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FrederikPrip
Participant
June 4, 2023
Question

Moving photos from old SSD to a external hard drive to new SDD, all editing is gone.

  • June 4, 2023
  • 2 replies
  • 158 views

Hi!

 

I was running out of space on my old SSD (250GB), so I bought a new SSD (1TB).

Before the switch I have read that I should move all my photos within the Lightroom Classic App. So I connected my external hard drive, moved all the photos and no problem. I could still now both watch my edited raw files within Lightroom Classic, and I could find and watch my exported JPEG edits on the external harddrive. No problems so far.

 

Then I disconnected my old SSD and install my new SSD to my laptop. I installed Windows, then I installed Lightroom Classic, made a new folder within LrC with the same name at on my old SSD, I then connected my external harddrive. But when I tried to add the folder on the external harddrive within LrC, so I could move the photos back it wants me to import all the photos instead of moving AND I can see on the previews that all of my edited raw files has been undone. That means 1500 photos worth of editing, cropping etc. is gone.

 

How can I move them the right way, so I'll get all the editing with me from the old SSD to the new SSD?

 

Thank you in advance, Frederik Prip

This topic has been closed for replies.

2 replies

dj_paige
dj_paige
Legend
June 4, 2023

No importing needed. No re-installing of Windows and LrC needed.

 

If you have the catalog file from before you did this, taht's what you want to use. Just open that and re-connect the folders to the new location on the new external HD.

 

If you don't have the catalog file from before you did this, restore a recent backup of your catalog file. If you don't have a recent backup ... well ... not good.

DClark064
DClark064
Inspiring
June 4, 2023

It is not clear from your description, but I believe you may have started a new LR catalog rather than move your old catalog along with your image files.  All the edits you have made are stored in the catalog.  If you have not moved the LR catalog file, reinstall your old SSD and use the OS to copy the LR catalog file to your external hard drive.  Then switch to the new SSD and use the OS to move the LR catalog to the Lightroom folder that was created when you installed LR, just as you had it on the old SSD.  Then start LR, open the LR catalog, and you should see all your files, including the edits, on your external drive.  You can then use LR to move them to the new drive or any other place where you want to keep them. 

 

I hope that is all that has gone wrong, since it is easy to fix and nothing should be lost.

 

BTW, there is no problem with leaving the image files on a a slower internal or external drive that has more storage capacity.  The image files are not often read or written by LR so if the disk speed is a bit slower it is hardly noticeable.  LR accesses the catalog file and the preview files a lot so they need to be in the Lightroom folder on your fast SSD.

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