Can I preserve LR individual photo rating and color grade when transferring photo files to new disk?

[Ken Nielsen]

I've tried moving files to a new disk in the past and the one big thing I noticed is that the rating 1-5 and the choice of color is gone from the individual photos. I'm getting ready to move my entire photo library frim indiviual smaller diskes onto a larger disk and again, I'm faced with the possiblity that these 'grading' details will be lost. From what I understand, the colors, like 'red' are preserved in text format but I don't know where or how to bring them back to life. Does anyone have an insight on how to preserve these grading things before I make the big move to the larger hard drive? I imagine it is written into the catalog but is not perserved when you actally move the files.

[Rob_Cullen · Accepted solution]

All is preserved IN THE CATALOG.! 

If you 'Move' photo files then it is just a matter of re-linking the Catalog to the new location of the files. Nothing is lost. Ratings, colors, edits, etc. Nothing is lost.

For moving large numbers of files  to another drive (as in your case) the preferred method often suggested is given in Option Two in this link-

MOVING PHOTOS- 2 Methods

Note:

Re-importing anything is the wrong thing to do!

Synchronizing Folders is the wrong thing to do!

Creating a new Catalog is the wrong thing to do!

[Ken Nielsen]

It sounds like you know exacty how to do this. The difference now is that all of the folders by date are now going to be together on one hard drive, not as they were on separate drives. I was just going to. turn off the old drives one by one and when Lightroom asks me where the file is I will locate it on the new drive and point to it saying 'here it is.' Does that sound sensible to you?

Now, one last request along with this please: I have some dated folders included in my Lightroom catalog that had to be saved to a different hard drive as the current has run out of room. So those saved folders are a part of the catalog but now I want to put them into their right location into the last month of this year. My guess is that I can 'Move' those saved folders once I have completed the major task above, so after the fact of successfully moving the files to the new hard drive, then can I move these files that are in the wrong location to their proper place in the catalog after everything has been successfully transferred? I hope I explained this correctly.

[Rob_Cullen · Accepted solution]

"I was just going to. turn off the old drives one by one and when Lightroom asks me where the file is I will locate it on the new drive and point to it saying 'here it is.' Does that sound sensible to you?"

Yes it does. It makes it easier, when you copy folders/files to the new drive,  if you can keep folders in the exact same 'Parent / subfolder' heirarchy, then you can re-link a 'Parent' folder and all the sub-folders re-link.

You might want to do the copy of folders/files one drive at a time- relink these on the new drive, then go onto the next drive to 'copy and re-link'.

"I can 'Move' those saved folders once I have completed the major task above,"

Yes. AFTER you have successfully re-linked folders that are now on the new large drive, THEN start moving folders into your desired 'dated' structure WITHIN the LrC Folder panel. (NOT with any external app, like Finder)

If you change the folder structure  (heirarchy) of files as you move them (with FInder), then it becomes a real PIB to re-link as LrC is expecting the 'old' folder structure and not your changed (messed up) folder structure.

[Ken Nielsen]

Supreme Thanks Rob, it's taking days for the files to copy over to the new multi-bay HD, but another day or two and I'll be ready to do the actual 're-appointing' the files to Lightroom from their new location.  As some of your reply suggests, there are many ways to destroy the whole thing if not followed correctly. I'll take my best care but the only breathing easy will be done only after it's finished and everything is in place and working. Thanks again, - Ken