diff --git a/backend/app/services/cleanup.py b/backend/app/services/cleanup.py
index 613fe84..60fb488 100644
--- a/backend/app/services/cleanup.py
+++ b/backend/app/services/cleanup.py
@@ -119,22 +119,64 @@ async def _recompute_folder_counts(session: AsyncSession) -> None:
         f.photo_count = int(count_result.scalar() or 0)
 
 
+def _parent_is_accessible(path: str) -> bool:
+    """True if the parent directory of `path` is readable. Used to
+    distinguish 'user renamed/deleted the source root folder' (parent
+    mount fine, leaf gone) from 'drive unmounted' (whole subtree
+    inaccessible). The former is safe to prune from; the latter is
+    not."""
+    parent = os.path.dirname(path.rstrip(os.sep))
+    if not parent:
+        return False
+    try:
+        os.listdir(parent)
+        return True
+    except OSError:
+        return False
+
+
+def _sr_state(sr_path: str) -> str:
+    """Classify a source root path as one of:
+      'present'  — directory exists, business as usual
+      'renamed'  — leaf missing but parent mount is accessible (user
+                   renamed/deleted the folder in their file manager)
+      'unmounted'— parent itself inaccessible (drive not mounted)
+    """
+    if os.path.isdir(sr_path):
+        return 'present'
+    if _parent_is_accessible(sr_path):
+        return 'renamed'
+    return 'unmounted'
+
+
 async def _warn_stale_source_roots(session: AsyncSession) -> int:
     """Log a warning for any active source root whose path no longer exists
     on disk. Doesn't delete — a missing path could be a temporarily
     unmounted drive, and silently dropping user data is worse than
-    surfacing a noisy log line.
+    surfacing a noisy log line. Logs different hints for renamed-vs-
+    unmounted so the user knows which knob to turn.
     """
     result = await session.execute(select(SourceRoot))
     rows = result.scalars().all()
     stale = 0
     for sr in rows:
-        if not os.path.isdir(sr.path):
-            stale += 1
+        state = _sr_state(sr.path)
+        if state == 'present':
+            continue
+        stale += 1
+        if state == 'renamed':
             logger.warning(
                 f"Source root '{sr.name}' path is missing on disk: {sr.path} "
-                f"— is the docker mount still in place? "
-                f"(Edit docker-compose.yml or PHOTO_DIRS in .env to fix.)"
+                f"— parent mount is fine, looks like the folder was renamed "
+                f"or deleted. Photos under it can be cleared via "
+                f"POST /api/v1/library/maintenance/prune-missing."
+            )
+        else:
+            logger.warning(
+                f"Source root '{sr.name}' path is missing on disk: {sr.path} "
+                f"— parent directory is also inaccessible; is the docker "
+                f"mount still in place? (Edit docker-compose.yml or "
+                f"PHOTO_DIRS in .env to fix.)"
             )
     return stale
 
@@ -146,14 +188,20 @@ async def find_missing(
     they still resolve on disk. Returns
     (deletable_photo_ids, deletable_folder_ids, skipped_photo_ids).
 
-    Skipped rows are photos/folders whose owning source_root path itself
-    doesn't resolve — that's almost always an unmounted drive, and
-    silently deleting those rows would be data loss. The caller can
-    surface the skip count separately so the user knows the cleanup
-    wasn't a no-op by accident.
+    Skipped rows are photos/folders whose owning source_root is truly
+    inaccessible (parent mount missing) — that's almost always an
+    unmounted drive, and silently deleting those rows would be data
+    loss. Photos under a source root whose leaf is missing but whose
+    parent mount IS accessible (user renamed/deleted the folder) are
+    treated as deletable, since their files are genuinely gone from
+    the user's library.
     """
     sr_rows = (await session.execute(select(SourceRoot))).scalars().all()
-    sr_mounted: dict[str, bool] = {sr.id: os.path.isdir(sr.path) for sr in sr_rows}
+    # "Available" = source root path exists OR parent mount is accessible.
+    # Only truly-unmounted source roots skip pruning.
+    sr_mounted: dict[str, bool] = {
+        sr.id: _sr_state(sr.path) != 'unmounted' for sr in sr_rows
+    }
 
     photos = (await session.execute(
         select(Photo.id, Photo.filepath, Photo.folder_id)