Can't move an image

[Heirloom Bob]

I have a particular file img_4713.cr2, that shows in Lightroom on my K: drive, in a folder 20120211.

I moved 20120211 from my K: drive to my N: drive. img_4713.cr2 does not appear in the 20120211 folder on N: yet if I try and move the same file from K: to N:, I am advised the file already exists in that destination on N:

Can anyone explain?

Bob

[DdeGannes]

The Lightroom catalog only stores information about where the original files are located it does not contain the actual files or copies of them. Have a look at the article available in the link below for additional information.

How to find missing photos in Photoshop Lightroom

[Heirloom Bob]

I ran Find Missing Photos on All Photographs in Lightroom.  Same issue exists. And to provide more context 20120211 on K: contains 130 images and one sub folder called jpg Export that contains 2 images. 20120211 on N: contains 60 images and a sub folder called jpg Export that contains 17.

I am unsure what to try now.

[Theresa J]

Easy solution is probably to remove the image from your catalog without deleting it from the disk, then reimport it. You may loose any edits you have made though. If there are edits you want to save you can create a preset before you remove the image, then apply the preset when you reimport it.

[Heirloom Bob]

OK, that worked! Now can I do the same thing, but with multiple folders? I have 15,000 images in 2012 with date sub folders. Could I select all, delete images but not from disk and then reimport them all to the new drive? Should work the same right?

[dj_paige]

There should be no reason to remove large numbers of images/folders from Lightroom and then re-import, because you will lose information. In fact, I disagree with the advice above to do this for a single file, because you will lose information.

What you want to do is point LR to the folders on the NEW drive, not delete and re-import. To do that, please right-click on the folder in the LR Folder panel and select Update Folder Location, then select the corresponding folder on the other drive.

Also, in your earlier thread, you tried moving the photos to the new drive using LR, and you ran into problems. I suspect (but don't know for sure) that some photos moved and some didn't which is why you are having these problems now. If that's the case, you probably would be best off deleting all the photos off the new drive, starting over, and performing the move properly this time (using your operating system to copy all photos, then Update Folder Location, then delete the photos from your original drive, as stated in that other thread).

[Theresa J]

Bob,

I agree with Dj's direction. I only offered the solution I did because I thought it was one errant file. Folders of files is a whole different issue. Do you understand how Lr manages files? How it simply knows where files exist, but it doesn't actually hold them inside of Lr?