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Participant
August 12, 2025
Answered

Lightroom Classic and External Hard Drive

  • August 12, 2025
  • 1 reply
  • 276 views

I use Lightroom Classic on a Mac. I've used the same external hard drive for too long - about 3 years - and need to start using a new HD. How do I set up the new HD so that LRC saves my images as well as the catalog to the external HD?  Thanks in advance for advice!

Correct answer dj_paige

New images can be written to the new external HD via changing the settings in the Destination Panel of the Import Dialog.

 

You can copy (not move) the existing images to the new external HD via these instructions (see Part 2 — Updating Folder Location).

 

The catalog is best located on an internal drive, but if you really want to move it to the new external drive, use your operating system to copy it to the new external drive.

1 reply

dj_paige
dj_paigeCorrect answer
Legend
August 12, 2025

New images can be written to the new external HD via changing the settings in the Destination Panel of the Import Dialog.

 

You can copy (not move) the existing images to the new external HD via these instructions (see Part 2 — Updating Folder Location).

 

The catalog is best located on an internal drive, but if you really want to move it to the new external drive, use your operating system to copy it to the new external drive.

Participant
August 20, 2025

Thanks for excellent reply. I'll follow the linked instructions.  

My concern about the keeping the catalog on my internal drive is that it seems to take an enormous amout of space on my internal HD. Am I wrong (very likely!). 

respectfully, tdb

C.Cella
Legend
August 20, 2025

@thomasb42021542 
You can keep your catalog size in check by :

1. Deleting history when you have finished editing.
2. Delte redundant Virtual Copties

3. Delte redundant Snapshots

4. Optimise catalog to get rid of the Enhance XMP data that seriously bloats it.

This will also cleanup/delete useless data in the lrcat-data (the folder when all Ai images and Masks are stored)
 
Also Delete Previews according to your needs.


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