Lightroom cannot launch with this catalog. It is either on a network volume or on a volume on which

[defaulta5tcqevtnok5]

I have purchased a MAC having previously been using windows 10.  I have downloaded Lightroom Classic and when I go to open my catalog from my external hard drive I get the following message.

Lightroom cannot launch with this catalog. It is either on a network volume or on a volume on which Lightroom cannot save changes

Anyone know how to help?

{Moved from Lightroom Cloud to Lightroom Classic Forum by Moderator} 

[JohanElzenga · Accepted solution]

Most likely you copied the catalog to an external drive that is NTSF formatted. MacOS can read those drives, but cannot write to it. That is what Lightroom is telling you: it cannot write to it. Copy the catalog folder to your internal drive and open it from there. That should solve it.

[defaulta5tcqevtnok5]

Thanks for the reply, It was a combination of the formatting and the fact I wasn't copying all the relevant files needed.  All sorted now though thank goodness.  Thought I was going to regret changing to a MAC lol.

[Michael23304689wmnj]

Since repeated attempts to search for solutions to this problem result in this discussion being just about the only thing even close - I will note the following:

I get the error noted on a Synology Network Share, using MacOS.  What is different - is that Lightroom CC WROTE the catalog and all the photos and data to the network location. In this case the local mounted reference is: "The catalog's location is /Volumes/Photos/[directory of catalog+photos]/filename same as directory].lrcat."

I have validated all the security issues related to the latest major and major.minor MacOS releases - to the point that I put the application in the "Full Disk Access" privacy category - and restarted the application.

I have not found a solution yet, but didn't want other people with my issue - to come up empty handed. This has to be some technical issue, because it would be astoundingly unthinkable for Adobe to prevent people from using network shares. 

"Lightroom cannot launch with this catalog. It is either on a network volume or on a volume on which Lightroom cannot save changes."

[JohanElzenga]

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@Michael23304689wmnj wrote:

Since repeated attempts to search for solutions to this problem result in this discussion being just about the only thing even close - I will note the following:

I get the error noted on a Synology Network Share, using MacOS.  What is different - is that Lightroom CC WROTE the catalog and all the photos and data to the network location. In this case the local mounted reference is: "The catalog's location is /Volumes/Photos/[directory of catalog+photos]/filename same as directory].lrcat."

I have validated all the security issues related to the latest major and major.minor MacOS releases - to the point that I put the application in the "Full Disk Access" privacy category - and restarted the application.

I have not found a solution yet, but didn't want other people with my issue - to come up empty handed. This has to be some technical issue, because it would be astoundingly unthinkable for Adobe to prevent people from using network shares. 

"Lightroom cannot launch with this catalog. It is either on a network volume or on a volume on which Lightroom cannot save changes."

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The last sentence gives you your answer. Lightroom cannot use a catalog that is on a network volume. It has to be on a local volume. Adobe is not preventing people from using network shares however. Your images can be on a network share without any problems. Just the catalog can not be.

[Michael23304689wmnj]

Johan - thank you for the quick response. It is appreciated.

Not trying to be a pain, but this cannot be true.  The default catalog itself is not on a local drive, the entire /Users/[home] is not on a local drive. Its not on the Synology, but is in an external exclosure.

Lets find an Adobe document which states that synology network drives are not supported.
--Michael

[Rikk Flohr: Photography]

Here you go: https://helpx.adobe.com/in/lightroom-classic/kb/catalog-faq-lightroom.html