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June 23, 2026

Does Lightroom Classic 15.4.1's Duplicate Detection feature fully support image libraries stored on exFAT volumes

  • June 23, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 1 view

Lightroom Classic 15.4.1 Duplicate Detection appears to ignore duplicate photos stored on an exFAT external drive.

Configuration:

  • Windows 11
  • External NVMe SSD connected via Thunderbolt
  • Drive F: formatted as exFAT
  • Lightroom catalog functions normally
  • Photos open, edit, and save correctly on the external drive

Diagnostics performed:

  • fsutil fsinfo volumeinfo F: reports:
    • File System Name: exFAT
    • Is ReadWrite
  • chkdsk F: Completed with no file system errors.
  • Lightroom has full access to edit and save files on the drive.

Issue:
The new Duplicate Detection feature reports "No Duplicates Found" even though duplicate images are known to exist on the external drive.

Because the drive is confirmed to be mounted read/write and Lightroom can edit the files normally, this does not appear to be a Windows permissions issue.

Could you please confirm whether Duplicate Detection in Lightroom Classic 15.4.1 fully supports image libraries stored on exFAT volumes, or whether this is a known issue requiring NTFS?

Thank you,

Ron

    1 reply

    JohanElzenga
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    June 23, 2026

    As far as I know the duplicate detection is done in the catalog, not by reading the images from disk. Images must be real duplicates, so for example not a series of images that are identical because they were taken from a stationary subject with the camera on a tripod.

    -- Johan W. Elzenga