Is Lightroom not launching on your Windows PC? Or, does Lightroom keep closing or crashing immediately as you start the app? Adobe Lightroom is a professional image organization and image processing software created by Adobe Inc. It is a popular photo editing app on Windows used by a lot of graphics designers. But, some users have reported that the app just won’t open on their computers.
Many users have complained that the app keeps on crashing midway or instantly. A few users also reported that the Lightroom app is not launching after updating it from the Creative Cloud desktop application. Now, if any of these is happening to you, we got you covered. In this post, you can find all the workarounds and fixes that will help you open and run the Lightroom app on Windows correctly. But, before that, let us find out the reasons that cause these issues.
Why does Lightroom keep not responding?
A lot of factors are responsible for Lightroom not working or responding, or crashing on Windows. One of the primary reasons is the fact that your computer doesn’t meet the minimum system requirements to use the Lightroom app. Besides that, the corrupted preferences, presets, catalogs, fonts, and other data in Lightroom can also cause it to crash or stop responding randomly.
In case you have enabled the use of GPU in Lightroom preferences, it can also cause your app to crash suddenly. Another reason for the same is corrupted app installation. Now, in any case, this post is all you are looking for. Here, we will show you different methods using which you can stop Lightroom from crashing and improve its performance.
How do I fix Lightroom crash?
If the Lightroom app keeps crashing on your Windows PC, ensure that your PC meets the least system requirements to run Lightroom. Besides that, you can restore original Lightroom preferences, clear presets, rename SLCache and SLStore folders, disable the use of GPU, or generate a new catalog to prevent Lightroom from crashing. If none of these fixes help, you can uninstall the app and then reinstall a clean and fresh copy of it on your system.
Lightroom doesn’t launch or closes automatically after Splash screen
Here are the solutions you can use if Adobe Lightroom is not opening or keeps on crashing on your Windows PC:
- Make sure Windows and graphics drivers are up-to-date.
- Sign out and then sign back into the Creative Cloud desktop app.
- Rename SLCache and SLStore folders.
- Make sure Lightroom is up-to-date.
- Disable GPU.
- Reset your preferences.
- Create a new catalog.
- Check for corrupted presets or fonts.
- Uninstall and reinstall Lightroom.
- Upgrade your hardware.
1] Make sure Windows and graphics drivers are up-to-date
The first thing you should check is whether your OS and graphics drivers are up-to-date. If not, install pending Windows updates and update your GPU drivers right away. Once done, check if the problem is fixed.
2] Sign out and then sign back into the Creative Cloud desktop app
If your Lightroom app doesn’t launch or keeps closing immediately after the splash screen, signing out of the Creative Cloud desktop app is recommended. To do that, click on your profile name and choose the Sign Out option. Once done, restart the Creative Cloud app and login back into your account. After that, try opening Lightroom and check if it launches and works correctly.
This fix has been reported on the official support forum of Adobe. So, you can try it and see if it helps.
3] Rename SLCache and SLStore folders
Another thing you can do to fix the issue is to rename the SLCache and SLStore folders in the Adobe installation directory. Corrupted files inside these folders might be causing the issue. Hence, renaming will reset these folders and you are likely to fix the problem. Here are the steps you can follow to do that:
- First, open File Explorer using the WIn+E hotkey and then navigate to the below location:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe
- After that, look for the SLCache folder and rename it to something else like SLCacheold.
- Now, go to the below location in File Explorer:
C:\ProgramData\Adobe
- Next, you will see a folder named SLStore; rename this folder to SLStoreold or likewise.
- Once done, try launching Lightroom and check if it works properly or not.
If this method doesn’t help you and Lightroom still keeps crashing, we got some more solutions that will surely fix the problem. So, move on to the next fix.
4] Make sure Lightroom is up-to-date
The Lightroom app might be crashing your PC due to the fact that it is outdated. Hence, if the scenario is applicable, update the app to its latest version and then see if the problem is fixed.
If you manage to open the Lightroom app, quickly go to its Help menu and choose the Updates option. Let the app download and install the pending updates, and then relaunch the app to check if it has stopped crashing.
In case you can’t open the main interface of Lightroom, consider uninstalling the app and then downloading and installing the latest version of it. Check if that helps you.
Read: Adobe Acrobat Reader DC has stopped working in Windows.
5] Disable GPU
Lightroom allows you to enable the use of GPU to fasten image editing. It helps you take advantage of a powerful GPU. However, it can also overwhelm your resources and cause the app to crash randomly. Hence, if the scenario applies, you can disable GPU in Lightroom’s preferences to stop it from crashing.
Here’s how:
- First, open the Lightroom app and go to the Edit menu.
- Now, click on the Preferences option and move to the Performance section.
- Next, uncheck the box linked with the Use Graphics Processor option.
- Finally, press the OK button to save changes.
You can now check if the Lightroom app has stopped closing or crashing suddenly or not.
Read: Premiere Pro crashing or stops working on Windows.
6] Reset your preferences
Corrupted preferences in Lightroom could be one of the causes of why it crashes randomly. However, in that case, you can reset your preferences to their default to fix the issue. Now, there are two methods to reset Lightroom’s preferences on Windows PC. Here are those methods:
A] Use hotkeys:
First, close the Lightroom Classic app and then press and hold the Shift + Alt key combination. While holding these keys, start Lightroom. You will then be prompted with Reset Lightroom Classic Preferences dialog. Choose the Yes button and then launch Lightroom. Check if the problem is resolved now.
B] Delete the preferences files manually:
You can also delete the preferences files from the AppData folder on your system. To do that, open the Run dialog box using Win+R and then enter %appdata% in it. In the appeared location, move to the Adobe > Lightroom > Preferences folder. \
Now, copy and paste the file named Lightroom Classic CC 7 Preferences.agprefs to a different location on your computer to create its backup. After that, delete the file from the Lightroom’s Preferences folder. Once done, restart your computer and open Lightroom to check if the crashes have stopped.
If restoring the original Lightroom preferences doesn’t fix the problem, move on to the next solution.
See: Adobe Acrobat Reader DC not showing bookmarks on Windows PC.
7] Create a new catalog
A corrupted catalog can be another reason for Lightroom crashes. Hence, if the scenario is applicable, you can fix the issue by creating a new catalog.
To do that, open Lightroom and click on the File menu. After that, press the New Catalog option. Next, set the location for the newly created catalog and then import some pictures to it. Check if the app works fine without crashing or not.
In case you are unable to launch Lightroom, hold down the Ctrl key while starting the app and then click on the Create New Catalog button when it shows up. See if the app opens now or not. If yes, you can be sure that it was a corrupted catalog causing the issue.
8] Check for corrupted presets or fonts
If the above solutions didn’t work, the issue could very well be facilitated due to corrupted or broken presets and fonts in Lightroom. So, in that case, you can manually delete or move the preset files to improve the performance of Lightroom. Here are the steps to do that:
First, open Lightroom and navigate to the Lightroom menu button. After that, choose the Preferences option and then click on the Presets tab. Next, press the Show Lightroom Presets Folder button to open its presets folder on your computer. Alternatively, you can move to the C:\Users\[Your-Username]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Lightroom\ folder to find the presets folder of Lightroom.
After that, close the Lightroom app, and then inside the presets folder, select the subfolders like Develop Presets, Filter Presets, Filename Templates, Keywords Sets, Print Templates, etc. Don’t select the Preferences folder if you have already reset the preferences.
Now, cut the selected preset sub-folders using Ctrl+X and paste them to a different location on your computer (like Desktop, Documents, etc.) using Ctrl+V.
When done, restart the Lightroom app and check if the issue is resolved.
See: Fix Adobe CEF Helper High Memory or CPU usage.
9] Uninstall and reinstall Lightroom
If the issue still remains the same, you can uninstall the Lightroom app and then reinstall it to resolve the problem. The app installation might be corrupted which is why it is not launching or keeps crashing. So, installing a clean version of Lightroom should help you fix the problem.
To uninstall Lightroom from Windows, open the Creative Cloud app and go to its Apps section. Look for Lightroom and press the drop-arrow button.
After that, click on the Uninstall button and proceed with prompted instructions to complete the process. Once done, reboot your computer and then reinstall the Lightroom app through Creative Cloud. See if it works fine now.
10] Upgrade your hardware
Lightroom is quite a resource-hungry program that needs medium to high-end PC resources to work well on Windows. It requires at least 8 GB RAM, Intel® or AMD processor with 64-bit and SSE 4.2 support; 2 GHz or faster processor, 1280 x 768 display resolution, GPU with DirectX 12 support, 2GB of VRAM, and an active internet connection to work properly. If your system doesn’t meet its system requirements, you must upgrade your hardware to use Lightroom to the best of its capabilities.
If the issue remains the same, contact the official support team of Adobe Inc. and get the issue fixed.
That’s it.
You can now read: Adobe Photoshop not opening on Windows.
