Lightroom Classic CC Backup Catalog Corrupted

[henryw17781443]

This problem is noticed by me recently, and I find that all the backup catalogs created by Lightroom Classic CC (“Lightroom”) after 14 January 2018 was corrupted (as Lightroom said). The most recent backup catalog which I can use is the one created on 14 January 2018.

However, Lightroom is working normally and seems no problem at all. I can edit photos as usual. I have set Lightroom to back up the catalog every time when I quit Lightroom, and it seems everything alright. However, when I try to use the backup catalog, it fails. Lightroom said they are corrupted. I don't know why.

Last night, I have done an experiment. I backed up my catalog as usual when I quitted Lightroom. Immediately after I quitted Lightroom, I unzipped the backup catalog and copied the catalog to the default folder which Lightroom uses. I reran Lightroom and Lightroom said my catalog is corrupted. This copy was just created by Lightroom when I quitted Lightroom last time. I then removed the backup catalog and putted back the current catalog in default folder. Lightroom just works fine. It seems that Lightroom does not correctly back up the catalog. Very strange!

Is there any method to solve the above problem?  Please help.

[Michael J. Hoffman]

Can you try opening up the unzipped catalog in its original location?

If you're moving the unzipped backup into the default location, where there could be .lock and .journal files, that could be causing the corruption. Try opening in place in your backup location by just double clicking, or by going in Lightroom to File > Open Catalog and browsing to the backup location.

Mike

[henryw17781443]

Thanks for your advice.  Mike.

I followed your instructions last night.  It's really a nightmare.  The program was even crashed and I needed to reinstall the software before I can use it.  The message shown when I tried to run the software is "assertion failed".

For your information, I noticed that the size of my current catalog is different from the backup one.  I suppose they are to be the same size.  It appears to me that the only way I can do at the moment is to back up the catalog manually by using window explorer.

Thanks again for your advice.

[Tensas]

Hi Henry

I have the exact same problem and find that ALL of my backups are corrupt. I have tried Mikes suggestions but no luck.

I highly recommend checking back up integrity every time and not relying on any zipped backups. I have checked every zipped back up file for 2 months and have not found a single one which was not corrupt.

Copy your unzipped catalog to a separate drive and make a duplicate of that drive if you really can't afford to lose your work.

D

[Just Shoot Me]

Have you unzipped them. LR can't open a zipped up catalog. You first need to expand them for the zip file.

[Tensas]

Yes, I always unzip the backup. Lightroom starts to open the catalog and then tells me the catalog is corrupt.

There are a lot of people who think they have a secure backup but in truth have none. Adobe needs to get this issue resolved

I have always tested my backups for numerous programs for 40 years. The only real way to know you have a secure backup is to test it as soon as you make it.

D

[dj_paige]

Tensas  wrote

I have always tested my backups for numerous programs for 40 years. The only real way to know you have a secure backup is to test it as soon as you make it.

D

Even that doesn't give you complete assurance that the backup will work in the future, if the hard disk that the backup is stored on starts to malfunction. Storing backups in multiple locations (hard disk locally and in the cloud) gives you more protection.

[elie_dinur]

Tensas  wrote

Yes, I always unzip the backup. Lightroom starts to open the catalog and then tells me the catalog is corrupt.

There are a lot of people who think they have a secure backup but in truth have none. Adobe needs to get this issue resolved

I have always tested my backups for numerous programs for 40 years. The only real way to know you have a secure backup is to test it as soon as you make it.

D

You are right. And like a jerk, despite always copying catalog backups to several different locations, I never actually tested them until after reading this thread. I can confirm that I also have this problem (LR Classic 7.1, Windows 10).

[henryw17781443]

Yes, I do.

[henryw17781443]

Hi! Tensas,

Thanks for your advice.  I do the same as your suggestion to back up my Lightroom catalog now.  In long run, I think Lightroom should have an utility to check the integrity of the backup catalog.

Regards

Henry

[cfransw]

Same problem here. Windows 10, LR Classic 7.1

No way to make it work. Assertion failed message.

[Tensas]

Yup

If you haven't tested your backups, then you are risking losing all of your work in that catalog.

5 copies of a corrupt catalog backup is still a corrupt backup.

D

[Just Shoot Me]

IMHO if you are having a problem with extracting and using backed up catalog files and your main working catalog file is corrupted you have a Computer Problem. It is not LR.

I've been using LR since 2007 on at least 5 different computers and have never had a catalog become corrupted. I just tested my latest backup, made 2/5/2018, and it opens fine. But then my main catalog, which has been upgraded with almost every version of LR since V1, opens and works fine also.

If you have problems with corrupted files it is a Hardware problem.

Start by checking all your hardware.

[Tensas]

Same problem on three different computers. Not a hardware issue.

[johnshore]

I am having exactly the same problem.   I never had it before Classic CC - i.e., until I upgraded to Classic, I have never had a corrupted catalog - we're talking many, many, years and many, many, LR versions .  

My compressed backups have likewise been OK till Classic CC - i.e., when i've needed to recover from a backup, I've just unzipped the backup, put it in the right place, and ran it.  No problems.   But after Classic CC, I encountered a corrupted catalog a couple of times, but was able to fix it via various recommended methods.   But I'm now facing a disaster.   My current catalog became corrupted, and every backup i've tried (including a backup stored on dropbox that wasn't compressed) is also corrupted (or at least LR thinks it is).  

That several users are seeing the same thing makes it very unlikely it's because of a hardware problem. 

I've been diligent - backing up via LR frequently, always assuming (based on pre-Classic experience) that the backups were reliable.  If in fact they're not, it's pretty much a disaster.   Yes, I have all the photos so could build a new catalog via import, but that would likely cost me days, given how slow the current Classic import is), and obviously I would lose editing histories, collections, published collections, etc. 

This is huge.   Would someone from Adobe please try to help! 

Thanks.

js

[henryw17781443]

Hi! Johnshore,

I did a research on internet on how to recover a corrupted Lightroom backup catalog.  It seems that Lightroom catalog is using Sqlite3's database structure.  You can try this software to recover the corrupted catalog.  However, I failed, but I can now use Sqlite to check the integrity of Lightroom catalog.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Henry

[cfransw]

My main catalog has no problem at all !

I do a backup all the time and that works fine.

But it is now ,after reading here, I tried to use the (unzipped) backup !

And i get the  "assertion failed " message whatever I try.

It's just the backups I can't use !

Frans

[johnshore]

Thanks for responding, cfransw.   Better hope your main catalog stays uncorrupted until Adobe helps us figure this out!  

I do suggest you copy your main catalog to a safe place (without using LR backup).  

You might also want to optimize your main catalog, but I wouldn't do that until after you copy it, on the off chance it's optimize that can screw things up. 

Adobe?

[johnshore]

And I've just confirmed that it's not a hardware problem.   The same thing happens on my laptop. 

js

[henryw17781443]

Hi! Frans,

If you have such situation, I would suggest you to do the backup manually.

Regards

Henry

[henryw17781443]

Hi! ACP,

I have already done an experiment. I backed up my catalog as usual when I quitted Lightroom. Immediately after I quitted Lightroom, I unzipped the backup catalog and copied the catalog to the default folder which Lightroom uses. I reran Lightroom and Lightroom said my catalog is corrupted. This copy was just created by Lightroom when I quitted Lightroom a few minutes before and the current catalog is working fine.

I then removed the backup catalog and putted back the current catalog in default folder. Lightroom just works fine. It seems that Lightroom does not correctly back up the catalog. Very strange!

[Just Shoot Me]

Try some other ZIP, unzipping, software. Like 7Zip.

[henryw17781443]

Yes, I tried 7Zip.  The result is the same.

[johnshore]

Some more info....

My results are not 100% consistent, but I think that - when LR quits after it discovers a catalog is corrupted - it stores the catalog name somewhere.   If I try to reopen the catalog, I get an error message saying the catalog is corrupted.  But, usually (not always), if I replace the catalog with a saved copy and change its name, LR opens the catalog OK - if I try to do a lot with it, LR hits something it can't read and again declares the catalog corrupt. 

So I've been able to construct a usuble catalog by opening  known-corrupt catalogs and exporting crucial folders as new catalogs, then combining these with a very-old catalog that appears not to have been corrupted.   Then I'm trying to fill in the gaps by re-importing files or reading current metadata.   This all takes a lot of time.  

Of course, I'm making a (manual) copy of the new catalog every hour or so during reconstruction. 

So it looks like I don't have a complete disaster.   But I've definitely lost a substantial amount of work, and I'm nervous because LR lcat files have gone from rock solid to seemingly fragile - catalogs I'm pretty sure are clean occasionally become (or are discovered to be) corrupted.  It's like walking on eggshells - always nervous about something cracking.  

I don't understand why Adobe can't provide it, but it's really too bad you can't completely regenerate a catalog by exporting everything and importing to a new, clean catalog.   That works, of course, for the image folders, but I don't know of any reasonably easy way to export/import collections and published collections.  You can export a collection as a folder and import it to the new catalog, but this is very laborious if you use collections extensively.   But I don't think LR facilitates moving published collections from one catalog to another (you can treat them as regular collections, but no publishing info is carried over).  

js

[johnshore]

I believe I just figured out what's been happening to me, and it's a shocker.  

Basically, if you tick "test integrity before backing up" in the LR exit dialog, you're never informed if the integrity test fails.  For details, see You may not know your Classic CC catalog is corrupt!!  I figured that a new thread would be best. 

thanks

js