Help, I lost 5,000 photos in lightroom.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

11/03/2007 09:49:02 PM · #1

I was trying to delete a few RAW photos in lightroom today and I think somehow I saved the few photos I wanted to delete and deleted the photos I wanted to save. I can see the photos that were deleted they just have a question mark next to them meaning the original can't be found. Is it time to kiss these photos goodby or can I get atleast the jpegs out of the lightroom? Thanks in advance.

violinist123

Canon EOS-6D

11/03/2007 10:07:22 PM · #2

Look in your recycle bin. Lightroom will only remove photos from itself, or 'delete' them from disk by sending them to recycle bin. It will not do a non-recoverable delete on its own in any case.

geoffb

11/03/2007 10:07:48 PM · #3

Originally posted by Snake:

How did you delete the files? It sounds like rather than deleting them in Lightroom, you navigated to the folder(s) they were in and deleted them manually (i.e. in the OS).

If so, are they still in the Recycling Bin/Trash?

cpanaioti

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM

11/03/2007 10:14:20 PM · #4

Are they just missing from the catalogue or are they not on the hard drive either?

In Lightroom when you delete, the default is to just delete them from the catalogue.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

11/03/2007 10:15:03 PM · #5

Well the only thing I could figure out on how it happened was that I hit "controll all" without realizing it and held controll down while selecting thre photos I ment to delete, but in reality I was unselecting them instead of selecting them. then when I hit delete it actually deleted the oposite ones. I did hit delete and not remove. I was able to recove 3 gigs of photos from my recycle bin but I am still missing about 5000 photos I cant find.

violinist123

Canon EOS-6D

11/03/2007 10:17:01 PM · #6

Sounds like you hit your size limit on the recycle bin so it started overwriting as new files kept pouring in. Look into data recovery tools to get the rest back.

Message edited by author 2007-11-03 22:17:34.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

11/03/2007 10:21:34 PM · #7

They are in the catalogue but they are definately missing from the harddrive. In lightroom when you remove them they remove them from the calalogue not from the hard drive, but when you delete them it actually deletes them from the hard drive. I guess the main thing I need to know is there a way to recover a photo from the catalogue image.

Originally posted by cpanaioti:

Are they just missing from the catalogue or are they not on the hard drive either?

In Lightroom when you delete, the default is to just delete them from the catalogue.

violinist123

Canon EOS-6D

11/03/2007 10:22:46 PM · #8

No.

cdrice

Nikon D7000

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED

11/03/2007 10:35:49 PM · #9

Originally posted by Snake:

They are in the catalogue but they are definately missing from the harddrive. [ . . . ] I guess the main thing I need to know is there a way to recover a photo from the catalogue image.

I think it's been covered here pretty much, but just to be explicit:

The LR catalog contains the LR database of your metadata, develop settings, etc (basically, anything you "change" about a photo)... along with a pointer to where the original file exists.

The original files are, obviously, just that -- your original files. LR can see them and uses them to generate preview images, etc. -- but for the most part, they are "read only" to LR (yes, there are certain times this isn't true for "non-RAW" files, but let's defer that for the moment).

If you move around the location of your original files, LR will see them as missing, but you can always tell LR the "new place" to look, and it will re-associate all it's catalog data with the new location of your original files.

However, if you clobber the original files (as it sounds like what has happened here), there's nothing in LR to help you rebuild them. All LR knows is where the files were, and what changes you made to them. There is no way to go back an re-create the originals from the metadata LR keeps in it's catalog.

The best you're going to get would be any 1:1 previews you have left over. Did have you LR build 1:1's when they were imported? What expiration time did you have set for your previews? I'd go to your catalog settings right away and turn up that expiration time (even to "never" so it doesn't discard anything you might still have).

Not to add insult to injury but, the obvious question I guess is......... no backups? (sheepish shrug)

Message edited by author 2007-11-03 22:39:27.

11/03/2007 10:43:50 PM · #10

how do I find the 1:1 previews if they are there?

Originally posted by cdrice:

Originally posted by Snake:
They are in the catalogue but they are definately missing from the harddrive. [ . . . ] I guess the main thing I need to know is there a way to recover a photo from the catalogue image.

I think it's been covered here pretty much, but just to be explicit:

The LR catalog contains the LR database of your metadata, develop settings, etc (basically, anything you "change" about a photo)... along with a pointer to where the original file exists.

The original files are, obviously, just that -- your original files. LR can see them and uses them to generate preview images, etc. -- but for the most part, they are "read only" to LR (yes, there are certain times this isn't true for "non-RAW" files, but let's defer that for the moment).

If you move around the location of your original files, LR will see them as missing, but you can always tell LR the "new place" to look, and it will re-associate all it's catalog data with the new location of your original files.

However, if you clobber the original files (as it sounds like what has happened here), there's nothing in LR to help you rebuild them. All LR knows is where the files were, and what changes you made to them. There is no way to go back an re-create the originals from the metadata LR keeps in it's catalog.

The best you're going to get would be any 1:1 previews you have left over. Did have you LR build 1:1's when they were imported? What expiration time did you have set for your previews? I'd go to your catalog settings right away and turn up that expiration time (even to "never" so it doesn't discard anything you might still have).

Not to add insult to injury but, the obvious question I guess is......... no backups? (sheepish shrug)

geoffb

11/03/2007 10:45:18 PM · #11

Originally posted by Snake:

how do I find the 1:1 previews if they are there?

When you click on a thumbnail of an image in Lightroom and hit "E", does it show a high-res image?

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED

11/03/2007 10:47:57 PM · #12

Yes it does.

Originally posted by geoffb:

Originally posted by Snake:
how do I find the 1:1 previews if they are there?

When you click on a thumbnail of an image in Lightroom and hit "E", does it show a high-res image?

cdrice

Nikon D7000

11/03/2007 11:07:27 PM · #13

Originally posted by Snake:

how do I find the 1:1 previews if they are there?

I'm still working on this -- perhaps geoffb has something cool up his sleeve from loupe view mode there...

The problem is that the actual preview files are stored in (guess what?) a proprietary format that it appears only LR can read. I don't know if there is any clean way to munge the files and convert them outside of LR.

You can't directly "export" the files... You can draft print (Print module, select "draft mode") which will generate the print image from the previews -- they'll be some creative settings you'll want to apply to get the highest quality, etc.

I'm still poking around and doing some research -- and I'm reproducing this in a test catalog of my own... Hopefully, Geoff or I will have something more for you here tonight!

Update -- It looks like the draft print mode is going to be the only trick that seems to work. I can't believe there is no way to read or convert those preview files, but I haven't found one if there is... Maybe somebody else will have some insight there.

Anyway, do you have any print spoolers installed to allow you to print to JPG? The basic solution (if you can call it that) is going to be to install a spooler if you don't already have one to allow you to print to JPEG, then print each photo in draft mode (which will print from the preview still in your catalog).

If you have a mac, I've found dozens of freebie "print to JPG" spoolers... Nothing free I've come across yet for PC, but lots of commercial options.

Still looking. I'll be out for a couple of hours tonight, but I'll check back in when I get home later and see if anyone has come up with anything better and/or keep researching this...

I think in the worst case, though, you're going to be able to recover at least the highest resolution previews you have left.

Please be SURE to change your preview expiration time to "Never" (File -> Catalog Settings -> File Handling) -- that way you'll at least be able to keep the previews you have until you can finish printing them.

Message edited by author 2007-11-03 23:28:26.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED

11/03/2007 11:22:46 PM · #14

Thanks everyone but I found a way to recover my files I downloaded a trial of file scavenger and it located the files for me all I did was typed the address of the files which was a batch file because they all had the same address into the address bar and it opened them up. The address to the deleted files looked like this F:\$RECYCLE.BIN\S-1-4-21-\3839950383-1279879290-4283345075-100 I guess this is the address to the files after they were deleted. this address opens a folder and I was able to right click and then hit a recover button.

geoffb

11/03/2007 11:27:06 PM · #15

Originally posted by Snake:

Thanks everyone but I found a way to recover my files

Congratulations! Might I suggest picking up an external hard drive?

cdrice

Nikon D7000

11/03/2007 11:31:33 PM · #16

Originally posted by Snake:

Thanks everyone but I found a way to recover my files I downloaded a trial of file scavenger and it located the files for me

Ah. Or, you could do that. :P

Well, that was fun while it lasted.

Umm, making backups are guuuud, ummmmmkaaaaaay? :D