# LR6 won't start - "Server Busy" problem



## GuyA (Jun 14, 2015)

I've just upgraded to LR6.0 and use it on a new HP laptop and on a pretty heavy duty desktop. The program worked for a while but now when I launch on the desktop I keep hanging with a screen saying "Server Busy" "This action cannot be completed because the other program is busy. Choose 'Switch To' to activate the busy program and correct the problem". No idea what this is all about....


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## Jim Wilde (Jun 15, 2015)

I think that's an issue which has plagued a few users, I know that our own John Beardsworth also experienced it. Adobe have been working on isolating the problem, so hopefully there'll be a fix coming soon.

Is Lightroom now completely not working for you?


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## johnbeardy (Jun 15, 2015)

Yes, it's a problem that I experience and I have been working closely with Adobe to see if it can be resolved. I find that if I pause a moment before hitting Switch, the catalogue then proceeds to open normally. Is this what happens with you? I also have a theory that it mostly happens in the late European morning, around the time the US begins to wake up, but that may be just madness creeping in. I get a similar problem with Dreamweaver CC, except it crashes. it would be good if you can keep an eye on any pattern in how it happens.

John


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## blokecalledkev (Jun 16, 2015)

Hi there, I am new to the forum and have LR5 which I am just about to uninstall off my laptop onto my new Macbook and will probably need some help to do so. However I saw this thread and I have had this. I really have no idea why it started so I posted the problem onto a Facebook group called Photoshop and Lightroom. This is the reply I got.

"my  guess is LR didnt close correctly , and you have a lock file hanging  out there. You can search your drive for *lrcat.lock and remove that  file. DO NOT Remove the catalog file , only the lock file.

On windows 7 , my lock file shows up in : C:\Users\USER NAME \Pictures\Lightroom"

I did this and it worked for me.   Obviously I cannot guarantee this will work for you but it is maybe worth a shot.

Regards Kevin.


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## Jim Wilde (Jun 16, 2015)

Thanks for posting that, Kevin. It might help in some cases, but I suspect not all.


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## Denis de Gannes (Jun 17, 2015)

I also experience this error message as described by John. I will post if it occurs again since the update yesterday. Happens on my Win system, I cannot recall it happening on my Mac.

Still happening with the updated version.


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## Denis de Gannes (Jun 17, 2015)

Is this possible because I have CC activated on both my desktop Win 7 and Mac Book Pro. I have my Mac Book logged on but do not have Lightroom or any other cc applications open. Last time the message displayed while opening Lightroom on the desktop the MacBook cover was open. The next time I tried opening LR on the desktop with the MacBook cover closed and the message did not appear. Will continue to monitor.

Is this Adobe servers monitoring if you are using both installations at the same time?


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## johnbeardy (Jun 17, 2015)

It's only affecting my Windows machine, not Mac, and is also affecting Dreamweaver 2014. I don't think it's related to the Mac and is more likely connected to something the CC app is doing. 

I was experiencing the message up to 2 weeks ago. Since updating to Lr CC2015.1 (ie 6.1), I haven't had the message....

John


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## Jim Wilde (Jun 17, 2015)

Denis de Gannes said:


> Is this Adobe servers monitoring if you are using both installations at the same time?



I doubt it. I don't believe the "only one open at a time" restriction applies to the CC license agreement, though I admit I haven't checked. However, I frequently have both open at the same time (LR & PS), but never had any issues.


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## GuyA (Jun 18, 2015)

Thanks for the idea but unfortunately didn't work.
Guy


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## GuyA (Jun 18, 2015)

Been travelling - upgraded to  6.1 on laptop and no issues. Got home and cannot get into LR6.0 on pc at all now. Probably going to re-install the whole thing to see if I can upgrade to 6.1


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## GuyA (Jun 18, 2015)

Jim Wilde said:


> I think that's an issue which has plagued a few users, I know that our own John Beardsworth also experienced it. Adobe have been working on isolating the problem, so hopefully there'll be a fix coming soon.
> 
> Is Lightroom now completely not working for you?



Reinstalled v6.0 and cannot get into program as still have the same problem - so can't try upgrading to 6.1.


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## Jim Wilde (Jun 18, 2015)

You should be able to download and install the upgrade patch without having LR6.0 open. You can download the patch from here (scroll down to the Lightroom section). Run the installer and see if that fixes the issue.


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## GuyA (Jun 18, 2015)

Jim Wilde said:


> You should be able to download and install the upgrade patch without having LR6.0 open. You can download the patch from here (scroll down to the Lightroom section). Run the installer and see if that fixes the issue.



Hi Jim

Managed to reinstall 6.0 (before I saw your recommendation. Got it to work when I closed my browser (Chrome). Upgraded to 6.1 and rebooted. However, it has failed to fix the issue. Have been unable to restart even with browser closed. I'll keep fiddling to see if I can find other clues.

Guy


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## Martin v o (Jun 23, 2015)

Two days ago I upgraded to version 6, and ever since have been getting the same "server busy" message. I came across a form where One person suggested clicking the "switch to" button till the program finally loads. I've had to do this upon launching every time since. the clicks are countless. After reading here about the update, I was hopeful for a fix.   Well That didn't happen, the issue still stands.


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## tspear (Jun 23, 2015)

I am a little out of date on Windows programming since I mostly do Linux now. 

But this was generally a problem caused by some service making a network call and waiting for the network to time out.
In your testing, have you disabled or checked the performance with network disabled? Some home modems/routers are not smart enough to respond quickly and you are stuck waiting on the DNS to timeout before replying. The result, when Adobe starts it tries to make a license verification call to the Adobe servers, and you are stuck waiting for the DNS query to fail.

Tim


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## GuyA (Jul 1, 2015)

Ok folks I am now up and running. I can give the full story but am not convinced I have a solution. 

I tried disabling all programs that might be accessing the internet. Nothing seemed to work. However, when I removed Norton 360 I did get LR to work more than once. However, I subsequently discovered that I had a dodgy hard disk which caused Windows to take 20 minutes to boot. Replacing the hard drive means the whole pc is working better than before so I cannot be 100% certain it was Norton being the original culprit. Sorry if this doesn't help all those folks that still have the problem. Guy


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## GuyA (Jul 1, 2015)

Update: I have read how people have been very frustrated with Adobe Support. I have to tell you how diligent they have been. Despite me not being in contact for a week they followed up and called me today to continue to try and resolve the issue. Well done Adobe and thanks


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## Victoria Bampton (Jul 2, 2015)

It's nice to hear something positive about them, thanks Guy.


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