How to organise photo files before transferring from Mac hard drive to external hard drive?

[alistairw72100433]

Hi, having just received some excellent advice from the Forum on problems finding LR catalog after reloading my Mac after it was slow running, I now realise belatedly that I need to free up my hard drive by transferring photos to external hard drive.

For some reason my photos are not all in the same file, some are under Pictures and some in Desktop files.

To make the transfer easier and to help with back-ups I guess it would be best to have all photos in one file before I transfer?

Is this sensible and how will the catalog handle this?

I assume I copy the LR software onto external hard drive as well as transferring photo files?

Will I need to transfer existing catalo .lrcat files well?

Any help would be most welcome.

Thanks

Alistair

[dj_paige]

For some reason my photos are not all in the same file, some are under Pictures and some in Desktop files.

Folder, not file

To make the transfer easier and to help with back-ups I guess it would be best to have all photos in one file before I transfer?

I'm going to say NO, that you should just COPY the photos to the external, using your operating system, in bulk, but leave the folder hierarchy and location of photos in the folders unchanged. Then re-link the top level folders in Lightroom. Then delete the folders with the photos on the internal drive. Complete details are given here in "Part 2 — Updating Folder Location". Adobe Lightroom - Find moved or missing files and folders

I assume I copy the LR software onto external hard drive as well as transferring photo files?

No

Will I need to transfer existing catalo .lrcat files well?

No

[alistairw72100433]

Thanks very much for the help.

Will try this later in the week when my new external drive is due to arrive.

[alistairw72100433]

Hi dj

More questions I’m afraid.

Looking at the link you very kindly supplied I read that under Part 2 updating folder location that a drop down menu appears giving the option to update folder location. I can’t find this on my LR3 and wondered is this because the version in the link was using LR5?

So I thought about upgrading.

I called Adobe and they said they weren’t selling LR anymore just a regular payment of £10 per month for LR and Photoshop. I said I still see LR6 advertised and they said it probably won’t run properly.

So some questions:

Can I install LR6 and still use LR2 lrcat for my catalog? (Even though I have LR3 I still sue LR2 lrcat for catalog)

Do I loose anything from photos I have already developed?

Will LR6 still run without Adobe support?

This gets more and more confusing as I go on!

Many thanks for any guidance you can provide.

Alistair

[dj_paige]

Lightroom 6 is still available but requires a 64 bit operating system and certain minimum operating systems.

If LR6 will run on your computer, then you can use your LR 3 or LR 2 catalog. You lose nothing.

Looking at the link you very kindly supplied I read that under Part 2 updating folder location that a drop down menu appears giving the option to update folder location. I can’t find this on my LR3 and wondered is this because the version in the link was using LR5?

What do you see?

[alistairw72100433]

Hi dj and thanks for response.

I have just discovered the reason I wasn't getting the option update folder is because I was using the drop down menu on a folder where there was ? because the original file couldn't be found. When I use drop down menu on a folder with no ? then I get the full drop down menu as shown in the link.

Is there any risk with purchase of LR6 if Adobe are not supporting anymore and are there any site where you would recommend I purchase which are reliable?

Many thanks

Alistair

[dj_paige · Accepted solution]

The only risk is if you don't have the right operating system (which has to be 64 bits and there is a minimum operating system) or powerful enough hardware. Check the system requirements before you buy. The risk is not because Adobe tech support says it isn't supported (which honestly isn't true, the software is supported and will run if you have the right hardware and operating system; phone support is not available, if that's what they meant).

Reliable place to purchase it? I would use Adobe.com.

[alistairw72100433]

Hi dj

I have now downloaded LR 6 and about to link it to my LR2 catalog but get the message "select upgrade below to begin"and "LR will make a new catalog" then options to "choose different catalog" or "upgrade".

I think I read somewhere not to upgrade, what advice can you give please.

Also should I link LR 6 to this catalog before I export all my photo files to an external hard drive which I plan to do to free up space on my iMac?

Many thanks

Alistair

[dj_paige]

You think you read this? Gosh, that's completely unhelpful.

The correct choice is UPGRADE.

Also should I link LR 6 to this catalog before I export all my photo files to an external hard drive which I plan to do to free up space on my iMac?

While I don't understand your comment about "link LR 6" (could you explain?), I will state definitively that you don't export to free up space on your internal HD. That would be completely the wrong thing to do. What you want to do is MOVE the photos to the external HD by following the instructions in "Part 2 — Updating Folder Location" of this document: Adobe Lightroom - Find moved or missing files and folders

[alistairw72100433]

Hi and thanks for the advice.

Before I upgrade the catalog does it make any difference if I do this before I move photos (as per instructions above) or after?

Once I have moved photo files to external hard drive am I right in saying that I can delete those photo files from my iMac hard drive?

Also don't understand your comment re "You think you read this? Gosh, that's completely unhelpful."

Thanks again

Alistair

[dj_paige]

Before I upgrade the catalog does it make any difference if I do this before I move photos (as per instructions above) or after?

No difference at all.

Once I have moved photo files to external hard drive am I right in saying that I can delete those photo files from my iMac hard drive?

Yes.

[alistairw72100433]

Thanks very much dj as usual you have been most helpful.

Alistair

[alistairw72100433]

Hi dj

I followed the instructions on the link you provided but I can not get folders recognised when I try to update folder location.

As a first step with LR6 and all photo files still on iMac hard drive I updated the catalog when I set up LR6. That is all fine and all folders work.

I then copied my photo file onto an external hard drive and then tried to update folder location in LR6 by selecting the photo file on the external hard drive.

When I did this most of the folder headings disappeared.

So I then tried opening a catalog and selected the same catalog I have been using in the hard drive but this time selecting it in the external drive. That didn’t work either. All the photos when I checked for show in finder were still on the iMac hard drive.

How do I get LR6 to look at my photo file on the external hard drive?

Many thanks again.

Alistair

[dj_paige]

When I did this most of the folder headings disappeared.

They didn't disappear. They are now located on your external HD, not your internal HD. Lightroom did exactly what you told it to do.

[JP Hess]

Lightroom has undergone a lot of changes since Lightroom 3. New processes have been introduced and a lot of new features have been added. There have been 12 revisions in the current release alone. You would be doing yourself a favor to upgrade.