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JanetteFPl
Known Participant
July 12, 2025
Answered

Images downloaded on SSD through LrC but needing another copy of all images on another SSD (backup)

  • July 12, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 372 views

I downloaded 1 TB of images using LrC. At the time I only owned 1 external SSD so I could not create a back up. I do wish to place a copy of all the images on another SSD, as a backup.

I do not want to transfer the images from the current SSD that the images are stored on, but make a copy of the images onto a different SSD. I do want to be able to access and process the backup images using LrC, should I need to.

How do I manage to achieve this using Lightoom Classic for the copying process? Your help, as always, is so very appreicated. 

Correct answer Conrad_C
quote

copying the files from one SSD to the other (so both contain the same files)

By @JanetteFPl

 

Yes and specifically, they should be copied in a way that the entire folder hierarchy, from parent folder to all subfolders, is copied exactly as the source/original is. This is so when you re-associate the Lightroom Classic catalog with the replacement location, everything can be found the same way. So this is simplest if the current folders are all under a single parent folder, or at least as few top-level folders as possible.

 

quote

…and then, within LrC, synchronising the parent folder on the new SSD with the copied images would definitely not work ?

By @JanetteFPl

 

Correct, and it’s smart of you to ask that because a lot of people trip up on this. Synchronize Folder is definitely not what to use in this situation where you want to replace existing files with their backup. Synchronize Folder is for updating the catalog with changes to the selected folder (such as added or deleted files) in its original location. But when you’re re-associating a catalog with a replacement set of identical files (such as on the external backup), tracking added/deleted images is not the goal, the goal is to maintain everything as it is but now linking to the backup files that should be identical to the originals. The Update Folder Location command is what serves that goal.

2 replies

Conrad_C
Community Expert
Conrad_CCommunity Expert
Community Expert
July 12, 2025

Lightroom Classic does not include a good tool for this, but that's not unusual, most apps would not be expected to include that type of thing.

 

One way is to simply switch to the desktop and drag and drop the parent/containing folder to the SSD. That would be fine for just one time. But if you think you will need to update that when you add new photos, then it would be much better to use one of the excellent backup/copy utility apps that can automate this.

 

Your post says macOS, so some choices you can try (which I have used) are Carbon Copy Cloner, ChronoSync, and Hazel. All let you set up a preset that would remember the location of your Lightroom Classic photo folders, and the location of your backup on your external volume. The point of the preset is so that you aren’t having to set up the copy operation each time. You run it the first time, and it copies everything over. The second time, you connect the external volume and run the preset, and these apps can detect the new or changed files and copy only those, so you aren’t wasting time waiting for it to copy the whole thing again.

 

In addition, all of those apps can be scheduled. So if you import some more images, and you have set up the backup app to run daily, then tomorrow it will check to see if anything has changed in the folders tracked by the preset, and it will automatically copy over just the changes.

 

All of those apps are paid software. But none of them are expensive, so all of them easily pay for themselves in making sure you maintain a current, complete backup without having to spend a lot of time on it.

 

If the main SSD was to fail, all you would have to do is plug in the backup, then show Lightroom Classic where the replacement parent folder is. To do this, right-click the parent folder, choose Update Folder Location, and select the copy of the parent folder on the backup. Lightroom Classic will then reconnect all of the subfolders and images within the parent folder.

 

If you haven’t set up your Mac to use right-click or other forms of opening the context menu such as two-finger tap on the trackpad, then Control-click instead.

 

    J
    JanetteFPlAuthor
    Known Participant
    July 13, 2025

    Thanks Conrad C.  I apprecate the names of the copy programs for my Mac. Just a point - am I to understand that copying the files from one SSD to the other (so both contain the same files) and then, within LrC, synchronising the parent folder on the new SSD with the copied images would definitely not work ?

     

    Conrad_C
    Community Expert
    Conrad_CCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    July 13, 2025
    quote

    copying the files from one SSD to the other (so both contain the same files)

    By @JanetteFPl

     

    Yes and specifically, they should be copied in a way that the entire folder hierarchy, from parent folder to all subfolders, is copied exactly as the source/original is. This is so when you re-associate the Lightroom Classic catalog with the replacement location, everything can be found the same way. So this is simplest if the current folders are all under a single parent folder, or at least as few top-level folders as possible.

     

    quote

    …and then, within LrC, synchronising the parent folder on the new SSD with the copied images would definitely not work ?

    By @JanetteFPl

     

    Correct, and it’s smart of you to ask that because a lot of people trip up on this. Synchronize Folder is definitely not what to use in this situation where you want to replace existing files with their backup. Synchronize Folder is for updating the catalog with changes to the selected folder (such as added or deleted files) in its original location. But when you’re re-associating a catalog with a replacement set of identical files (such as on the external backup), tracking added/deleted images is not the goal, the goal is to maintain everything as it is but now linking to the backup files that should be identical to the originals. The Update Folder Location command is what serves that goal.

    D
    DenmarkOne
    Inspiring
    July 12, 2025

    You should be able to do a full copy of the files from 1st external ssd to the 2nd. No need to do that through Lightroom. But it will not be an actively synced backup. Simply a second copy of the same files. Then, in LrC, you create a new catalog for the backup files. It is important to remember you need the exact same archive structure in the files, all the way up to, but obviously not including, the drive they are located on. So when initilazing the copy/backup process you take your highest located folder and copy that. This will help you, as well as LR when navigating it. It is also important to remember that LrC cannot keep these catalogs synced. So any edits/culling you do in the primary catalog will NOT show in the backup. It will simply be a way for you to access the same images, but not the same files.

    J
    JanetteFPlAuthor
    Known Participant
    July 13, 2025

    Thanks. I shall try this and see how I go. I appreacite you taking the time to give me some clues.

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