Lightroom Catalog Restore Options

[MrJorge]

Well it seems a problem I was having a couple of months ago is back. My laptop BSOD'd when attempting my first edits on my Indy photos the other night. A few more BSODs and it won't boot at all now without BSODing and rebooting itself.

Diags etc have been performed and I've just ordered a new HD for my laptop. Which means I now have to start down the path of getting everything back together. I have an external Seagate HD which has, hopefully, been dutifully performing the backups I set up so I'm not too worried there. Also I still have the HD and I don't think it's completely stuffed just some bad sectors looking at the diags.

So anyway when I pick up my new HD this afternoon, install Windows etc what is the best way to restore my Lightroom Catalogs?

I assume just dumping the Catalog and RAW directory structures back into the same locations and trying to use them might not work due to the underlying SQL Lite database etc. Or do people think this will work?

Most of the time before doing any serious work on the Catalog I have it prompt me for if I want to backup the Catalog or not and have a few versions of that available to me too. Is there some way to just restore from those and redo whatever I did that was lost?

Ideally I'd love to start again with Lightroom 2 but I figure it might be best to just get it back to where it was and then do the upgrade later rather than trying to overcomplicate the restore now.

[MrJorge]

Found this link which seems to imply I can just open the old catalog file...

http://www.lightroomforums.net/showthread.php?t=1327&page=2

[kiwi]

Yes, that's true it works fine.

[Kym]

Lightroom is fairly forgiving and does some smarts as to rebuilding catalog. You can run its fixup from within as well.

When I rebuilt my PC recently (new machine, XP -> Vista etc.) I relocated my Catalog/Files. I got dangerous and edited the catalog directly from SQLite Manager plugin in Firefox ;)

Managed to get it all right. Absolutely not for beginners and dangerous without a backup. FYI: The file extension is .lrcat.

Write up here: http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?t=18668

[MrJorge]

Just for future readers of this thread it is also noted a few times that if you open one of your backup copies of your catalog from the Backup directory it will work and you can start using it. However your working catalog file is now in the Backup directory and not the normal directory.

So if you need to revert to a backed up catalog either copy the backup lrcat file from the backup directory to where you want your active catalog to be or start a new one and import catalog from the backup copy into the new one.

Otherwise you'll end up trying to find your active lrcat file later and won't think to look in the backup dir but that's where it'll be.

Hope that makes sense.

[MrJorge]

Thanks for the replies Darren and Kym.

Sounds like the plan is:

1) Get the new drive in and installed with Windows etc
2) Install Lightroom and CS3 (same versions)
3) Put the original image directory structure back into the same location
4) Put the Lightroom Catalog directory structure back into the same location
5) Try to open my Catalogs as normal, if not revert to one of the backed up copies

[Kym]

Should work. The LR catalog is in 'My Pictures/Lightroom'.

You must ensure that you create the same user name on the new system! Reason: it part of the path - if you don't you may need to edit 'AgLibraryRootFolder' table in the LR catalog.

[MrJorge]

Yup am well aware of where the Catalogs are. Being the #### IT organised nut I am I set up a special structure for it. So know where to get it from. And yes it's under the user's directory so I'll make sure to create the same username.

[kiwi]

Should work. The LR catalog is in 'My Pictures/Lightroom'.

You must ensure that you create the same user name on the new system! Reason: it part of the path - if you don't you may need to edit 'AgLibraryRootFolder' table in the LR catalog.

By the way - it annoys me that the catalogs live in My Pictures - do you know if you can change the directory that they are stored in ?

[Kym]

By the way - it annoys me that the catalogs live in My Pictures - do you know if you can change the directory that they are stored in ?

Yes! This workflow assumes you will use an external drive to share a catalog between machines.

http://www.photoshopsupport.com/lightroom/lightroom-2/lightroom-workflow.html

Download the PDF!
http://www.photoshopsupport.com/lightroom/lightroom-2/lightroom-workflow/lightroom-workflow.pdf

[kiwi]

Kym, you are a gem mate.

[kiwi]

(said in a blokey way of course)

[MrJorge]

Restored the data and it says all 3 of my catalogs are corrupt. The last back up of each seems to work ok. But now I gotta try and figure out what changed since the last backup of each :mad: :(

Can't be arsed now, too tired and upset. I don't think I'll ever get this fully sorted nor get around to looking at my Indy photos. :(

[mal from cessnock]

Hi board members

Can I save my lightroom 2.4 settings so the next time I re-format I can re-establish lightroom with all the "Smart Collections" I have built?

I have noticed a lightroom folder in "My Pictures" and have begun backing this folder up to D: - I reckon this may the blighter.

Now, assuming I'm right about this being the folder where the "Smart Collection" data is stored - can I just drag it back to this location after a re-format or does it need to be imported?

How do you do that? File/Auto Import perhaps.

Help is always appreciated. :)

[Kym]

Mod note: Merged threads.
See above

[mal from cessnock]

Kym

So, after future re-formats - all I have to do to restore LR with former organisation in tact is to bring the Lightroom Folder back into My Pictures and all will be the same as before the re-format?

Is this correct?

Thanx for the help and WorkFlow PDF :)

[Kym]

Kym

So, after future re-formats - all I have to do to restore LR with former organisation in tact is to bring the Lightroom Folder back into My Pictures and all will be the same as before the re-format?

Is this correct?

Thanx for the help and WorkFlow PDF :)

Yes!
No problems!

Edit: I actually restored to different drives once and edited the database to fix the references. Not recommended or supported - but doable.
LR uses SQLite as its database and their is a Firefox plugin to run SQLite manager.