How to Safely Delete All Photos From Hard Drive & Then Restore With Memory Card

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
June 24, 2021
4 replies
1324 views

I want to delete all photos from my hard drive in PSE 2020. Then I want to attach my card reader and download just the recent photos on my memory card again. The reason is that my photo files are greyed out when I go to upload them for printing with a third psrty. In fact, the photo file numbers don't even show up. Things with PSE Support Files do. That seems to be because I mixed Nikon NX-1 and PSE 20 incorrectly.

(NX-1, Nikon Transfer 2 and Capture NX-D have been uninstalled.)

A suggestion was made for me to download LR from the cloud. It appears thst LR is the writing on the wall for me, but I have two photos out of about 36 that need extensive editing. I edited one successfully in PSE after about 1 1/2 hours. I know PSE well and I do not look forward to getting up to speed in LR for these two extensive edits with a 7-day trial.

Is deleting all my photos and perhaps uninstalling and reinstalling PSE 2020 and then connecting my csrd reader a good idea? Do I have my workflow right? If so, what should I be careful to do to be successful? I'm using a MacBook Pro. Thanks for any help n advance.

How to

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Greg_S.

Community Expert

It is not at all clear to me what you are talking about. Are you refering to the appearance of the folders/files in the Organizer or when using your OS? Please give us some screenshots of what the files and folders look like and what you mean about the greyed out photos.

As I said, I know almost nothing about Macs. So if this is some kind of OS issue, somebody else will have to help you. But let's be clear about what the problem is.

F

fucanonAuthor

Known Participant

Okay, I'm working on getting screenshots to you.

F

fucanonAuthor

Known Participant

The shot with the folders on the left is from the PSE 2020 Organizer. The top folders with the numbers 00, 001, 002, etc. were created and named by the Nikon software. The other shots are from the website of the third-party printing service that I have used many times in the past.

I never saw these choices before. When I go ti upload photos from my computer on the printer's website I see Support Files which I can open ikf I want to but most other applications are greyed out. When I type in the file name of a photo, I get no results usually. (Perhap five of my previous photosthat begin DSC automatically come up if I enter DCS, but they have been mixed into the Nikon folders.

Greg_S.

Community Expert

I think you have some basic misunderstandings about what is happening on your computer.

You said: The reason is that my photo files are greyed out when I go to upload them for printing with a third psrty.

I'm not sure what you mean, but I suspect that you are trying to upload raw files to your print service. I believe most photo services will not accept raw files for printing. I'm not familiar with the Nikon software but I assume that it allows you to view and process raw files and convert them to jpegs which can be printed. Of course PSE does this too.

None of this has anything to do with a need to delete files from your computer. Files are transferred from your camera's memory card to your computer and are stored there wherever you have put them. When you use Elements, you import the files to a catalog which keeps track of where the files are stored on your computer. If you are trying to delete files from your computer so you can import them again without duplication, there is no need. You simply have to import the files already stored on your computer into Elements. If they are already in the catalog, they will not be imported again.

So, before giving you any further advice, we need to know more details about exactly what it is you are trying to do, and for you to confirm that you are using raw files (or raw+jpeg). And please explain why you no longer want the photos on your computer other than the ones that you intend to import again from the memory card.

Now, I know virtually nothing about Macs. So if the problem you are trying to solve is somehow related to your Mac-only setup, then I may have entirely missed the point of your post. (But I doubt it.)

In the meantime, don't delete anything.

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fucanonAuthor

Known Participant

Thanks. I want to get back to editing photos in PSE 20 on my MacBook Pro (OS 10.16) and then upload them to a third-party print service. My problems started when I installed Nikon Transfer 2 and NX-1. I didn't need to do that because I ended up shooting my photos in JPEG rather than RAW +JPEG. I forgot to uninstall Nikon.

Even with the Nikon software installed, I was able to edit my photos in Photoshop Elements. However, when it was time to upload them to a website for third party printing, almost all my files on my computer were greyed out and no photo files showed. (Before I read your post, I deleted Transfer 2 and Nikon NX-1.)

In PSE 20, the folders with the files I downloaded with the Nikon software are still visible.( These folders were given numeric names by the Nikon software.) I'm unsure how to get rid of them or whether I should.

T

Test Screen Name

Legend

This is inherently dangerous. Start with a full backup. Only delete things once you have a backup.

TIP: it is not backed up if it's only on a disk or card. A backup means there must be TWO OR MORE good copies.

Peru Bob

Community Expert

Whatever you do, be sure that you have backups of your photos.

See Schofield's Second Law:

https://www.zdnet.com/article/follow-schofields-three-laws-of-computing-and-avoid-disasters/