Reconnect does not recognize files

[PackerbaCKER]

I am frustrated! I had to move files from one computer to another & then to a new hard-drive. When I try to reconnect bunches of files I can find them & they match but the organizer says they are not correct because the previous location does not match the new location. I am beside myself because more than 100 files are affected. Does anyone have any ideas how to solve this? Thanks. JB - Packerbacker:mad: :confused: :(

[Benny Pedersen]

Maybe this ?

http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/forum/showpost.php?p=138610&postcount=5

[Norm F]

Jerry,

If you haven't spent a ton of time tagging these images you can always remove them from the Organizer and the re-import them from the new location. Shouldn't be too big a deal with 100 images.

[PackerbaCKER]

Maybe this ?

http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/forum/showpost.php?p=138610&postcount=5

Benny, thanks for your input. I tried both methods but no success. I can locate the original photos but because the location has changed, elements reconnect thinks they are different even tho the properties are the same. It is very frustrating to find the file & have reconnect tell me it is the wrong file & not connect the 2 images. Any other ideas? Thanks, Packerbacker

[PackerbaCKER]

With further investigation, it looks like over 200 out of over 2000 images are messed up. The frustration is that I can find the original images but because the location is not the same reconnect tells me they are not the same & will not reconnect the 2 images. Even the properties are the same. I have tried to import them but that doesn't seem to work either. Any other ideas? Thanks, Packerbacker

[Bama Gambler]

Stab in the dark here....

Move them to where PSE thinks they should be.

[Ward Grant]

Hello Packerbacker,

Can you clarify one thing for me:
Photos were on Unit 1 Drive 1
Photos are now on Unit 2 Drive 2

If you right click just one picture and try to reconnect, can you post the exact message that shows up?

The only other unusual thing would be is is possible that you have multiple copies of the same picture on your unit?

Are any of your photos off line on CDs?

[PackerbaCKER]

Ward, you are correct that the photos were on C drive on computer a & now they are on L Drive on computer b.

Here is the exact message for one of the photos that will
not connect. C:\Documents & Settings\Compaq Admin\My Docs\My Pictures\Adobe\Digital Camera Photos\Canyon De Chelly-1a\Canyon De Chelly009_edited-1.psd....was not connected to....L:\My pictures\Adobe\Digital Camera Photos\Canyon De Chelly-1a\Canyon De Chelly009_edited-1.psd

There are a couple of abbreviations in there but it is exactly what shows on the screen.

Second, yes I do have backups on cd but the frustration is that the files are already on the hard drive but elements will not recognize them & reconnect them. Some other images work just fine & are reconnected exactly the way they are supposed to. I also have some images that have the red torn film frame at the bottom of the image but when I click on them to make the thumbnail large within a couple of seconds the red film warning goes away & I can work on them just fine. It seems that something wierd is going on but I can't figure it out. Do you think I should uninstall PSE 3.0 & re-install or do you have some other ideas? I really appreciate your interest & help. Thanks, Jerry - the Packerbacker

[PackerbaCKER]

James, thanks for the reply but they were originally on another computer that has run out of space. That is the reason I moved them to begin with.

[Benny Pedersen]

Benny, thanks for your input. I tried both methods but no success. I can locate the original photos but because the location has changed, elements reconnect thinks they are different even tho the properties are the same. It is very frustrating to find the file & have reconnect tell me it is the wrong file & not connect the 2 images. Any other ideas? Thanks, Packerbacker

As you said: "I can locate the original photos"
Then I would suggest that you forget the previous connect/reconnect and instead just make a fresh start.
Im not using Organizer or anything else, only the PE4 pure Photo Editor...
A good solution maybe a little program file to restore everything back to the day that PE was installed - Such as deleting all/any Cache including the Adobe database...

[Ward Grant]

...Canyon De Chelly009_edited-1.psd....

There are a couple of abbreviations in there but it is exactly what shows on the screen.


Is this Version 3 by any chance? The edited-1 ending tells me this is a Version set? Did you Reveal the photos in a version set (under Edit) before trying a reconnect?

[PackerbaCKER]

Is this Version 3 by any chance? The edited-1 ending tells me this is a Version set? Did you Reveal the photos in a version set (under Edit) before trying a reconnect?

Walt, thanks for responding. Yes, this is PSE 3.0 & no I did not open the version sets. I performed "reconnect all" & I understand what you are saying but there are many more files that are not version sets that will not reconnect. I have also tried to reconnect individual files that are part of a version set but these individuals would not connect either. Would it help if I uninstalled PSE 3.0 & re-installed it onto the new drive where the files are stored? This is about the only option I can think of to remedy the problem. I sure wish Adobe would provide this kind of support for us. Even if it were only by e-mail, it could save us a lot of time & frustration. We all spend a lot of money on Adobe products & could use a little support from them. Thanks again, Jerry

[Barb O]

there are many more files that are not version sets that will not reconnect. I have also tried to reconnect individual files that are part of a version set but these individuals would not connect either. Would it help if I uninstalled PSE 3.0 & re-installed it onto the new drive where the files are stored?

I would suggest that we try to troubleshoot a photo file that is not part of a version set first because it should be simpler.

My conclusion is no for installing PSE 3 on the drive where the files are stored - leave it on the C drive.

Is there any common characteristic of the files that will not reconnect that you can identify? Were they all Imported to PSE at the same time or were they all scanned photos or are they all from a specific camera?

Pick one of the files that fails to reconnect even though you can find it (needs to be a jpg or tiff and not psd format), then using Windows Explorer, display the photo using Windows Picture and Fax viewer? Does it look OK?

[PackerbaCKER]

Barb, I attempted your idea of testing a jpeg file but it was not successful. Some of my jpegs are flagged with the red broken film strip at the bottom & when I click on them they link very quickly. The strange thing is that once I release them they go back to the red film strip. Some others need to be reconnected but I have the same problem with them as I do with my PSD & RAW files. I do have more RAW & PSD files that will not reconnect than any other type of file. I may have to go back & simply re-load some of these files from back-up discs. I just felt that Elements should be able to reconnect as intended but I guess there is some kind of glitch that it will not recognize certain words in a "location" regardless of whether the "actual file name & properties" are the "same". I think I will send a message to Adobe & see what kind of reaction I get. Any other suggestions you may have are welcome. Thanks, again. Jerry - Packerbacker

[Ward Grant]

I've re-read the threads and I am still puzzled.
The only standard question I see we have not asked is-Were you running anit-virus software when you installed the program on the new computer? This can sometimes cause strange problems.

If you did, I would suggest unplugging the computer from the network, remove the program, turn off the AV, reload the program and then reconnect to the network.

Sorry we could not come up with a better answer.

By the way, did you do a File>Catalog>Recover on this catalog? This will fix most problems.

[Barb O]

"some kind of glitch that it will not recognize certain words in a "location" regardless of whether the "actual file name & properties" are the "same".

You might have identified a problem here - I have seen situations posted where people had problems with Elements incorrectly processing certain special characters in names but unfortuantely I don't know the specifics of the problematic characters.

But first, let's clarify this point -
" I attempted your idea of testing a jpeg file but it was not successful"

Do you mean that you could not display this specific jpeg file using the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer from Windows Explorer ? - that would make me suspect a problem with the actual photo file.

[PackerbaCKER]

Hi Walt,
I did not have the AV program running when I installed PSE 3.0. In fact it has been running for several months on the same computer. I needed room on the laptop so I moved those files to the desktop which is where I do most of my editing. The files I am having a problem with are the ones I moved from the laptop to the desktop.

I will attempt to use the reconnect operation backwards if I can. The help file says I can try that. Otherwise I am going to uninstall Elements & re-install it on the same drive where the files are & see if that helps. Wish me luck & I will report back when I'm done with these tricks.

P.S. I did try the catalog recover but to no avail. Too bad.

[Barb O]

let's clarify this point -
" I attempted your idea of testing a jpeg file but it was not successful"

Do you mean that you could not display this specific jpeg file using the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer from Windows Explorer ? - that would make me suspect a problem with the actual photo file.

Jerry,
I am not finding your response to the above question. It really could make a difference in determining what the problem is.

[PackerbaCKER]

Barb,
I found a jpeg that would not connect but I have it's original file on my second hard-drive where virtually all of the photo files are. The file that need s to be connected does not display properly in Windows picture viewer but the original file looks fine. Both files alalso have the exact same file name, ie, "Ft Hills Rainbow+Unsh". Their locations have changed but they were in teh same file, "Scanned Photos" on 2 different hard-drives, "c" & "L" (with "L" being the current drive.

[Barb O]

1- "The file that need s to be connected does not display properly in Windows picture viewer"

Since this is a jpeg file, I would expect the fact that it will not display in Windows Picture Viewer to indicate some problem with that file. As another test, what happens if you go to the PSE Editor workspace and do a File > Open on this jpeg file on the L drive directly from the Editor Workspace?

2- I noticed the plus sign in the file name. Is there any pattern that all the files with a plus sign in the file name have these reconnect problems?

[PackerbaCKER]

Hi Barb,
The file that does not display right is the one that shows in the organizer with the broken red file sign which indicates that it is the thumbnail that is not connected to it's original image. When I go to Editor I can pull the original file off the "L" drive & that image displays correctly.

I use a plus sign in my file names to indicate that I have "added" an adjustment that does not have a layer, ie, Shadows & Highlights becomes "+S&H" or "+Unsh" for Unsharp Mask, to remind me that I have already made that adjustment on this particular file. This way I don't re-sharpen an image that has already been done.

I have noticed that a number of the files causing problems are duplicate images so I am going to delete them from the catalog. I am also going to reload some of the "damaged" files from the backup CD & see if that corrects that part of the problem. I will post a follow-up when I'm done. Thanks for your suggestions. Jerry, Packerbacker

[Barb O]

It is good to know that you are able to display the photo from the Editor. That was a misunderstanding as I thought you could not display the full photo by any means.

I understand why you are using the + signs in the file name. I have done similar names using an underscore as a separator. It was only because I recollected that there have been times that the Organizer had problems with some special characters in file names that I asked. But if some of your file names that have + signs will reconnect that is probably not the source of the problem.

Anyway your current plan sounds good - hope it resolves these problems.

[Karin Sue]

I also have some images that have the red torn film frame at the bottom of the image but when I click on them to make the thumbnail large within a couple of seconds the red film warning goes away & I can work on them just fine. It seems that something wierd is going on but I can't figure it out.

Sometimes the little disconnected symbol hangs on even after the image has been reconnected. Rebuilding the thumbnails of the affected images should fix that. (right clicking on a thumbnail should give you the rebuild option)

[troush]

Do you have MS Access? Or know someone who does? Some people have used Access when they've moved their files like this and, as long as the directory structures are the same, replacing D: with L: should work.... The catalog is just an MS Access database.

-Trish

[PackerbaCKER]

I can't seem to find a "rebuild" option. Can you be a little more specific? I don't see it when I right click the thumbnail. Thanks.

[PackerbaCKER]

I found the command "Update thumbnail" & that is working miracles. I can even use the "ctrl" key to collect multuple images & do them all at once. And it worked wonders. I have decided that whatever is left after this I will simply delete but not check the box to "delete from hard-drive" so I can locate the original and use the organizer to "Get photos - from files or folders" & reload it if there is no duplicate already in the organizer. If there is I am home free anyway. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

If I can ever repay the favor let me knowwhat I can do to help. Jerry - the Packerbacker

[Ward Grant]

Glad you are getting on track and getting the problem solved.

Karin Sue-good call on the thumbnail rebuilds. Thanks for adding to the discussion.