**SOLVED!** Garbled technicolor images in LR after crash! HELP!

[rozzie]

Hi everyone:

Haven't posted in ages, but I've been on hiatus for a while and now just doing some final touches for a client. After processing nearly 500 raw images last night (and staying up way past my bedtime for it), I tried to export to jpeg as usual, and Lightroom just UP and FROZE on me... the dialog box looked completely messed up and my computer wouldn't respond to any mouse clicks or keyboard combos. After 15 or so minutes, it stayed the same so I had to force a reboot. After things came back up, I started LR again, and it automatically pulled up the set of files I was working on, but then I noticed about 10 of the images all botched up, in bright neon colors and all jagged and cross-hatched. I deleted them (cuz resetting wouldn't do anything) and re-imported them, re-edited them, and then selected the whole 500 or so batch again and tried to export to jpeg again. This time, the dialog box came up... I picked my usual settings and let it start and went to bed.

I woke up this morning and found it had finished, so I spot checked the jpegs. To my HORROR, every single one I checked was completely messed up like the other 10! Here's an example... I don't even know what to do! I always backup my database but maybe there's more to it that I never thought to do. I tried updating to 1.3.1 to see if that might help, but the images are still messed up. Do I have to delete and re-import and re-process 500 images? Or is there a possibility of recovering from this without having the headache of staying up all night again?

I should also add that all my previous photo jobs that I've checked are also jacked up in the same manner (what a nightmare)

Other possibly helpful info:

This happens while in the Library as well as Develop modes in LR... I also tried opening up that folder of raw files in Rawshooter Premium. The thumbnails looked all fine until I clicked on one... and then it would turn into the technicolor nightmare. I thought LR was all about just editing metadata, and not the actual file<?>



Thanks for ANY help... let me know if there is any info I can provide. I have the worst headache over this!



Rosalyn

[Bella]

I have no clue, other than call Adobe . . . and wishing you good luck.

-Cindy

[rozzie]

I have this bad feeling it's the external drive my projects sit on. =\

[AndrewCCM]

Originally Posted by rozzie

I have this bad feeling it's the external drive my projects sit on. =\

If you don't have a backup, I'd start drinking something other than water.

Just kidding. Those actually look like corrupted preview files. I think you could delete the previews and regenerate. Also, you may want to run the maintenance on the DB.

Good luck!

[rott]

Originally Posted by AndrewCCM

Those actually look like corrupted preview files.

I agree. Lightroom doesn't show you the originals in any view, and doesn't manipulate your RAW files, so I think you're fine. Just re-gen the previews.

[rozzie]

How would I go about regenerating previews in LR, or do the DB maintenance? The image looks like this even if I export it... and in Rawshooter or Adobe Bridge, they look all messed up like this. My original RAW files are definitely still safe (on an internal HDD, knock on wood).. I think it's just all the files imported onto my external drive (which is about 100GB worth) that are all botched now. They look fine before I click on their thumbnails, and then after the image finishes "Loading" it looks all wonky.

[darktiger]

I have had that happen to me twice, both ended up being the CF card that I was using. Funny thing is that I reformatted it through the computer and then in the camera, no problems since with one. And the other still produces it once in a while, glad I got rid of that 512MB CF card.

[rozzie]

OH.

MY.

GOODNESS.

I just figured it out!!!

So I had this feeling the issue was directly related to my external drive, and I was actually pretty close. I looked closely at the USB cable from the drive to the computer, and found that there was some gunk on one of the connectors. I swapped the cables and used a cleaner USB cable, and lo and behold.. all images on that drive now look normal!!!

I am just dumbfounded and relieved! I was dreading having to spend all day tomorrow redoing like 500 images! I was also crushed because I had tons of personal photos on there that looked all jacked up!

Thanks for everyone's help.. seriously!

[Bella]

Glad it was something so simple!!

-Cindy