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How do I restore my PSE 13 catalog from catalog.buc ???

Forum|Forum|8 years ago
October 3, 2017
2 replies
2280 views

I am moving everything to new computer. I did "Full Backup" on old computer to external hard drive and it saves all the pics plus catalog.buc file. It does not save any *.tly file at all when I do Full Backup. When I go to restore to new computer from external hard drive - it asks for .tly file which I do not have in my Full Backup folder. I go back to old computer and the last time it saved a .tly file at all was 2010 which was eons and many backups ago. All the full backups since 2010 have saved a .buc file. How do I restore my catalog from the most recent full backup which contains only the .buc file ??????????

Any advice is most appreciated and desperately needed.

This topic has been closed for replies.

MichelBParis

Legend

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Linda+2011 wrote
As stated previously, the last .tly dates all the way back to 2010 and their have been numerous backups but these are the only files that I (so far) identify as having to do with the PSE/catalog. These files reside in various folders. All these files have been backed-up to external hard drive and new computer. How do I step-wise restore catalog using the info in the below table? or what files I should look for? Thank you for the help.
Retry
1
Full Backup
10/3/2017
New Folder on Seagate Blue:
Catalog Full Backup 2017_10_03\
catalog.buc
(10/03/2017 10:32 PM 103,400 KB)
2
Full Backup
9/29/2017
catalog.buc
(9/29/2017 5:59PM 103,400 KB)
3
PSE Last Use
9/8/2017
catalog.pse9db
(9/8/2017 7:54 PM 71,440 KB)
4
Full Backup
12/18/2010
Backup.Tly
(12/18/2010 6:16 PM 1,357 KB)
My Catalog.buc
(12/18/2010 5:39 PM 44,808 KB)
My Catalog.psa
(12/18/2010 5:39 PM 44,808 KB)
5
6/30/2005
Backup.Tly
(6/30/2005 9:58 AM 93 KB)
My Catalog.buc
(6/30/2005 9:54 AM 5,636 KB)

If you can't perform a successful full backup, you'll have to try an alternative way to move your files and catalogs.

The good thing is that your current catalog on the old computer is ok (maybe check to delete or reconnect missing files).

The devil is that we do not know the reason of the backup failure.

I assume you have PSE13 installed on both computers and that you have enough free space on an external drive.

Your workflow will be:

1 - to move your media files library with the organizer from the original computer location to a master folder of your choice in the external drive. Use the left 'Folders' panel in tree mode and drag and drop your files to the external drive. That's easy but that takes time... You can move folder branch by folder branch to test the process. After that step (maybe a couple of hours to move the files, your catalog on the old computer will reflect the new location on the external drive.

2 - Once that is done, you locate the catalog folder (menu Help >> System Information). You copy the whole folder and paste it somewhere on your external drive (outside the library folder). You close the organizer and double click on the catalog.pse13db file on the copied catalog folder. The organizer opens with the catalog copy and everything is available. That step is relatively fast.

3 - Plug in your external drive, double click on the catalog.pse13db... and your catalog and library works immediately. That's the common way to share a library and catalog on the same external drive.

4 - Optional: you may start from step 1 to move again your library and catalog from the external drive to the new computer.

The whole migration process is not much longer than a successful backup and restore. I am afraid you won't be able to perform a backup from the new setup... It's possible that if you upgrade to a newer Elements version, the conversion of the catalog will solve the problem, I don't know.

L

Linda 2011Author

Participating Frequently

Thank you for your reply. To clarify, I have moved all the above files to the external hard drive and the new computer - although the above files are not all located in the same subfolder - the above files are all located in the same higher level folder (ie Drive:\...\..\Pictures). I have verfied that the files listed in the above table are the same KB on all 3 devices (old computer/external drive/new computer). So that has been done, I think.

Note: when I request a Full Backup I create a new folder like C:\Users\Owner\Pictures\Dell Catalog\Catalog Full Backup 2017-09-29\

I apologize for being so challenged on this, but I am not sure which files you refer to when you say 'media files library' or 'outside the library folder' and so forth When I open PSE13 organizer on the old computer and go to File> Manage Catalogs -- there is only one catalog listed : My Catalog 1 (Current). This is located here:

C:\Users\Linda\Pictures\My Catalog 1 (9/18/2013 3:36 PM)

which contains the following file:

C:\Users\Linda\Pictures\ My Catalog 1\ catalog.pse9db (9/8/2017 7:54 PM 71,440 KB)

I am confused with regard to the different types of 'catalog' files shown in the above table:

BUC files: catalog buc and My Catalog.buc (supposedly incremental backup files)

PSA files: My Catalog.psa (no idea what this is)

TLY files: Backup.tly (supposedly full backup in 2010 - but many full backups done since 2010 that apparently did not save .tly file)

pse9db file: catalog.pse9db (dated the last date I used pse13 to edit a picture)

It sounds like what you are saying is that with the PSE13 program closed, I can double click on the catalog.pse9db file and PSE13 will open my pictures and catalog BUT that after I do that I will not be able to do a full backup at any point in the future. Does this catalog.pse9db file need to be located anywhere special or is the original location okay?

I have read elsewhere on the forum that you can restore a catalog by a step-wise process where you load each incremental backup in a certain order. Is that something to consider? The 2010 backup.tly file was almost certainly created in a much older version of PSE (PSE4).

Thank you kindly for your help.

MichelBParis

Legend

I think it's necessary to agree on the following definitions:

Library versus catalogs

A commonly used definition of a library is a collection of photo files (jpegs, tiffs, raw...) stored on your computer. They are often organized in a folder tree, for instance under the 'My Pictures' main folder; but they can be on different main folders or even drives (internal or external).

A catalog is the computer equivalent of a catalog kept on paper, on a Word document, on an Excel spreadsheet or better a database file. The catalog contains links to the location of your media (jpeg etc.) files on the drives and the information extracted from the exif data written by your camera or added by yourself (tags, captions, ratings, notes...) A catalog does not contain media files, only links to their original location.

In the organizer, a catalog is not a single file, it's a whole folder containing the master component, a database file named catalog.psexxdb depending on your version. A database is much more powerful than a paper catalog and much more than even an Excel files. It holds a number of tables and indexes with very strict coherence and safety rules, and is able to use complex queries based on different criteria and find the results immediately from its indexes. The database needs other accessory files in the catalog folder, for instance a thumbnail cache for fast displaying of the thumbnails when browsing pages rapidly.

The organizer uses other tools around the catalog, the downloader, the backup and restore modules for instance.

What's the concept of organizer backups and restore?

You have seen that on one side you must create a copy to backup your library (your precious jpegs etc) and also the catalog (the whole catalog folder). The concept for the organizer is to store copies for all media files in your library and copies of all the elements in the catalog) into a single backup folder. For good reasons, it has been decided to store all copies of your media files directly in that backup folder, but renamed in sequential names B000....jpg etc. The folder structure is lost in the process, but a special file, backup.tly keeps the structure and is able to tell how to restore each file with its original name and in its correct subfolder. That works even if you restore on a different drive or computer. The catalog.pseXXdb is copied under the name catalog.buc. Other catalog components (face recognition...) are also renamed in the backup folder. That means that the backup folder must absolutely contain the backup.tly and catalog.buc.

Side notes for some of your other questions:

- .psa files are catalogs in the Microsoft Acces format for old organizer versions up to PSE5.

- catalog.pse9db are created in PSE9, catalog.pse13db in PSE13... They are the master database in catalog folders. That tells you which PSE version was used to create the backup.

- full and incremental backups: I don't think you did use them. I don't want to make things more complicated, but each incremental backup has exactly the same backup folder as the original full backup, with catalog.psexxdb and backup.tly.

The alternative way to replace the backup/restore method described in my previous post is based on the ability to move files from the organizer (drag and drop in the left Folders tree panel) while keeping the links to the new location updated in the catalog. It's also based on the fact that you can move a whole catalog folder without altering its contents.

Does this help you?

MichelBParis

Legend

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Linda+2011 wrote
I am moving everything to new computer. I did "Full Backup" on old computer to external hard drive and it saves all the pics plus catalog.buc file. It does not save any *.tly file at all when I do Full Backup.

Unfortunately, if you don't see a backup.tly file in the backup folder, that's because the backup did not complete. It's the last file to be written in the catalog folder. I don't know the reason of the failure; often it's because the user has not waited long enough after the end of the backup. (Please check again if you have a .tly file in the previous backups).

The catalog.buc file is a simple renamed copy of the database file 'catalog.pse13db'. That's important information, but you can't restore the renamed media files in their folder structure. The backup.tly file is necessary for that.

Main question for further help: is your old computer still available?

L

Linda 2011Author

Participating Frequently

Thank you for your reply. Yes old computer still available. As background, I have been using PSE since late 90's and have migrated through several different versions of the program and three different computers. I do not think that the problem is related to not waiting for backup to complete.

While waiting for reply, I have 1)Attempted a second full backup from old computer (using a different backup subfolder, per usual) and 2) Searched old computer for any files I can identify as having anything to do with PSE catalog (although I'm not 100% sure what they all are). With regard to Item 1) I selected Full Backup from PSE to external hard drive and it did not make a .tly file only the .buc file (same as before). With regard to Item 2) I have summarized the files that I have found in the below table.

As stated previously, the last .tly dates all the way back to 2010 and their have been numerous backups but these are the only files that I (so far) identify as having to do with the PSE/catalog. These files reside in various folders. All these files have been backed-up to external hard drive and new computer. How do I step-wise restore catalog using the info in the below table? or what files I should look for? Thank you for the help.


Retry 1	Full Backup	10/3/2017	New Folder on Seagate Blue: Catalog Full Backup 2017_10_03\	catalog.buc (10/03/2017 10:32 PM 103,400 KB)
2	Full Backup	9/29/2017		catalog.buc (9/29/2017 5:59PM 103,400 KB)
3	PSE Last Use	9/8/2017		catalog.pse9db (9/8/2017 7:54 PM 71,440 KB)
4	Full Backup	12/18/2010	Backup.Tly (12/18/2010 6:16 PM 1,357 KB)	My Catalog.buc (12/18/2010 5:39 PM 44,808 KB)	My Catalog.psa (12/18/2010 5:39 PM 44,808 KB)
5		6/30/2005	Backup.Tly (6/30/2005 9:58 AM 93 KB)	My Catalog.buc (6/30/2005 9:54 AM 5,636 KB)

L

Linda 2011Author

Participating Frequently

P.S. I just re-opened PSE13 on old computer (after doing backup overnight ...and making no changes to organizer...) and the first screen that comes up is "Based on the number of new or modified photos, you may want to backup your catalog and files." Sigh.

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