Error: 'Unexpected error opening catalog' occurs in Lightroom after Windows 10 upgrade

Issue

In Lightroom, after you upgrade to Windows 10 you get the error 'Unexpected error opening catalog' when you try to open a catalog.

Solutions

Solution 1: Install the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable 2012

Solution 2: Run Lightroom as an Administrator.

  1. Open the Program Files/Adobe/Adobe Lightroom folder.
  2. Right-click on the Lightroom.exe file.
  3. Choose Run as administrator.

Solution 3: Change the permissions on your catalog's folder.

  1. Select the folder your catalog is in. By default, this is your Pictures/Lightroom folder. 
  2. Right-click on that folder. 
  3. Choose Properties > Security > Edit.
  4. Select your user name in the Group or user names section. and click Full Control under Permissions. 
  5. Click Apply, then click OK out of all the dialog boxes. 
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