01l (Apr 19, 2014)

Hillary, I've given my reply some well considered thought which is why I have not replied sooner.  I'll bullet the items for clarity.

The catalog "forums.lrcat" is a good step.  Your current productivity can continue with out interfering with the "missing files" issue or vice versa.
The web gallery issue is a separate problem and if it does not spread you too thin, open a new thread for it.  Otherwise, I'm going to put it off to later.
I will be on a Photo trip starting is 6 days.  So what gets done will have to get done between not and next Thursday.  Otherwise it will need to wait until I return.
In trying to figure out where to start, I am reminded of your post dated 24 Mar 2014, 5:34 pm (CDT).  In it you said that you had the "last uncorrupted catalog (Dec. 29th 2013)"  Can you still locate that catalog? 
​If you can, I think that may be a good starting point. I'll want you to do something with that catalog before sending a copy of the file to me. 

​If is very important that you respond to what I ask for and make sure that you understand any request  before taking action. 
​If I ask 3 questions then I need three answers back.
So. today I am asking one question. Can you still locate that catalog?

​You have constraints on your time and so do I.  It is best that we each have a working knowledge of each others constraints. 
At some point it might be useful for me work on your computer remotely using an App called LogMeIn.  You will need to be present during such a session.
And Yes, it is possible to have a phone call.  I'm in Texas and you are in California.  We can work out the particulars if a phone call can be beneficial.
 At some point soon, a public conversation is not going to benefit anyone else, so we can move this thread into the private message area of the forum.

Something else to keep in mind.  All of the people that help here with answers do so as a volunteer.  The type of help you are asking for would cost you several hundreds of $$ if you hired a local consultant.  Probably more since you live in California.  Because you are a "thankful fan" you get what I can provide for free.


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## Anthony.Ralph (Apr 19, 2014)

As someone on the sidelines in this thread, just looking on, I have to say Cletus you are impressive to say the least.

Anthony.


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## Hillary Turner (Apr 21, 2014)

I am trying to respond to you ASAP.  I did all the steps you suggested in today's message.  Unfortunately, when I tried to send you the LR link, DropBox said I was out of space and it wouldn't send.  I cleaned out all my large folders and freed up over 20 GB's of space,but it still says the same message.  I quit and restarted several times.  Nothing.  I have written to DB support to ask what to do, and will send you the link as soon as I am able to once again use DB.
Hillary


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## Hillary Turner (Apr 21, 2014)

I am really trying here, but I think I'm having a bad computer day.  I entered all the info for filedropper.com.  It let me into the site,  but to do the 2nd final login, it wouldn't accept my password  (which I had written down).  Same password as I had just used!  I am trying to reset my password, for lack of any other ideas, and as soon as I receive an email about this, I will continue...
HT


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## Hillary Turner (Apr 22, 2014)

The upload for sending your info was so slow with filedropper that I called AT&T.  They sent a tech who switched my modem to a newer one.  Unfortunately, this not only interrupted the  transmission, but resulted in an even slower upload speed.  It's now .3 instead of .97.  Yahoo.  They said it was a better more stable modem--whatever.  So, I realize you're leaving in a few days, but at this rate,and having to start again, it looks as though it will take several hours to send you the lrcat..
Just wanted to let you know--I am working on it.
Thanks, Hillary


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## clee01l (Apr 22, 2014)

You certainly are plagued with misfortune.   You have your recent work  now in a separate catalog so this won't slow you down.  We can take our time resolving the missing files issue.  I'll just be unavailable for about a week.


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## Hillary Turner (Apr 22, 2014)

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/yd0bl3j5ozkk7qt/H4XU24Q9w1

DropBox finally started working again.  FileDropper took 4 hours to get to 7% of the message then just quit and lost all of it.  Maybe tomorrow will be easier?

I hope this URL is correct.  Thanks for being detail oriented and patient and thorough!


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## clee01l (Apr 22, 2014)

Hillary Turner said:


> https://www.dropbox.com/sh/yd0bl3j5ozkk7qt/H4XU24Q9w1
> 
> DropBox finally started working again.  FileDropper took 4 hours to get to 7% of the message then just quit and lost all of it.  Maybe tomorrow will be easier?
> 
> I hope this URL is correct.  Thanks for being detail oriented and patient and thorough!


Sorry, the link says the folder is empty.   Please try again. 
Start with my instructions beginning on item 8.  Your Public folder will contain a file and the link will be to that file not a folder.


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## Hillary Turner (Apr 22, 2014)

When it rains, it pours!  Luckily this is not a normal state of affairs!  Thanks again for your input and have a good week away!


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## Hillary Turner (Apr 23, 2014)

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12020657/Lightroom 4 Catalog.lrcat


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## Hillary Turner (Apr 23, 2014)

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...0Catalog.lrcat

I hope this works.  I received an email from the client to whom I slowly sent the 300 jpegs yesterday.  He only got 46.  Things seemed to go much fastser todayj, so please let me know if you are able to see this...
Thanks!


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