Need help and or advice on configuring LR2.1

[Sgt_Strider]

Hi guys, I decided I would go with a dual hard drive configuration for my new computer. I'll be putting the final touches on it later this week. My primary drive is where the OS and applications will be installed. All data and pictures will be stored on the secondary drive.

What I want is for Lightroom 2.1 to be installed on the primary drive and the catalog and all other important data that needs to be backup should be saved on the secondary drive. Is the catalog the only thing that needs to be saved? I might reformat the primary drive from time to time and I want all important data to be saved on the secondary drive so that I can easily reconfigure LR to its original state. So any advice? Thanks!

 

[Sean McCormack]

It's better to have the catalog and images on different drives for speed.
When reading and writing to both catalog and images, the drive head has to bounce back and forth, slowing the process down.

 

[Sgt_Strider]

It's better to have the catalog and images on different drives for speed.
When reading and writing to both catalog and images, the drive head has to bounce back and forth, slowing the process down.

How do I configure LR to do that?

 

[DonRicklin]

How do I configure LR to do that?

You move the images lock, stock and barrel under one root folder to another drive and you repoint LR to the root folder.

Or you us LR to make the move in Folders by connecting another drive and importing a single shill image in a root folder so LR see the Folder and Drive and move the image folders to it.

Don

Don

 

[Sgt_Strider]

Right, so I just leave the images in the drive that I want and then just import the photos from there into LR?

What about the catalog? How can I point it to the drive that I want? Is there anything that I need to be concerned about? I don't want any important LR data to be saved into the primary drive.

 

[Brad Snyder]

There are several problems inherent in your current plan.

First, for optimizing LR performance, and given your OS and apps-only root drive scenario, you don't have enough drives. As Sean says, ideally, you'd want LR spread across at 2 drives. The original image files on one drive, and the catalog (lrcat) and preview cache (lrdata) on another. That makes a total of three in your scenario. Live back-up drives, if any, (highly recommended) add to the total.

Secondly, (I assume you're running Windows, you don't say so in your sig) Windows forces LR to store certain configuration data in the boot drive. All of the presets and preferences will live on the boot-drive, and I don't believe you can configure that otherwise. So despite your best intentions, because of Windows foibles, there are certain things on the boot drive that will have to be 'restoreable'. This will be true of other programs besides LR. What you desire makes sense, and has the added advantage of putting the Windows virtual memory pagefile on yet another drive, also helping increase performance. I'm afraid that given the way Windows forces some data to certain locations, it's not completely achievable. That's how I always try to setup my systems, but there are obstacles to work around.

As far as choosing catalog location, it's simply a matter of moving/copying (with Explorer, etc.) the catalog file (e.g. catalog.lrcat) and the associated previews (e.g. catalog Previews.lrdata) folder to the target location, and then opening that catalog in the new location in LR.

 

[Sgt_Strider]

There are several problems inherent in your current plan.

First, for optimizing LR performance, and given your OS and apps-only root drive scenario, you don't have enough drives. As Sean says, ideally, you'd want LR spread across at 2 drives. The original image files on one drive, and the catalog (lrcat) and preview cache (lrdata) on another. That makes a total of three in your scenario. Live back-up drives, if any, (highly recommended) add to the total.

Secondly, (I assume you're running Windows, you don't say so in your sig) Windows forces LR to store certain configuration data in the boot drive. All of the presets and preferences will live on the boot-drive, and I don't believe you can configure that otherwise. So despite your best intentions, because of Windows foibles, there are certain things on the boot drive that will have to be 'restoreable'. This will be true of other programs besides LR. What you desire makes sense, and has the added advantage of putting the Windows virtual memory pagefile on yet another drive, also helping increase performance. I'm afraid that given the way Windows forces some data to certain locations, it's not completely achievable. That's how I always try to setup my systems, but there are obstacles to work around.

As far as choosing catalog location, it's simply a matter of moving/copying (with Explorer, etc.) the catalog file (e.g. catalog.lrcat) and the associated previews (e.g. catalog Previews.lrdata) folder to the target location, and then opening that catalog in the new location in LR.

What are the previews that you're talking about? Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question, but what does the catalog contain besides the pictures and the history of edits that was done to the pictures?

 

[Brad Snyder]

That's just it, the catalog file *doesn't* contain the pictures. It contains everything LR knows about the pictures, except the actual pictures themselves.

The pictures/image files are the raw (CR2, NEF, etc), JPG, TIF or PSD files that you imported into LR. I know that the word 'import' seems to mean that the image is somehow brought into LR, but really all that happens is a database entry is opened which points to the image file in its original location on the hard-drive. If the catalog actually contained the image files, it would have to be as large as all the image files combined, which is totally unmanageable.

The LR data consists of:

1) The original image files, wherever you put them. Typically in Windows, \My Documents\My Pictures\ ....., and whatever folder structure you've assigned for organization. (e.g. \Africa, or \2''8, or \SargeJr. , etc.)

2) The LR catalog database file, typically :\My Documents\My Pictures\Lightroom\Lightroom Catalog.lrcat

3) The preview cache. This is a set of temporary image files that LR keeps to help speed up browsing/scrolling display, particularly in Library module. Typically this is located in a folder named :\My Documents\My Pictures\Lightroom\Lightroom Catalog Previews.lrdata\ ....

4) Presets and preferences and such .... usually hidden on Windows systems.

While this seems awfully complicated, the reasoning behind this method is to minimize the amount of diskspace required, while maximizing speed of casual display, while maintaining excruciatingly accurate access to the original pixels.

I know this is a short description of a complicated and sometimes counter-inutitive system, so please feel free to ask addtional questions.

 

[Sgt_Strider]

Thanks!