Photoshop® Lightroom® 2 for Dummies®

Chapter 15. Ten Common Lightroom Problems and Their Solutions

In This Chapter

• Troubleshooting Lightroom

• Restoring from a backup

• Uninstalling and reinstalling Lightroom

• Fixing a black or blank slideshow

• Figuring out why a slideshow isn't finishing

• Vanishing buttons and missing photos

• Knowing what to expect with preview display

• Improving performance

Everyone has off days, and computers do too. Even worse is when those days coincide! A time may come when you're working along, and Lightroom behaves in an unexpected manner. This isn't cause for panic (that comes much later); it just means you have a problem to solve. Luckily, a number of resources and people can help.

Between my work on the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) Help Desk and my time spent on various Lightroom-centric forums, I've found that if one person's had a particular problem, someone else has probably already gone through the same thing — a completely unique problem is rare. Sometimes problems are a result of user error, some are a result of a conflict with other applications on your system, and some are the result of limitations in the application.

Here are some of the most-frequently reported issues I've encountered (and their solutions) to hopefully save you a few gray hairs and lost hours. I've also included some guidelines on how to be your own Help Desk!

Lightroom Troubleshooting 101

The essential goal ...