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per-ake_8685
Participant
May 20, 2025
Question

How to move Element Organizer Photos to a new external drive

  • May 20, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 281 views

Hi,

I am running Elements 2025 on Windows 10, having the program installed on internal drive C: and all media files located om en external USB drive named F: , it is more than 34k media files in the catalog.

 

I now want to move all media file originals to a new USB disk, keeping the folder structure and keeping Elements Organizer 2025 having control of all the files.

 

I know there is a command inside Organizer to Move/copy files to a new unit. Is that the way to do it or is there a better way? If that is the way, should I choose to copy or to move and what is the differens from the Organizer catalog´s perspektive?

 

Please advise me how to do the disk replacement in the best (safety and time) possible way.

 

Best Regards

Per-Åke

2 replies

Greg_S.
Community Expert
Greg_S.Community Expert
Community Expert
May 25, 2025

@per-ake_8685 said:  I now want to move all media file originals to a new USB disk, keeping the folder structure 

 

Using the File>Copy/Move to Removable Drive option will not achieve your goal.  All of your files will simply be placed in a single folder or the root of the USB drive.

 

To maintain the folder structure, if your files are under a single parent folder, you can use the Organizer's My Folders panel to drag that parent folder from its current location to the new drive.  The movement of the files will take several hours and I recommend that you leave the process running overnight.

 

However, since I am a big believer in backups, my real recommendation is that you do a full backup of your catalog and restore it to the new USB drive.  Depending on the space you have in your current configuration and the size of your new USB drive, you may have to use a third drive for the backup.  In any event, full instructions for such a backup and restore may be found in this Adobe HelpX article.  (The instructions for how to restore the backup to a new location with the original folder structure can sometimes lead to unexpected results.  But in your case, I don't think there will be any problem.)

creative explorer
Community Expert
creative explorerCommunity Expert
Community Expert
May 25, 2025

@per-ake_8685 on top of what @Greg_S. You could do it in batches if copying to a USB drive. I will grab a few hundred and drag it over. Some copying will take longer than others, but at least you can see what works and what doesn't. Sometimes, there may be even a corrupted file that can't be copied, so watching this will take the frustration out if you run it overnight and it stops copying at some point. 

m
creative explorer
Community Expert
creative explorerCommunity Expert
Community Expert
May 25, 2025

@per-ake_8685 

For safely and efficiently moving your 34,000+ media files to a new USB drive while maintaining your Elements Organizer 2025 catalog, using the "Move/Copy" command within Organizer is indeed the best and recommended way. This method ensures that the Organizer's catalog is automatically updated with the new file locations, preventing "disconnected files" errors that would occur if you simply moved them using Windows File Explorer.


When prompted within Organizer, you should choose the "Move" option. This tells Organizer to perform the file transfer and then update its catalog to reflect the new location of the originals on your new USB drive. Choosing "Copy" would duplicate the files on the new drive without updating the catalog, leaving the catalog still pointing to the old drive and requiring you to manually reconnect (which can be a huge headache with 34k files).

m
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