Obsolete files?

[Ron-Alexander]

Lightroom Version Number

15.2.1

Operating System

1. macOS 26 Tahoe

I see a few files in my Catalogue Folder that appear old. Can anyone tell me what can be deleted?

 

[clee01l]

1. Since you are no longer using v13-3 You should rename you. Main catalog using the menu {File}{Rename Catalog...}. This will clearly distinguish your master catalog. from any old files and folders similarly named.
2. When you exit Lightroom, the *.shm and * .wal files will. catch up with the data base and go away.
3. You should move your Backups folder to another disk.. As it is right now, when your disk faile, not only will you lose your main catalog file but also every backup of that catalog.
4. Unless you take your catalog portable and leave behind the master image files on another volume, you can eliminate the "... Smart Previews.lrdata" folder. and Change your settings to not create Smart previews on Import and this setting in preferences to always use the original s for image editing. .
   
5. It looks like you are storing critical Lightroom files and folders in the cloud, either in iCloud or OneDrive . The potential for disaster is great. You should stop this and move the Lightroom folder outside of any cloud services.

 

[Ron-Alexander]

1. Since you are no longer using v13-3 You should rename you. Main catalog using the menu {File}{Rename Catalog...}. This will clearly distinguish your master catalog. from any old files and folders similarly named.
2. When you exit Lightroom, the *.shm and * .wal files will. catch up with the data base and go away.
3. You should move your Backups folder to another disk.. As it is right now, when your disk faile, not only will you lose your main catalog file but also every backup of that catalog.
4. Unless you take your catalog portable and leave behind the master image files on another volume, you can eliminate the "... Smart Previews.lrdata" folder. and Change your settings to not create Smart previews on Import and this setting in preferences to always use the original s for image editing. .View attachment 28658
5. It looks like you are storing critical Lightroom files and folders in the cloud, either in iCloud or OneDrive . The potential for disaster is great. You should stop this and move the Lightroom folder outside of any cloud services.

Thank you for the speedy reply. I left out some info that might change your reply and some clarification is needed.
1. I have done the rename but still some old files left, see attached.
2. The shm and wal files are still there. I have no idea what they are.
3. I am an old computer guy. I drive a Mac so Time Machine is constantly backing up the entire SSD. Also, I keep a copy of the entire Lightroom folder on an external Raid and a second copy on another external drive.
4. I can not find that setting. I am using Lightroom Classic.
5. A common misunderstanding. My iCloud is set to store locally first then make a backup copy in the cloud. As a computer professional I probably have to explain that weekly.
I adhere to the 321 backup program, 3 copies on 2 media with 1 in a different location. The cloud is the 1, the primary SSD and the external HDD are the 2 and that makes 3 but I still have 2 more copies not counting the raid 2nd drive.

I was in the middle of re-oganizing my Lightroom folders which brought out my original query and when I looked at it decided to modify my CCC copy from main SSD to external RAID to include the entire Lightroom folder.

I am going on a photo workshop in Oct and will change the raw location to my main SSD but will be bringing a LaCie Rugged RAID to act as a backup location as well as my 2TB SSD TimeMachine.

SO, the only outstanding question for me is can I delete the 13-3-2 shm and wal? I assume the Main Sync has something to do with Adobe cloud syncing (I don;t actually use that) The Main Smart Previews is very old, can I assume it's safe to delete?

 

[clee01l]

Thank you for the speedy reply. I left out some info that might change your reply and some clarification is needed.
1. I have done the rename but still some old files left, see attached.
2. The shm and wal files are still there. I have no idea what they are.
3. I am an old computer guy. I drive a Mac so Time Machine is constantly backing up the entire SSD. Also, I keep a copy of the entire Lightroom folder on an external Raid and a second copy on another external drive.
4. I can not find that setting. I am using Lightroom Classic.
5. A common misunderstanding. My iCloud is set to store locally first then make a backup copy in the cloud. As a computer professional I probably have to explain that weekly.
I adhere to the 321 backup program, 3 copies on 2 media with 1 in a different location. The cloud is the 1, the primary SSD and the external HDD are the 2 and that makes 3 but I still have 2 more copies not counting the raid 2nd drive.

I was in the middle of re-oganizing my Lightroom folders which brought out my original query and when I looked at it decided to modify my CCC copy from main SSD to external RAID to include the entire Lightroom folder.

I am going on a photo workshop in Oct and will change the raw location to my main SSD but will be bringing a LaCie Rugged RAID to act as a backup location as well as my 2TB SSD TimeMachine.

SO, the only outstanding question for me is can I delete the 13-3-2 shm and wal? I assume the Main Sync has something to do with Adobe cloud syncing (I don;t actually use that) The Main Smart Previews is very old, can I assume it's safe to delete?

1. If you renamed your master catalog and these files remain, then they are redundant and surplus. That was why I suggested that you rename your master Lightroom File and folders. Anything that Lightroom is not using won't get renamed.
2. The .lrcat-shm (Shared Memory) file is a temporary SQLite database file created when Lightroom Classic is open, acting as shared memory for the Catalog (.lrcat-wal) and Write-Ahead Log (.lrcat-wal) files. It works alongside .lrcat-wal to manage data integrity, allowing Lightroom to function efficiently. These files should disappear when Lightroom closes properly.
3. I am an older computer guy. You can never have too many backups At one time TimeMachine would backup live catalogs files The Catalogs might be in an unstable state. If restored, you might find your restored catalog is corrupt. If you don't think you need the Backups folder, then why are you even bothering to create it? Presumably you are wanting to tidy up the SSD and free up space. Moving the Backup folder is a good step for many reasons.
4. In Preferences>Performance You can find this section
   
   In the file handling of the Import dialog uncheck the box labeled "Build Smart Previews"
   
5. In your first screenshot , that little cloud icon beside the file suggests that these files are in the cloud and only a token file resides locally. One Drive is often the culprit But I am leery of iCloud for the same reason.
   
   This advice has been learned the hard way by many Lightroom users. Don't be one of them. There is no good reason to ignore this advice.
   1. iCloud is not backup. iCloud is for sharing files across several computer platforms. You need to take this out of your 3-2-1 plan. If you accidentally delete a file or write over good data with bad,
   2. FWIW My (4)3-2-1 plan consists of the following
      1. Perform a catalog backup every time I exit Classic. Remember to exit Lightroom Classic at least once a week since I run LrC 7X24X365.
      2. TimeMachine Backup to a local EHD.
      3. Alternating with a TimeMachine backup to my NAS
      4. Back up the same critical users data files to BackBlaze for an off site secure location in case of Fire, Flood, pestilence, or civil unrest that might destroy everything locally
   3. Test your backup recovery plan for each of your backup methods at a minimum of once every 6 months so that you are familiar with the recover process when disaster strikes and you are in panic mode.
   4. RAID is not backup. RAID is necessary only when you need 7X24X365 up time for your data. FWIW My NAS is configured as JBOD with 4 10TB disks, one of which is dedicated to TimeMachine Backup. If you accidentally delete a file or write over good data with bad that get spread across all of your RAID drives
      
      

 

[Califdan]

It looks like you renamed your catalog to "Main". Hopefully you did this using the Catalog Rename tool in LrC rather than Finder. However it also looks like you manually renamed the SHM and WAL files. the SHM and WAL files are temporary and should only be present while LrC is running. When you shut down LrC, these two files (as well as the .lock file) should go away. I suspect that the two in your screen shot are left over from some prior power failure or force quit. If LrC is NOT running, you can delete these two.

My iCloud is set to store locally first then make a backup copy in the cloud. As a computer professional I probably have to explain that weekly.

In your screen shot, this does not seem to be the case. I am not 100% familiar with the iCloud icons but it looks to me like several of the catalog files are in the cloud only (have the cloud icon). Check the meaning of the cloud and down arrow icons to assure that those files are stored locally. But, even so you are skating on thin ice here.

 

[Ron-Alexander]

It looks like you renamed your catalog to "Main". Hopefully you did this using the Catalog Rename tool in LrC rather than Finder. However it also looks like you manually renamed the SHM and WAL files. the SHM and WAL files are temporary and should only be present while LrC is running. When you shut down LrC, these two files (as well as the .lock file) should go away. I suspect that the two in your screen shot are left over from some prior power failure or force quit. If LrC is NOT running, you can delete these two.


In your screen shot, this does not seem to be the case. I am not 100% familiar with the iCloud icons but it looks to me like several of the catalog files are in the cloud only (have the cloud icon). Check the meaning of the cloud and down arrow icons to assure that those files are stored locally. But, even so you are skating on thin ice here.

I did use LrC. Never touched the SHM or WAL files. I have for now moved them ot of the way. Can't have a power failure on a laptop and no force quit on files dated 3/20.
Both iCloud and OneDrive have options to cause a cloud file to be also stored on disk. I am sure both are the same but at least in iCloud the files get saved to the internal drive first. As an experimant I turned off WiFi then re-booted to elin=minate any chance of caching and all my Document files are local. I have a system extension that shows me the files insiode a zi by just hovering and the cat backups show up as expected. See attached screen shots. You may want to check out BackBlaze, they have a HUGE list of files they do NOT backup. That is why I dumped them.
We can argue the semantics of RAID and TM but if a copy of a file exists in multiple locations then that is what I call backed up. Just because something does what I want as a by-product of it's primary job does not invalidate it.
YES, I did forget that the catalogs can not be backed up by TM, I have now excluded them from that backup. They also cause iCloud to churn but as I proved, that has no performance hit on LrC as the files are on the local SSD and iCloud grabs them when it sees no modifications to the file after some amount of time.
When I had a desktop I did store the catalog backups on an external disk but now that I use a laptop that is a bit of a problem. I just remembered they make really tiny USB sticks, maybe I will get a few of those and can save the backups there. Thanks for the give and take, I find a robust convo brings out the best at least in me.

 

[Ron-Alexander]

1. If you renamed your master catalog and these files remain, then they are redundant and surplus. That was why I suggested that you rename your master Lightroom File and folders. Anything that Lightroom is not using won't get renamed.
2. The .lrcat-shm (Shared Memory) file is a temporary SQLite database file created when Lightroom Classic is open, acting as shared memory for the Catalog (.lrcat-wal) and Write-Ahead Log (.lrcat-wal) files. It works alongside .lrcat-wal to manage data integrity, allowing Lightroom to function efficiently. These files should disappear when Lightroom closes properly.
3. I am an older computer guy. You can never have too many backups At one time TimeMachine would backup live catalogs files The Catalogs might be in an unstable state. If restored, you might find your restored catalog is corrupt. If you don't think you need the Backups folder, then why are you even bothering to create it? Presumably you are wanting to tidy up the SSD and free up space. Moving the Backup folder is a good step for many reasons.
4. In Preferences>Performance You can find this sectionView attachment 28660 In the file handling of the Import dialog uncheck the box labeled "Build Smart Previews" View attachment 28661
5. In your first screenshot , that little cloud icon beside the file suggests that these files are in the cloud and only a token file resides locally. One Drive is often the culprit But I am leery of iCloud for the same reason. View attachment 28662 This advice has been learned the hard way by many Lightroom users. Don't be one of them. There is no good reason to ignore this advice.
   1. iCloud is not backup. iCloud is for sharing files across several computer platforms. You need to take this out of your 3-2-1 plan. If you accidentally delete a file or write over good data with bad,
   2. FWIW My (4)3-2-1 plan consists of the following
      1. Perform a catalog backup every time I exit Classic. Remember to exit Lightroom Classic at least once a week since I run LrC 7X24X365.
      2. TimeMachine Backup to a local EHD.
      3. Alternating with a TimeMachine backup to my NAS
      4. Back up the same critical users data files to BackBlaze for an off site secure location in case of Fire, Flood, pestilence, or civil unrest that might destroy everything locally
   3. Test your backup recovery plan for each of your backup methods at a minimum of once every 6 months so that you are familiar with the recover process when disaster strikes and you are in panic mode.
   4. RAID is not backup. RAID is necessary only when you need 7X24X365 up time for your data. FWIW My NAS is configured as JBOD with 4 10TB disks, one of which is dedicated to TimeMachine Backup. If you accidentally delete a file or write over good data with bad that get spread across all of your RAID drives
      

Ok, you convinced me. I am moving my Lightroom folder to my user folder, this way it is not involved in the cloud just in case. I also just ordered two 64GB very short USB sticks for the backups. The only problem is those backups are only in one place and I would like them to automatically go somewhere else as a 2nd and 3rd copy. Looks like Automator and possibly rsync time.

 

[clee01l]

When I had a desktop I did store the catalog backups on an external disk but now that I use a laptop that is a bit of a problem. I just remembered they make really tiny USB sticks, maybe I will get a few of those and can save the backups there. Thanks for the give and take, I find a robust convo brings out the best at least in me.

Remember, One of my Time Machine Backups is to my NAS. I could easily direct my Catalog backups there too. Thinking about that, I may move my Catalog backups off of my Photoshop Scratch Disk to the NAS.
Discussions like this bring out the best in all of us.

BackBlaze backs up all of my critical users data files and that is what I need. And the ability to get a full backup shipped on disk. . I've had CrashPlan, Carbonite and now Backblaze. I started with Carbonite and quit because they did not permit backups of external disks on Macs (I don't know if that is still the case ). CrashPlan quit individual users for a while concentrating on business users. Now they are back supporting individuals but once burned...

I have to ask, Have you ever had a disk failure? How did you recover? About 7 years ago my primary disk on an iMac died. Apple replaced the internal HDD in the iMac and I restored from a timeMachine backup .

 

[clee01l]

Ok, you convinced me. I am moving my Lightroom folder to my user folder, this way it is not involved in the cloud just in case. I also just ordered two 64GB very short USB sticks for the backups. The only problem is those backups are only in one place and I would like them to automatically go somewhere else as a 2nd and 3rd copy. Looks like Automator and possibly rsync time.

The 64GB thumb drives seem inadequate. I have 256GB CF Express cards that I use in my camera. If you are backing up using timeMachine, then you will fill that up quickly with images files . If you are using these for Catalog backups then it is probably OK My Apple Neo is backed up to a 1TB 2.5" HDD and to my NAS.

 

[Ron-Alexander]

Remember, One of my Time Machine Backups is to my NAS. I could easily direct my Catalog backups there too. Thinking about that, I may move my Catalog backups off of my Photoshop Scratch Disk to the NAS.
Discussions like this bring out the best in all of us.

BackBlaze backs up all of my critical users data files and that is what I need. And the ability to get a full backup shipped on disk. . I've had CrashPlan, Carbonite and now Backblaze. I started with Carbonite and quit because they did not permit backups of external disks on Macs (I don't know if that is still the case ). CrashPlan quit individual users for a while concentrating on business users. Now they are back supporting individuals but once burned...

I have to ask, Have you ever had a disk failure? How did you recover? About 7 years ago my primary disk on an iMac died. Apple replaced the internal HDD in the iMac and I restored from a timeMachine backup .

I have had many many hard drives since day 1 but never had a failure until one year a few years ago. I think I had 5 failures in one year including a brand new drive, my backup drive to the just failed drive etc. I don't know how I recovered, but obviously I did. My photos go back to 2009 from DSLR and further from scanned film. I don't remember if I lost anything.

 

[Ron-Alexander]

The 64GB thumb drives seem inadequate. I have 256GB CF Express cards that I use in my camera. If you are backing up using timeMachine, then you will fill that up quickly with images files . If you are using these for Catalog backups then it is probably OK My Apple Neo is backed up to a 1TB 2.5" HDD and to my NAS.

The thumb drive is just for the backups of the catalog. All the camera raw files are on a RAID and a second HDD. I don't know why I never thought about that before, but the actual photos are NOT adequately backed up. I need a 3rd copy off site. Maybe time to look at Backblaze again, but those drives are only online for short periods of time. Maybe I can use the Pie or the Win 11 or one of the Linux boxes to run Backblaze when I am not plugging them into the Mac. The Win box almost never gets used so that may be the way to go. I am assuming if I eject the drives from windows Backblaze will deal withit ok.

 

[Gnits]

I had one C drive failure in my life. I had ample backups and never lost any data…. but I did not fully appreciate for a while what I really lost… and almost impossible to put a price on that lost…

I needed to rebuild my C drive… then reinstall the apps then recover my data.. A day later I was back in business. But I lost 20 years of accumulated application settings, tool bar configs, custom functions across a wide range of apps including Adobe, Microsoft, Cad and project management. I never really got back to my optimised app configs. I still feel the pain of that experience.

So, ever since.. my system drive is backed up at 4 am every day. A full backup on the 1st of each month and incremental backups daily. The backups can be used to reinstall a working Windows system with all apps installed and configured as per the most recent backup (a similar regime for my data and images… without the need to recovery an o/s).

As time has moved on.. my needs (and number of mission critical apps) have simplified… but have had no reason to change my backup routines.

 

[Califdan]

However you do it, LrC needs the catalog and most associated files on local drives. If it has to go to the cloud to get them it causes problems. And, if other devices also access those same cloud based catalog related files you are almost certain to wind up with catalog corruption at some point.

Many computer saavy folks think putting the catalog on a shared cloud based server like iCloud, OneDrive and the like will allow them to seamlessly access the catalog from multiple computers. This may work fine for regular files, but for the LrC catalog, at some point they will regret this. These are the people who wind up with corrupted catalogs. LrC does a very large number of small read/write operations to SQL tables in the catalog. You can hardly look at your keyboard without some I/O taking place. If your OS is trying to sync all these small I/O operations to the cloud it is rather dicey - espeically if it uses multiple threads or processes to do so as in such opetaions the order of updates may not be maintained and that can corrupt the catalog as well.

But it looks like you have taken our advice and moved your catalog out from under iCloud which is a good move.


TM should have no trouble backing up your catalog files. You may want to exclude the "previews" folder as there are a gazillion files there and LrC will automatically rebuild any it needs on the fly so in case of a drive failure it really doesn't matter if the previews aren't recovered with other catalog files.

You may want to check out BackBlaze, they have a HUGE list of files they do NOT backup. That is why I dumped them.

Backblaze has no trouble backing up LrC catalog and associated files

So, if you have 3 copies, one of which is in a different disaster zone (e.g. BackBlaze) where one or more places has the capability to recover to a specified point in time selected at the time of recovery (e.g. TM and BB) you are pretty much covered.

We could discuss RAID but if you understand what and how it's doing it's thing and are knowledgeable in getting it set up that is fine as well. Most consumers don't have that skill set and wind up in a false sense of security situation. That is why I tend not to reccomend it in most cases.

 

[Ron-Alexander]

However you do it, LrC needs the catalog and most associated files on local drives. If it has to go to the cloud to get them it causes problems. And, if other devices also access those same cloud based catalog related files you are almost certain to wind up with catalog corruption at some point.

Many computer saavy folks think putting the catalog on a shared cloud based server like iCloud, OneDrive and the like will allow them to seamlessly access the catalog from multiple computers. This may work fine for regular files, but for the LrC catalog, at some point they will regret this. These are the people who wind up with corrupted catalogs. LrC does a very large number of small read/write operations to SQL tables in the catalog. You can hardly look at your keyboard without some I/O taking place. If your OS is trying to sync all these small I/O operations to the cloud it is rather dicey - espeically if it uses multiple threads or processes to do so as in such opetaions the order of updates may not be maintained and that can corrupt the catalog as well.

But it looks like you have taken our advice and moved your catalog out from under iCloud which is a good move.


TM should have no trouble backing up your catalog files. You may want to exclude the "previews" folder as there are a gazillion files there and LrC will automatically rebuild any it needs on the fly so in case of a drive failure it really doesn't matter if the previews aren't recovered with other catalog files.


Backblaze has no trouble backing up LrC catalog and associated files
View attachment 28667

So, if you have 3 copies, one of which is in a different disaster zone (e.g. BackBlaze) where one or more places has the capability to recover to a specified point in time selected at the time of recovery (e.g. TM and BB) you are pretty much covered.

We could discuss RAID but if you understand what and how it's doing it's thing and are knowledgeable in getting it set up that is fine as well. Most consumers don't have that skill set and wind up in a false sense of security situation. That is why I tend not to reccomend it in most cases.

No setup with real hardware raid. I do not use TM for the catalogues, they are constantly changing. I actually have a few more backups that I just set up today using Carbon Copy Cloner and NOVUS HDD. I am toally confused now so tomorrow I will draw some pictures to assist me in figuring out what I have and adjust accordingly. I am 84 and Autistic so it takes me a while to get my head around stuff like this.

 

[Ron-Alexander]

The 64GB thumb drives seem inadequate. I have 256GB CF Express cards that I use in my camera. If you are backing up using timeMachine, then you will fill that up quickly with images files . If you are using these for Catalog backups then it is probably OK My Apple Neo is backed up to a 1TB 2.5" HDD and to my NAS.

I wanted to follow up re iCloud (Mac) operation. I have conducted a test to prove the cloud files (Documents and Desktop) are FIRST stored to the local drive. The procedure to reveal the local files is different with diferent MacOS releases but as of now there is one location for ALL clouds, iCloud, Dropbox, OneDrive and maybe others. Most (haven't tested all) AIs get this wrong repeatedly so I devised a very simple test. I turned off WiFi (no cloud access) then created a new file in Desktop and Documents. I then edited each one. The attached screen shots (which also get saved to the Desktop) should convince any skeptics but if you are a skeptic there is a bunch of terminal commands that also prove my point. I prefer my simple test though. If you have an older MacOS or your iDrive is NOT set up right AND you have not told MacOS to FIRST save local (a simple right click on the Documents and Desktop parent folders ONLY under iCloud Drive. One last screen grab is the Info that shows for the new test file created it is located in the cloud. There is no easy way to see it's local path. Any questions?

 

[Ron-Alexander]

However you do it, LrC needs the catalog and most associated files on local drives. If it has to go to the cloud to get them it causes problems. And, if other devices also access those same cloud based catalog related files you are almost certain to wind up with catalog corruption at some point.

Many computer saavy folks think putting the catalog on a shared cloud based server like iCloud, OneDrive and the like will allow them to seamlessly access the catalog from multiple computers. This may work fine for regular files, but for the LrC catalog, at some point they will regret this. These are the people who wind up with corrupted catalogs. LrC does a very large number of small read/write operations to SQL tables in the catalog. You can hardly look at your keyboard without some I/O taking place. If your OS is trying to sync all these small I/O operations to the cloud it is rather dicey - espeically if it uses multiple threads or processes to do so as in such opetaions the order of updates may not be maintained and that can corrupt the catalog as well.

But it looks like you have taken our advice and moved your catalog out from under iCloud which is a good move.


TM should have no trouble backing up your catalog files. You may want to exclude the "previews" folder as there are a gazillion files there and LrC will automatically rebuild any it needs on the fly so in case of a drive failure it really doesn't matter if the previews aren't recovered with other catalog files.


Backblaze has no trouble backing up LrC catalog and associated files
View attachment 28667

So, if you have 3 copies, one of which is in a different disaster zone (e.g. BackBlaze) where one or more places has the capability to recover to a specified point in time selected at the time of recovery (e.g. TM and BB) you are pretty much covered.

We could discuss RAID but if you understand what and how it's doing it's thing and are knowledgeable in getting it set up that is fine as well. Most consumers don't have that skill set and wind up in a false sense of security situation. That is why I tend not to reccomend it in most cases.

Many computer saavy folks think putting the catalog on a shared cloud based server like iCloud, OneDrive and the like will allow them to seamlessly access the catalog from multiple computers. This may work fine for regular files, but for the LrC catalog, at some point they will regret this.

Agreed, I figured that out a long time ago when investigating why some folks get corrupted catalogues. Also I have never had or ever will, I am just a lone amateur.

TM should have no trouble backing up your catalog files.

Nogt so sure, I have a hunch TM could also fall prey to the same lrcat corruption as the shared scenario. What I do not know is how long TM waits to see if there are any more updates. Doesn't LRQ recommend against TM?

You may want to exclude the "previews" folder

Good tip, if when space/time becomes an issue I will remember that.

Please see my last reply (don't know how to tag you in) to clee01I if interested in my iCloud test (it's NOT a problem)

 

[Ron-Alexander]

The 64GB thumb drives seem inadequate. I have 256GB CF Express cards that I use in my camera. If you are backing up using timeMachine, then you will fill that up quickly with images files . If you are using these for Catalog backups then it is probably OK My Apple Neo is backed up to a 1TB 2.5" HDD and to my NAS.

My TM is a 2TB SSD connected to my MBP by Thunderbolt 4/USB4 cable. No image files, they are on RAID backed up by a second HDD (not raid) I am now considering a 3rd copy somewhere, maybe Backblaze if I can configure it to just back up the RAID HDD and NOTHING else.


Here is where my local files go before getting copied to the cloud. NOTE: This is only true for latest MacOS and specific iCloud/iDrive settings ON or OFF.

 

[clee01l]

My TM is a 2TB SSD connected to my MBP by Thunderbolt 4/USB4 cable. No image files, they are on RAID backed up by a second HDD (not raid) I am now considering a 3rd copy somewhere, maybe Backblaze if I can configure it to just back up the RAID HDD and NOTHING else.

TimeMachine can backup both volumes if the Backup Destination volume is large enough. I backup my Primary volume data files and a 16TB volume that holds my image files to a 20TB HDD and this alternates with a Time Machine destination volume on my NAS. And of course I have these two volumes backed up with BackBlaze in the cloud (off site). So in summary, I have three usable backups for recovery is a recovery becomes necessary

 

[Ron-Alexander]

TimeMachine can backup both volumes if the Backup Destination volume is large enough. I backup my Primary volume data files and a 16TB volume that holds my image files to a 20TB HDD and this alternates with a Time Machine destination volume on my NAS. And of course I have these two volumes backed up with BackBlaze in the cloud (off site). So in summary, I have three usable backups for recovery is a recovery becomes necessary

I will be adding BackBlaze today to backup the raw files plus catalogs and related, LR configs etc and all but the raw and cats are on TM and I will be making other changes utilising BB, TM, and a neet rsync or automator trick re cat bkups on main ssd and the new tiny USB sticks coming.
Thanks for the motivation, I thought I was in good shape but maybe not so much, these changes will make me almost as bullet proof as you are.

 

[Ron-Alexander]

I will be adding BackBlaze today to backup the raw files plus catalogs and related, LR configs etc and all but the raw and cats are on TM and I will be making other changes utilising BB, TM, and a neet rsync or automator trick re cat bkups on main ssd and the new tiny USB sticks coming.
Thanks for the motivation, I thought I was in good shape but maybe not so much, these changes will make me almost as bullet proof as you are.

I purchased Backblaze and it has finished withb my system drive, but I can't get it to work with the external drive my image files are on. Since this was the only reason I really needed Backblaze it is so far a 0/100 success. Are there any Mac users with external drives that know how to make it work?

When I search the error I find this, looks promising, but wait,
what does Copy the following command, refer to, I see no following command
and
is this the same confusing step or an additional confusing step

If you have an external drive, copy the following text: /Volumes/<volumename>/.bzvol

and again it says

enter /Volumes/Media/.bzvol into the text input.

WHAT TEXT INPUT????

If your drive was not connected to your computer at the time of the update to the latest version of Backblaze, then Backblaze could not create the hidden .bzvol directory and removed this hard drive from the backup.

View the .bzvol Directory​

Backblaze creates a bzvol directory at the top level of every drive that is backed up. Inside this hidden directory is a tiny file that identifies this hard drive for the rest of time. You can view this directory on a Mac to see what changed.

1. Click Finder.
2. Press Command + Shift + G.
3. Copy the following command, and paste it into the text input: /.bzvol.

The folder is available for copying and modification.

If you have an external drive, copy the following text: /Volumes/<volumename>/.bzvol. For example, if you had an external drive named "Media," enter /Volumes/Media/.bzvol into the text input.

 

[clee01l]

Are there any Mac users with external drives that know how to make it work?

In Settings on the Backblaze app you need to select the volumes to be included in the BB backup. Could not be simpler.

 

[Ron-Alexander]

In Settings on the Backblaze app you need to select the volumes to be included in the BB backup. Could not be simpler.
View attachment 28716

Did that already, checked exclusions, just added a test.txt file and nothing happens. At one time I got a .bzvol message and a scary choice that sounded like it was about to delete all the files on my main photos disk but have since got by that. AI has no answer and I have no faith in first level app support. I thought maybe the APFS format was the problem but I see you use it too. So far not impressed.

 

[clee01l]

What does your BB Settings dialog look like?
The only other thing that I can suggest is in Preferences/Privacy & Security/Full Disk Access that you grant BackBlaze full access. If that does not produce the outcime , the I would uninstall remove allt settings and start over.

 

[Ron-Alexander]

Yep, did all that. Installed latest version but something weird is I could not ekect the installer so had to force it. I am going to try an uninstall and install and cross my fingers.

 

[Ron-Alexander]

What does your BB Settings dialog look like?
The only other thing that I can suggest is in Preferences/Privacy & Security/Full Disk Access that you grant BackBlaze full access. If that does not produce the outcime , the I would uninstall remove allt settings and start over.
View attachment 28718View attachment 28717

I did an uninstall of BB and installed again this time with the external drives plugged in. That worked, but now I have two accounts, the paid one not working and the new working account on trial. The transfer license doesn't work until it goes out of free trial in 15 days. I then used the chat and it walked me through the Inherit State option. That worked although I had to put up with backing up my main drive again but at least everything (that BB backs up) is backed up. The chat AI siad I will see a Transfer License option in place of the Free Trial state after 15 days. Now to review the entire backup again to make sure I have at least 321 (BB is my 1) Next on the agenda is designing a travel storage and backup. I am going on a photo workshop for a couple days in Oct so will probably store the images on my 1/2 empty 1TB SSD System drive. I will also bring my LaCie Rugged Raid for temporary 2nd copy but will not be able to use BB of course since I am away from my high speed internet. I might be able to use TM as well.