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A
AnakhaS
Known Participant
December 28, 2019
Question

How to import all the things to Lightroom Classic on new Windows installation?

  • December 28, 2019
  • 5 replies
  • 1053 views

Hi,

I've been using Lightroom Classic for a while on Windows 7 and just updated to Windows 10 (yes, only now :-)). I've been looking to find a way to import all the things (photos, catalogs, settings...) but can't really find what exactly to do. I have been doing backups each time I used Lightroom but now I'm thinking I should have done more?

Would realllly appreciate some step-by-step guidance.
Thank you 🙂

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5 replies

Per Berntsen
Community Expert
Per BerntsenCommunity Expert
Community Expert
December 29, 2019

When you do a backup in Lightroom, it only backs up the catalog, which contains the edits and other metadata.

It does not back up your photos.

A
AnakhaSAuthor
Known Participant
December 29, 2019
I know about the photos, I was hoping it would at least also save the
presets and settings.

Sofie Couwenbergh

*Founder *of WonderfulWanderings.com
*Influencer vetter* at InfluInspect.com
Lauca
Lauca
Participating Frequently
December 29, 2019

Updating a Windows 7 PC to Windows 10 shouldn't have change anything to the file organisation in the PC and LR should work the same way, finding the catalog as usual.

How did you do the update ?

A
AnakhaSAuthor
Known Participant
December 29, 2019

(same answer as above)

I think the issue lies in how I did the upgrade. As I didn't realize I could still update for free to Windows 10, I first upgraded from 7 to 8 and in the process, Windows put "all" of my Windows 7 files in separate maps but now going through them, nothing of Lightroom seems to have been saved. Everything that's currently on the computer that is Lightroom, comes from installing Lightroom anew.

When updating to Windows 10, everything was saved, but since it seems all of my Lightroom things were lost updating from 7 to 8, this might be a lost cause 😞

I'm going to see if I can find and restore my backup. I didn't realize the backup was just for the photos and not for all the settings and presets 😞

Per Berntsen
Community Expert
Per BerntsenCommunity Expert
Community Expert
December 28, 2019

I read your post again, and realized that this might not be a new computer.

In that case, you shouldn't have to do anything, just launch Lightroom, and carry on where you left off.

If Lightroom has somehow created a new, empty catalog, use File > Open, and navigate to your original catalog.

Or double-click the .lrcat file to launch Lightroom with the original catalog.

    A
    AnakhaSAuthor
    Known Participant
    December 29, 2019

    I tried both double-clicking the .lrcat file and going to it via file > open catalog and still Lightroom remains empty 😞 I'm not getting an error message it's just that nothing happens.

    Per Berntsen
    Community Expert
    Per BerntsenCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    December 29, 2019

    Do a search on your computer with the File Explorer for files ending with .lrcat.

    Then double-click each of them until you find the right one.

    If you get a message saying that the catalog needs to be upgraded, then it's an old catalog from a previous version, so click Cancel.

     

    In the unlikely event that your original catalog has disappeared, use the latest backup you have.

    Since you have been backing up daily, you shouldn't lose too much work.

    The backups are zipped, so you will have to unzip it first.

    Then copy the catalog file to a new folder. The name and location of this folder is up to you.

    Finally, double-click the catalog file to launch Lightroom.

    GoldingD
    GoldingD
    Legend
    December 28, 2019

    Is this a new computer?

     

    A
    AnakhaSAuthor
    Known Participant
    December 28, 2019

    Same computer, different Windows version.

    Per Berntsen
    Community Expert
    Per BerntsenCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    December 28, 2019

    All you need to do is to copy the folder containing your catalog (it's usually inside the Pictures folder) and the photos to the new computer.

    The catalog folder can be anywhere on the new computer, but the photos should ideally be in the same location as on the old computer. If they're not, Lightroom will report them as missing, but you can reconnect them by right clicking the topmost folder(s), and pointing Lightroom to the new location.

    Once you have copied everything over, double-click the catalog file (extension .lrcat) to launch Lightroom.

    Note: Do not import the photos. You will lose all the edits as well as other metadata.

    The edits and metadata are in the catalog.

    A
    AnakhaSAuthor
    Known Participant
    December 28, 2019

    Thanks Per!

    Will try that in the morning!

    Is it an issue that Lightroom already opened after I installled it?

    Also, does this mean I can only save catalogs/edits and not the presets I had installed and the settings I had?

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