Probably going to scrap Lightroom for ON1

OK, I have a happy ending to report, here is what happened.

When my old computer died (catastrophically, with no recovery possible) I bought a new one and restored everything from a Time Machine backup. What I learned from a helpful Adobe tech support rep is that license info among other attributes is not saved in a backup. The solution is to "sign out" of the old copy then reactivate a new copy. Except this is impossible if you don't have access to the old machine to deactivate. Trust me, it doesn't work going to your Adobe account from a different machine! Eventually the rep found a back end way to deactivate my account manually, which then gave me the ability to reinstall and reactivate with my original licence code.

So for those who think that "no one should fear getting cut off from LR", good on ya, cultivate some helpful tech reps. Also, advising that all would be good had you managed your library differently for the last 10 years, is seriously unhelpful. I am a lowly amateur who didn't even know about such exotica as XMP sidecars and had no ability to create them after losing access. That is just not useful advice.

I know better now, and will be exporting JPEGs of all final images. I will also be actively seeking alternatives

Excellent you got your "Happy Ending", Robert. Well done!

It's helpful to know the issue about Signing Off - and then On again. Definitely worth knowing that when changing machines!

Good luck with your hunt for an alternative.......

I am detecting a little bit of internet hostility here. You present a problem you frustratingly can't solve on an internet forum. People start offering suggestions. You complain that the suggestions offered assume that you are a lowly amateur. (I am sure you are not) BTW, it is discussions like this that helped myself and many others to learn UWP and Post Processing. Just because you know a thing does not mean that others in the audience might learn something. Then you finally solve the problem by doing what absolutely should have been step #1 - Calling Adobe's 1-800 Support center.

This is just poor form and etiquette. Don't go soliciting for assistance and then lash out at those who attempted to help. Nobody was rude to you are talked down to you. I am glad you were able to resolve your problems.

I am detecting a little bit of internet hostility here. You present a problem you frustratingly can't solve on an internet forum. People start offering suggestions. You complain that the suggestions offered assume that you are a lowly amateur. (I am sure you are not) BTW, it is discussions like this that helped myself and many others to learn UWP and Post Processing. Just because you know a thing does not mean that others in the audience might learn something. Then you finally solve the problem by doing what absolutely should have been step #1 - Calling Adobe's 1-800 Support center.

 

This is just poor form and etiquette. Don't go soliciting for assistance and then lash out at those who attempted to help. Nobody was rude to you are talked down to you. I am glad you were able to resolve your problems.

You are perhaps too sensitive or too defensive, I can't tell which. The poster had a problem with an old catalog and a dead computer. Posting about making XMP files is indeed not helpful for his specific problem, although I have now set up my LR to make such files routinely; thanks for that. (I note that neither you or I found out about such files from Adobe...) Posting about calling Adobe is prima fascia good advice, but I'll wager that for everyone who has called Adobe and got a knowledgeable tech like troporobo did, there are 50 of us who found it a frustrating waste of time.

Let's recap and summarize.

Q: How do I rescue my files from Lightroom when I don't want to pay Adobe any longer or have been locked out of my Account?

A: Step 1) Install Lightroom free trial on a new PC (which was the OP's situation)

Step 2) Import your old LR catalog and turn on XMP file generation

Step 3) Uninstall the free Lightroom trial software

Step 4) Install the totally free Adobe Bridge app (or Photoshop, etc) and open any file you every processed in Lightroom with edits intact thanks to the XMP sidecar files.

Dude, relax. You are the one making assumptions. I have already explained that I don't have a subscription, and tried with tech support many times. You react with "probably you lost your license, just keep paying Adobe, then install other software you don't need, and you should have been working differently anyway". i am sure you're trying to be helpful. The advice just didn't fit my situation. So let's move on to other solutions.

Have a look at Capture One Pro - the raw conversions are very good, and it now has a very full range of features. _ you can download a one month free trial. The learning curve can be steep, but they have good resources with a good range of video tutorials.

Does it provide any benefits?

hybrid app development

So, I got a shiny new MacPro for my business, in my home office... sweet!!

Transferred from my 2010 MacPro by swapping over drives and updating software... sweet!!

Only issue was Lightroom 6.14. Needs to be reinstalled... let's see?

Turns out that Lightroom 6.14 is 64 bit software, but the flipping' Adobe installer is 32 bit and will NOT install the application on this machine.

I am now faced with the dillemma of subscription vs another platform. I did not see this coming. 

Thanks, Adobe.

40 minutes ago, ianmarsh said:

So, I got a shiny new MacPro for my business, in my home office... sweet!!

Transferred from my 2010 MacPro by swapping over drives and updating software... sweet!!

Only issue was Lightroom 6.14. Needs to be reinstalled... let's see?

Turns out that Lightroom 6.14 is 64 bit software, but the flipping' Adobe installer is 32 bit and will NOT install the application on this machine.

I am now faced with the dillemma of subscription vs another platform. I did not see this coming. 

Thanks, Adobe.

Argh. The perils of a new machine, a new OS, whatever.... it's really annoying.

The only thought I can offer, Ian, is that the subscription service is pretty good. I've had PS and LR using the service since its inception and still think it's pretty good value for money. Updates are quite frequent and it seems to work without a hitch.

Maybe just bite the bullet? But then there are a good few on the forum here who would disagree......

Thanks Tim

Looks like the path of least resistance, so it will likely be mine...

Anyway Happy New Year to all from snowy Vernon BC, buried under 70cm of fresh snow overnight. Thinkin' about blue water and sandy beaches...

ian

3 hours ago, ianmarsh said:

Thanks Tim

Looks like the path of least resistance, so it will likely be mine...

Anyway Happy New Year to all from snowy Vernon BC, buried under 70cm of fresh snow overnight. Thinkin' about blue water and sandy beaches...

ian

There is always a possible workaround.  This article outlines one way to do it:

https://au.pcmag.com/vmware-fusion-8-for-mac/63913/how-to-run-32-bit-apps-in-macos-catalina

In theory you could just run the installers from your virtual machine or a partioned boot and never have to go back to it.

Another idea is scrap your new operating system and run an older operating version.

I have held off on an upgrade due this lightroom issue myself.

I'm going thru some of this lightroom crap now-I have a new in box version of lightroom 5 with new unused license code-as I'm not ready to start paying fees every year

and am thinking about installing it on my 3 year old macbbook pro that operates with High Serria 10.13.6 nowhere could I find 32 or 64 bit info

or I can put it on my huge  screen mac desktop running OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)which I will do 98% of editing on That computer  which is running lightroom 3 now with no issues.

I may just cave at some point and buy into the yearly fees 

Thanks guys, great suggestions.

The MacPro ships with Catalina and according to Apple cannot run on anything older...

I think I am painted into a corner, but Chris' idea might get some traction

I used to use VMWare Fusion some years ago on my MacbookPro to run the Uwatec software (the Mac version was horrible) under Windows. It worked really well. Worth a go for sure - although if you have to buy Fusion, you’ll be half way to a year’s Adobe subscription already.... 

So, I got a shiny new MacPro for my business, in my home office... sweet!!
Transferred from my 2010 MacPro by swapping over drives and updating software... sweet!!
Only issue was Lightroom 6.14. Needs to be reinstalled... let's see?
Turns out that Lightroom 6.14 is 64 bit software, but the flipping' Adobe installer is 32 bit and will NOT install the application on this machine.
I am now faced with the dillemma of subscription vs another platform. I did not see this coming. 
Thanks, Adobe.

Anyone using Luminar??I think they noiw have a library for images ?

I bought Luminar 3, and made suggestions for new features which were ignored. Fair enough, but then came all the hype about Luminar 4, with a price tag I was unwilling to pay for a few more features.

So beware: A Luminar "lifetime" license is ONLY a license for the major version number you buy. In my case it's 3. It gives me nothing with respect to 4 except a feeble upgrade discount.

I paid less for my Luminar 3 via on-line 3rd party special than Luminar's own 'deals' on 4 by almost 50%. To me it's not worth upgrading, as the missing features (i.e. not in 3, not in 4) were essential to my personal workflow.

I'm still using Lightroom 5 installed on my PC.

I use Oracle's VirtualBox for my Virtual machines, and have done for a few years now. I had purchased VMWare but got tired of the annual '$69.95 or more CDN' annual 'upgrade' fee.

I bought Luminar 3, and made suggestions for new features which were ignored. Fair enough, but then came all the hype about Luminar 4, with a price tag I was unwilling to pay for a few more features.
So beware: A Luminar "lifetime" license is ONLY a license for the major version number you buy. In my case it's 3. It gives me nothing with respect to 4 except a feeble upgrade discount.
I paid less for my Luminar 3 via on-line 3rd party special than Luminar's own 'deals' on 4 by almost 50%. To me it's not worth upgrading, as the missing features (i.e. not in 3, not in 4) were essential to my personal workflow.
I'm still using Lightroom 5 installed on my PC.
I use Oracle's VirtualBox for my Virtual machines, and have done for a few years now. I had purchased VMWare but got tired of the annual '$69.95 or more CDN' annual 'upgrade' fee.