Can't unlock Lightroom catalog

[joelcandids]

My catalog is locked.  I have tried the remedy (moving the lock file to the trash) and it hasn't worked.  I can see the lock file and the wallet but I cannot move them to the trash.  When I reopen the catalog, it says, "the file cannot be found."

Suggestions?

thanks,

Joel williams

[DdeGannes]

You need to be specific about what you are doing. What OS are you using Win or Mac and version number. Also the version of Lightroom are you using the latest version is Lightroom Classic CC 7.5.

" I can see the lock file and the wallet but I cannot move them to the trash."

What wallet are you referring to??

Hint "Lightroom creates a temporary file with the same name as the Catalog file with an additional extension .lock. This file prevents the Catalog file from being accessed by any other user and will be discarded when Lightroom is shut down. If Lightroom is shut down abnormally e.g loss of power the .lock file will remain in place, so with Lightroom closed go the folder that contains your catalog and if there is a .lock file present delete it and do not interfere with any other files in the folder."

Then you can attempt to launch Lightroom and see if it opens.

[joelcandids]

Thank, you.

I'm running the most current version of Mac OS and the most current version of Lightroom CC Classic.

I found what you recommended on the web and tried it.  I have tried to delete the file and cannot.  I have tried dragging it to Trash and cannot.  Trash will not accept the file and I get a "thunk" tone when I try to manually delete it.

If you have other thoughts, I would appreciate it.

Regards,

Joel

[dj_paige]

Show us a screen capture of what you see when you find this .lock file.

[joelcandids]

[joelcandids]

Let me know you got the screen shot.  Got an error message but it looks like it went through.

Again, thanks for the help.

[JohanElzenga]

That screenshot doesn't say much. It only shows the result of a search, so it shows that these files exist. It doesn't tell us where these files are (they may be in a place that is usually off limits to Lightroom), and it doesn't show us that (or why) you would not be able to trash the 'Main 2017-2.lrcat.lock' file. Was Lightroom running while you took this? You can only trash the .lock file if it still exists after Lightroom has quit (Lightroom should delete it when it quits).

By the way, what does 'My catalog is locked' mean anyway? Do you get an error message when you try to open this catalog? If so, what does that message say? "The file cannot be found' is not an error message for a locked catalog.

[joelcandids]

This is a screen shot of the workspace you see the message displayed.  Let me know if that helps and thanks.

[JohanElzenga · Accepted solution]

That has nothing to do with a locked catalog, or any other problem with the catalog for that matter. You see this error because the selected image is missing. All the other images in the film strip are also missing, so it’s probably the whole folder. https://www.lightroomqueen.com/lightroom-photos-missing-fix/

[joelcandids]

That explains it.  Thanks for the effort. I will have to solve the mystery of the missing folder.

Regards, and enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Joel Willias