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Restart my computer and all of my LR images cannot be found

Community Beginner ,
Oct 11, 2017 Oct 11, 2017

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Hey gang,

I work off of a hard drive 99% of the time and I've noticed everytime I turn off or restart my computer the images in my timeline are no longer recognized by LR.  This also happens in PP when I'm working on a project and am unable to get the footage back online.  What in the world is going on and how can I get these images and footage back in order to complete these projects.? I've noticed if I work off of a file on my computer this doesn't happen, but it's not a feasible solution for the amount of work I do in a week.  Any help is greatly appreciated!  TIA

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Guide ,
Oct 11, 2017 Oct 11, 2017

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What does this mean?  Do you work off an external hard drive or networked hard drive? 

What operating system are you using? Windows? Mac OS? 

In windows, when you restart your computer, an external hard drive may be assigned a different drive letter which would cause the problem you describe.

Ken Seals - Nikon Z 9, Z 8, 14mm-800mm. Computer Win 11 Pro, I7-8700K, 64GB, RTX3070TI. Travel machine: 2021 MacBook Pro M1 MAX 64GB. All Adobe apps.

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Community Beginner ,
Oct 12, 2017 Oct 12, 2017

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Yes, I work off of an external hard drive.

I'm on a Mac OS Sierra.  I've never heard of a computer assigning a different drive letter.  Where/how do I find that?  Thanks

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LEGEND ,
Oct 12, 2017 Oct 12, 2017

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dawnc56539779  wrote

Yes, I work off of an external hard drive.

I'm on a Mac OS Sierra.  I've never heard of a computer assigning a different drive letter.  Where/how do I find that?  Thanks

The new drive letter problem is a Windows problem, it doesn't happen on a Mac.

When you originally said that "the images in my timeline are no longer recognized by LR", exactly what do you see that indicates the images are not recognized. Describe in detail, or better yet, show us a screen capture.

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Community Beginner ,
Oct 12, 2017 Oct 12, 2017

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There‘s a grey bar at the top of every image that says, “The file could not be found“.

Typivally that would happen only if I moved the original file or switched external hard drives, but the current one I’m working on is showing up and I haven’t changed the file.

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LEGEND ,
Oct 12, 2017 Oct 12, 2017

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As I am not a Mac person, the only thing that I can think of is perhaps somehow this is related to the capitalization issue that we see on Mac folder names sometimes. Can you check the full path and file name to see if they operating system matches exactly the full path and file name that LR thinks the files are in, including checking to make sure the capitalization is not different on any letter?

Other than that, I don't really think I can help further as I am not a Mac person.

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Community Beginner ,
Oct 12, 2017 Oct 12, 2017

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I've not changed anything and am not sure how to actually check what you just said. 

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Community Expert ,
Oct 12, 2017 Oct 12, 2017

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It sounds like your external drive does not mount after you reboot your computer. If the external drive is offline (powered down, not plugged in, or not mounted) Lr is going to say the images are missing. Do you make sure the drive is mounted after a reboot, before you open Lightroom?

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Community Beginner ,
Oct 12, 2017 Oct 12, 2017

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Can you please explain "mount"?  It powers down and stays plugged in if I restart or turn off my computer.  It always shows up and is accessible after the restart, just the Adobe issues. 

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Community Expert ,
Oct 12, 2017 Oct 12, 2017

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If you see the drive after the restart, and you can open and access the files on it, then it is mounted. For some reason Lr doesn't see the drive though. This is usually an issue with the name of the drive. It happens more often on a Windows machine because the Windows OS assigns letters as names to drives. I haven't seen this problem on a Mac before.

What is the name of the hard drive?

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Community Beginner ,
Oct 12, 2017 Oct 12, 2017

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It’s a Seagate.  Yes, I can access all files from hard drive after restart.  This hasn’t always been the case with these hard drives  and I think it all started after one of the most recent CC updates but am not exactly sure when it started.

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LEGEND ,
Oct 12, 2017 Oct 12, 2017

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Do you see a top-level folder named / (forward slash symbol) below the external drive in LR's Folders panel.

If so this should help you fix the issue:

Lightroom: External hard drives not displayed in my Library any longer. | Photoshop Family Customer ...

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Community Beginner ,
Oct 12, 2017 Oct 12, 2017

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No, that's not what it looks like; however, while reading through the link you attached, and trying to figure it out, I was able to correct the problem.  I'm not sure what I did and know I need to grasp this in order to clean up the mess that is my folders.  I appreciate everyone's help and truly wish I could post what I did to fix it, but, again, I'm not sure. 

Where can I go to learn about this area of LR?  I've always imported my images by pulling them in from the hard drive, not importing within LR, so I've never spent much time figuring it out.

Thank you for all of your help!!

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Explorer ,
Oct 12, 2017 Oct 12, 2017

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Do you have more than one external HDD? Did you disconnect one of them, which resolved the issue? Please post a screenshot of your LR 'Folders' panel with the external HDD(s) connected as shown below, which will help determine what is causing the issue.

Folders panel.JPG

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Explorer ,
Oct 12, 2017 Oct 12, 2017

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dawnc56539779  wrote

Where can I go to learn about this area of LR?  I've always imported my images by pulling them in from the hard drive, not importing within LR, so I've never spent much time figuring it out.

The only way I know to import images into LR is using the Import module. Please explain in detail (lots of it!) exactly how you're getting your images on the external HDDs into LR. This may very well be the cause of the "missing" images on restart of LR.

How to transfer photos from a hard drive folder to Photoshop Lightroom

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Community Beginner ,
Oct 12, 2017 Oct 12, 2017

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I locate the images on my Seagate hard drive then drag the folder on top of the LR application on my desktop.  An import window pops up with the images and I select "Import." 

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Explorer ,
Oct 13, 2017 Oct 13, 2017

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dawnc56539779  wrote

I locate the images on my Seagate hard drive then drag the folder on top of the LR application on my desktop.  An import window pops up with the images and I select "Import."

You are importing the image files from inside LR (see below link). This shouldn't be causing the problem you're seeing, but obviously somethings wrong.

How to transfer photos from a hard drive folder to Photoshop Lightroom

What Import module settings are you using (Copy, Move, Add) and if Copy or Move what are your 'Destination panel settings? Also you haven't posted a screenshot of your LR 'Folders' panel showing the drive and its folders (see my reply #13). This will be helpful in determining what's causing the issue.

How to take a screenshot on your Mac - Apple Support

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Community Beginner ,
Oct 14, 2017 Oct 14, 2017

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Screen Shot 2017-10-14 at 9.12.33 AM.png

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Explorer ,
Oct 14, 2017 Oct 14, 2017

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The ? symbol on the below folders indicates the files or folders have been moved, renamed or deleted from outside LR using Finder or another application. Have you done that?

How to find missing photos in Photoshop Lightroom

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Community Beginner ,
Oct 16, 2017 Oct 16, 2017

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Yes, they are either on another hard drive or have been deleted from LR. 

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LEGEND ,
Oct 16, 2017 Oct 16, 2017

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dawnc56539779  wrote

Yes, they are either on another hard drive or have been deleted from LR. 

No, those folders are showing on the Seagate Drive. Also if they had been deleted from inside LR the folder would no longer be present.

The only suggestion I can give to prevent this from happening in the future is to do all file and folder renaming, moving and deletion from inside LR and not using Finder or Bridge. You may also want to start using the LR Import module to import your camera image files direct from the camera or memory card. Just a suggestion, which will keep things more LR centric. LR knows nothing about file and folder operations (rename, move, delete) that are performed using Finder, Bridge, and any other application. Performing those operations from outside LR can create a real mess as you've discovered.

Lightroom CC - Importing Images From a Camera - YouTube

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Community Beginner ,
Oct 16, 2017 Oct 16, 2017

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I was getting to that conclusion and imported my files today from within LR.  It appears I will have to adjust the way I've done things to keep this from happening again.  Now, can you explain to me why PP tells me my files are offline and cannot be recognized when I restart my computer?    I know it's not an import issue since it's done within PP.  Thanks!

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LEGEND ,
Oct 16, 2017 Oct 16, 2017

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I suggest posting the Premiere Pro issue on that forum as a separate post. Provide as much details as possible concerning the PP version and OS version you're using along along with how you're importing the files and saving the project in PP.

Premiere Pro CC

If you're using Premiere Elements post on this forum:

Premiere Elements

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Community Beginner ,
Oct 16, 2017 Oct 16, 2017

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Thank you!! 

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LEGEND ,
Oct 16, 2017 Oct 16, 2017

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Glad to help-Enjoy! Tip of the day: Hit the F1 key from inside any Adobe app for links to tutorials and help.

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