Lost custom ordering in all folders after migration to new Mac

[Pmatt F]

I just got a new Macbook Pro, and used Migration Assistant to transfer my account from a Time Machine backup. When I open my Lightroom Classic catalog, everything seems fine, except that all of my folders have lost their Custom ordering. They are now all sorted by Capture Time, and Custom is not an option anymore (until I manually rearrange something). In Collections, the Custom orders I had set up on the old machine are still there.

Does anybody have any idea how this happened? Where are folder Custom orders stored? Can I retrieve them from the old computer?

[Rob_Cullen]

I do not have an answer for your case! I never concern myself with a 'Custom' Order for Folders as, any time a sub-folder is created, the Custom Sort of the 'parent' folder is not possible and the parent folder will revert to Capture Time.

Good that your Collections have maintained a Custom Sort. And Collections are always my way of 'storing' Custom sorted photos.

[johnrellis]

"Where are folder Custom orders stored?"

They're stored in the catalog proper (the .lrcat file), along with custom order for collections.  

Try retrieving a copy of the most recent .lrcat file from your old computer (not using Time Machine or Migration Assistant).  To make sure you're getting the right .lrcat file:

1. Start LR on the old computer and make sure you're looking at the right catalog.

2. Do Catalog Settings > General > Show. That will open Finder with the catalog folder containing the .lrcat file. 

3. Using a USB stick or external drive, transfer that .lrcat file to a new folder on your new computer (not the existing catalog folder). 

4. On the new computer in Finder, double-click that copied .lrcat file to open it in LR.

[Pmatt F]

I have the catalog from the old computer, and everything other than the custom orders is in the folders is fine, so I don't think copying it again will help.

The photos are all in new locations on the new computer – I had to locate and reattach my top level folders. I wonder if it is a Lightroom bug related to that?

[johnrellis]

"I have the catalog from the old computer"

The first rule of troubleshooting is question your own assumptions, and the second rule is to try everything twice, preferably using a second method. 

You got a copy of the catalog onto the new computer via Migration Assistant from a Time Machine backup. It's possible that the Time Machine backup wasn't up-to-date or it was inconsistent (backups made while LR is open can be inconsistent).  So a second method of copying the catalog is get it directly from the old computer, ensuring it's an up-to-date correct copy. 

This may well not be your problem, but it's easy to test.

"The photos are all in new locations on the new computer – I had to locate and reattach my top level folders. I wonder if it is a Lightroom bug related to that?"

Certainly possible, though we haven't seen any other reports about that over the years.  You can test that by opening a fresh copy of your catalog (taken directly from your old computer) and checking the custom orders before you reconnect the folders.

[Pmatt F]

Oh interesting – I went back and checked the original computer. Now I realize that not all folders are affected, but the ones that are, are also missing the Custom order there as well. So the problem did not occur during the transfer to the new computer – at some point the large majority of my folders lost their custom ordering on my old computer.

[johnrellis]

"at some point the large majority of my folders lost their custom ordering on my old computer."

That's too bad -- a much harder problem to recover from.