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Move to new Harddrive

V

VernJohnson

New Member
Premium Classic Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2019
Messages
1
Location
Newport, TN
Lightroom Experience
Advanced
Lightroom Version
Classic
Lightroom Version Number
15.0.1
Operating System
  1. macOS 26 Tahoe
Updated Mac to new M4 and an OWC StudioStack 24TB HDD. How do I move my LrC catalog and folders to the new hard drive and make the catalog point to the new file locations?
 
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As mentioned already, the process is explained well in the book.

Make sure that when you copy your photo library over to the new HDD, use a method or app that checks to see that all photos were copied and the full directory structure is there (for example, use a free app like FreeFileSync). Copying a large directory structure and thousands of photos with Mac Finder or MS Explorer may work fine; however, both of them display very unhelpful error messages if there are any issues, and then they stop in mid stream. If you have an exact copy of your current structure, Lightroom will have a much easier time matching the new location with your catalog.

Also ensure you have space on your primary SSD to store your LR catalog, which can grow to be a quite large file. The catalog will also work okay if you store it on an external HDD, but performance is better when it's on your fastest storage (usually your internal SSD).
 
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Since you have your 24TB HDD, if your images have been cataloged to that volume, the process may be as simple as installing Lightroom and the catalog related files on the Primary volume. Per the ininstructions and mounting the 24TB HDD with the images. Unlike Windows that uses drive letters for every drive, The master catalog file will reference the EHD by volume name which doe not need to be changed.
 
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jepomat said:
Is the Moving E-book, which is dated 2022, still fully valid? Aren't there LrC files or folders that weren't present in 2022 which are now essential and need moving as well?
Click to expand...
I can't think of anything, but do you have something in mind?
 
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Jim Wilde said:
I can't think of anything, but do you have something in mind?
Click to expand...
No, I don't. It's just that with the many improvements and new features introduced since the Moving E-book was written, I thought some extra folders or files might need moving. I'm cross-checking before I move the whole thing from my Mac Studio M1 Max to the Mac Studio M5 Max I just ordered.

Thanks a bunch!
 
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