New External Hard Drives for Lightroom - how to do it

[lawman]

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I am still using Lightroom 6 on a PC with 2 external Hard Drives for the downloaded photos and backup. My original HD's are now full so I bought much larger ones, copied the My LIghtroom directory over and want to use the new HD's.  The Lightroom program has the two old drives as K and L whereas the two new drives are seen by the computer as G and F.  I would really appreciate some advice on :

- how to designate the correct HD names in Lightroom so the program can read the new disks; and

- where is the catalog information kept so the program can read it on the new drives; and

- is there anything else that I should be copying over from the original to the new HD's so the Lightroom program can find everything?

I am obviously a little computer challenged (I'm an analog guy - what can I say) and any help here would be very much appreciated - thanks very much

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[250swb]

Speaking also as an analogue guy wouldn't using Adobe Bridge help finding your photos and recognising the new drives? Then set Bridge to open your photos using Lightroom. But this sort of Lightroom rubbish is why I don't use Lightroom, just drives with folders of photos (numbered and notated and the equivalent of your negative sheets), browse in Bridge, and open in Photoshop. 

[LocalHero1953]

Lightroom keeps the catalogue (the files that record where the photos are) separate from the image files itself.

I suggest that in the first place you move all the photos that were in drive K to drive G and all those that were in drive L to drive F - don't try to reorganise them between drives outside Lightroom.

Now, when you open Lightroom it will open your catalogue file, and look for the image files where it previously found them. Because it won't find them, it will mark all those folders and files in the Library module with an exclamation mark (I think - it may be some other symbol) to show that it cannot find them.

It is a simple process to tell Lightroom that those files that were in drive K are now in drive G. I can't remember the exact process, and as I don't have that 'error' situation at present I cannot walk you through it. Under the Library menu there is a Find All Missing Photos option that should get you started. Once you get started with one folder (preferably the folder at the highest level on one of the drives) Lightroom works out where everything is.

Once Lightroom knows where all your image files are, you can reorganise them between drives within the Lightroom Library module.

Edited July 30, 2022 by LocalHero1953

[pedaes]

10 hours ago, lawman said:

I am obviously a little computer challenged

The advice given by @LocalHero1953above is spot on, and the final paragraph is absolutely essential. 

This task could either go really smoothly or be an absolute nightmare. Please, please have a reasonable understanding of what you are doing before you start, and consider getting someone in to help. Don't panic, all your files will be there as long as you don't 'Delete' them.

[zeitz]

5 hours ago, 250swb said:

But this sort of Lightroom rubbish is why I don't use Lightroom, just drives with folders of photos (numbered and notated and the equivalent of your negative sheets), browse in Bridge, and open in Photoshop.

Amen.  I'm not in the import/export business to replace Open/Save/Save As.  Nor do I need Libraries/Catalogs/Albums to replace folders.

[Guest]

Some useful videos might help.  You don’t mention what version of Windows you’re using, so assuming a recent one …

 

 

Edited July 30, 2022 by OThomas

[Guest]

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As for the Lightroom questions, I can recommend the following course ($12/year)

https://luminous-landscape.com/videos/digital-asset-management-pictures/

or the following website … https://www.lightroomqueen.com

 

Edited July 30, 2022 by OThomas

[Jeff S]

Move photos inside of LR will avoid missing photos, etc…

 

 

Jeff

[marchyman]

7 hours ago, zeitz said:

Nor do I need Libraries/Catalogs/Albums to replace folders.

Hey, if folders and links work for you then certainly, there is no need to change.

It does not work for me.   I'd miss out on a few things that I can get using a catalog that I use all the time.  The first is non-destructive editing.  I do like keeping my raw images the way they came out of camera.

Another feature I'd miss are virtual copies.  I like being able to make different edits of the same raw file without having to make physical copies of the image file.

The thing I'd miss the most is the ability to search images based upon various metadata values.  It only takes a second or so to find out "how many pictures do I have taken with a Leica Q".  Or "M with 75mm lens".  Or "photos with a keyword of garden taken between 2000 and 2004".   If you never have a desire to do that you won't miss it.  I use it all the time.

Lastly is the ability to create smart collections.  When I find myself repeating the same search I'll instead create a smart collection using the search terms.

That's me.  If you don't want/need those features it may not be for you.

[zeitz]

15 minutes ago, marchyman said:

The first is non-destructive editing.

Photoshop is equally non-destructive, unless one chooses to save to a destructive file format.  ACR changes are stored just like in Lightroom / Develop.

 

17 minutes ago, marchyman said:

The thing I'd miss the most is the ability to search images based upon various metadata values.

You can do the same searches in Bridge.  I don't know if Bridge does collections in addition to Libraries.

These things you can use or not use in Bridge/ACR/Photoshop as you please.  You can Import/Export/Catalog in Bridge; it is the user's choice.  But you must Import/Export/Catalog in Lighroom to use it.  

[zeitz]

Bridge does have Collections.

[Jeff S]

I organize my photos in LR Classic by using folders, which essentially reside on my drives, and use just one master catalog. I keep it simple by setting up folders by year and date, with sub-folders as needed.  Easy to rename or reorganize as desired. It doesn’t need to be that complicated.  ImagePrint can also store the history of all my print sessions.

Jeff

[jaapv]

13 hours ago, marchyman said:

 I do like keeping my raw images the way they came out of camera.

So what is the problem? Work on a layer (or layers) and don't overwrite your original files. 

[charlesphoto99]

17 hours ago, zeitz said:

Photoshop is equally non-destructive, unless one chooses to save to a destructive file format.  ACR changes are stored just like in Lightroom / Develop.

 

You can do the same searches in Bridge.  I don't know if Bridge does collections in addition to Libraries.

These things you can use or not use in Bridge/ACR/Photoshop as you please.  You can Import/Export/Catalog in Bridge; it is the user's choice.  But you must Import/Export/Catalog in Lighroom to use it.  

You can use both Bridge and Lightroom equally - I do - and if you are already paying a subscription that includes both, why not? 

[pedaes]

Has the OP's head exploded?

[LocalHero1953]

Well, he could always ignore all those posts that don't actually address his issue.......

[lawman]

On 7/30/2022 at 12:35 AM, LocalHero1953 said:

Lightroom keeps the catalogue (the files that record where the photos are) separate from the image files itself.

I suggest that in the first place you move all the photos that were in drive K to drive G and all those that were in drive L to drive F - don't try to reorganise them between drives outside Lightroom.

Now, when you open Lightroom it will open your catalogue file, and look for the image files where it previously found them. Because it won't find them, it will mark all those folders and files in the Library module with an exclamation mark (I think - it may be some other symbol) to show that it cannot find them.

It is a simple process to tell Lightroom that those files that were in drive K are now in drive G. I can't remember the exact process, and as I don't have that 'error' situation at present I cannot walk you through it. Under the Library menu there is a Find All Missing Photos option that should get you started. Once you get started with one folder (preferably the folder at the highest level on one of the drives) Lightroom works out where everything is.

Once Lightroom knows where all your image files are, you can reorganise them between drives within the Lightroom Library module.

This is exactly what I have done. When LR opens all the catalogs have ? marks beside them so I need to tell the program where the photos are now. Where does LR store the catalog files? Thanks all for your help - Larry 

[lawman]

Thanks to all for your comments. I couldn’t figure out how to change the drive designations inside the LR program (find missing files didn’t straighten everything up) so I went into Windows and renamed my new hard drives the same as the old ones (after copying all photos over) and viola LR can now find my photos and seems to be working normally. I believe that the lrcat files are on the C drive? Not sure what happens when the C drive fills up but will cross that bridge when the time comes😬

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[Guest]

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Edited July 31, 2022 by OThomas

[LocalHero1953]

4 hours ago, lawman said:

This is exactly what I have done. When LR opens all the catalogs have ? marks beside them so I need to tell the program where the photos are now. Where does LR store the catalog files? Thanks all for your help - Larry 

Lightroom stores its catalogue files by default somewhere on your main drive. You can have catalogue files wherever you want them, but you don’t want them on an external drive (too slow). The main catalogue has the suffix .lrcat, but there are usually a couple of other non vital files and folders that go with them.