Problems with Importing Photos

[Steven W Wylie]

I’m a long-time Lightroom user and no novice. My practice has been to import photos directly via Lightroom using a USB card reader, importing to a folder on my iMac and simultaneously making a backup copy to a specific folder on an external hard drive. This procedure has worked flawlessly for years, whether importing from compact flash or SD cards (Canon and Fuji). About a month ago, this process failed. A small number of photos would import, then the system would basically lock up and not proceed with either the import or the creation of the backup copy. It affected my entire system, requiring me to physically power down my iMac. This has happened several times since ( consistently). I took my iMac to tha Apple Store, where no issues were found. I spent two and a half hours on the phone with Adobe support to figure out what’s going on, with no results. I’m certain it’s a Lightroom software issue, as I can import photos via the same card reader and make backups to the external drive using the Finder. I can then Add the photos to my Lightroom catalog.  In all other respects, Lightroom works normally. This problem began while using version 7.2. Upgrading to the current version did not resolve the issue. Two questions: has anyone else experienced this, and does anyone on the Lightroom team have an explanation?

[dj_paige]

... then the system would basically lock up

Your entire computer crashed? Not just Lightroom, but the entire computer?

The only known causes of computer crashing is either a hardware malfunction somewhere, or a bad/out of date driver or bad/out of date bios. Lightroom, in the absence of a hardware malfunction/driver problem/bios problem cannot cause your computer to crash.

If it happens consistently at import, then one likely cause is your CPU is overheating, and you need to investigate to be sure that all fans and your cooling system in your computer are functioning properly.

[Steven W Wylie]

The computer did not crash.  It locked up. Could not restart or shut down via the Apple symbol.

[dj_paige]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Steven+W+Wylie  wrote

The computer did not crash.  It locked up. Could not restart or shut down via the Apple symbol.

Just different words. Same cause.

[Just Shoot Me]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Steven+W+Wylie  wrote

The computer did not crash.  It locked up. Could not restart or shut down via the Apple symbol.

So what you are really saying is your computer Crashed but continues to displayed the same image on the screen as at the time of the crash.

As above same cause, Different Words.

[Steven W Wylie]

A few hours ago I was able to import photos from a different SD card in a different camera with no problems. Backup copies to the external drive also was successful.  Now I’m wondering if the problem is/was with the SD card from my camera.  The card itself properly recorded and saved images. I could transfer files from it to the desktop outside of Lightroom with no issues.  But importing directly from the card using Lightroom to manage the import process was where the problem occurred.

[Ian Lyons]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Steven+W+Wylie  wrote

A few hours ago I was able to import photos from a different SD card in a different camera with no problems. Backup copies to the external drive also was successful.  Now I’m wondering if the problem is/was with the SD card from my camera.

It's possible that the issue is the SD card. However, as a sanity check you should try importing from the same card but this time access it via the 'Files' rather than 'Device' (see below screenshot). The two import options actually route the files through completely different paths, and it might be that one is more sensitive to a card issue than the other.