External drive shows twice in LR, with different contents

[judy.hancock]

Lightroom Version Number

Lightroom Classic 11.1

Operating System

1. macOS 12 Monterey

HI all. I have a brand new Macbook Pro M1 Max with 64 Gb of RAM. I'm running the latest versions of both Monterey and Lightroom. I have an external drive called Photos. LR has started showing that drive twice in LR, one with just one folder and one with all the other photos. It appears as just the one drive in the Finder and appears to be complete there. LR won't let me just move the folder from the "fake" drive to the right one, as it says that folder already exists there, but when I look at the folders in the "right" drive, it's not there in LR and is there in the Finder. This is driving me nuts. I used to do tech support for Macs and have taught classes on file management in LR, but this one has me stumped. Can you help? Thanks in advance.

 

[johnrellis]

See if this article helps:
https://www.lightroomqueen.com/capitalization-catalog-error/

 

[Victoria Bampton]

And if you get stuck following those instructions, post some screenshots so we can give you specific instructions using your own folder names.

 

[judy.hancock]

And if you get stuck following those instructions, post some screenshots so we can give you specific instructions using your own folder names.

Thanks, Victoria. I'm still stuck... it's a bit confusing. I'm attaching a screen shot... The Holland MBP Max is my internal SSD and the photos 4tb is the external hard drive. The same folder names appear on the more complete photos 4tb drive, but the second photos 4tb drive (which I think of as the "fake" drive) has just a few, recently editted images. I'll be grateful for your help.

 

[Rob_Cullen]

I will confuse the issue even more with this link-
https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/kb/lightroom-displays-same-hard-drive-twice.html
Which talks about "Duplicate DRIVES", whereas Victoria's article addresses "Duplicate FOLDERS".
The problem is basically the same and needs a similar 'fix'. I just though the link might give more insight into the "Capitalization" problem.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

Thanks, Victoria. I'm still stuck... it's a bit confusing. I'm attaching a screen shot... The Holland MBP Max is my internal SSD and the photos 4tb is the external hard drive. The same folder names appear on the more complete photos 4tb drive, but the second photos 4tb drive (which I think of as the "fake" drive) has just a few, recently editted images. I'll be grateful for your help.

Great, can you float over the first folder in each of the 4TB drives and note down the exact path, including where there are differences in capitalization? Or since you're a Premium Member, if you want to zip up the catalog (just the lrcat bit) and use www.wetransfer.com to send it to us, we'll fix it here for you and send it back. That's often quicker than trying to explain it!

 

[judy.hancock]

Thanks so much for your kind offer, Victoria. I've solved the issue (permanently, I hope). It was not a capitalization issue... I used the link that Rob_Cullen posted and very slowly and carefully did each step, and it worked. I appreciate what you offer us Lightroom users, and when I teach classes I always refer my students to your site.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

I've solved the issue (permanently, I hope). It was not a capitalization issue... I used the link that Rob_Cullen posted

Oh well done. Those instructions that Rob posted were indeed the same issue. Funnily enough, they're ones I wrote and Adobe borrowed!