Making duplicate photo storage

[CharlesSteinberg]

What is the best way to make a duplicate copy of the external hard drive where I am storing my Lightroom photos. In the past I've used duplicate and copying software that has put all the photos on the second drive but loses the Lightroom folder organization. Is there a way to have a duplicate copy of my stored photos that Lightroom  could read just like the original? Thank you 

[Todd Shaner]

What is the purpose of the duplicate copies and how will you use them. If for backup purposes they should NOT be imported back into LrC. I use FreeFileSync for keeping a duplicate backup copy of all my image files, but there are numerous other backup applications you can use for this pupose including Mac Time Machine.

[Chris 486]

What is the thing you would like to accomplish by keeping 2 sets of identical files for Lightroom to try to read?

*Edited to remove incorrect information. Thank you for the catch Conrad. Had a brain freeze there.*

[Conrad_C]

You can use any of the reputable utility applications that can make an exact copy of the storage volume containing the original photos. As an exact copy, it will have the same folder organization as the original. So if the original storage volume becomes unavailable for any reason, you just swap in the copy and have Lightroom Classic relink to the same folder structure. This is easiest if all photo folders are under a single top level parent folder, because then you only have to relink your Lightroom Classic catalog to that one folder. Lightroom Classic will then work its way down and relink all of the subfolders that match the organization in the catalog, and you'll be all set to go.

On the Mac, good backup/cloning utilities include  Carbon Copy Cloner, SuperDuper!, and Chronosync. A feature all of these have is being able to quickly update the backup to match the latest files you added (incremental backup), so that it takes just a few minutes to update your backup.

Relinking is how you would recover from something happening to the original volume. If your question is about recovering from the loss of the original photo volume, Todd is correct that you do not want to re-import (you'd lose your edits and other metadata) and you do not want to create a second catalog (again, it would not contain any of your current work on those photos).

@Chris 486 wrote:

You can duplicate the files but you will need to manage a seperate catalog file to work in your files stored in the 2nd location.

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No, that isn't necessary. If you want to catalog photos across multiple internal and external volumes, a Lightroom Classic catalog can easily do that. Each volume appears in the Folders panel as a top level listing, with its folders underneath.

[dj_paige]

What is the best way to make a duplicate copy of the external hard drive

There is no "best", there are many ways to do this that will meet your needs, but there are also some solutions that are clearly not "best".

In the past I've used duplicate and copying software that has put all the photos on the second drive but loses the Lightroom folder organization.

Clearly not best. Any good backup scheme will produce the exact same folder hierarchy on a different drive, and then Lightroom Classic has no particular problem using these folders on a different drive. And so something like this might meet your needs. While there are many software that will do this, I use WinZip Pro.

I suspect whatever programs you did use offer this capability (most do) and you didn't turn on that feature.

Is there a way to have a duplicate copy of my stored photos that Lightroom could read just like the original?

Explained above.

[CharlesSteinberg]

Thank you for all of these helpful answers. The longer story is that I did have all my photos stored my Lightroom on one external hard drive and had copied that one to a back up external hard drive in case the first one failed. I updated that copy frequently. When the first external hard drive did fail however I didn't do something right because Lightroom could not read the back-up external hard drive.

So my wish to make a back up is simply to have a second copy that would serve me of the first drive of photos were to somehow fail. I invest at this time in SSDs hoping that failure would be less likely. If you know more about the very last sentence of "how to turn on" the function of having the backup being readable by Lightroom let me know. I have both Carbon Copy and super Duper so far.

I thanks again for all the above. It sounds like I need to have identical file names in both drives.   Last question; Do you start ahead of time by creating a file folder structure on the external hard drive that then Lightroom can access?

[Conrad_C]

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@CharlesSteinberg wrote:

When the first external hard drive did fail however I didn't do something right because Lightroom could not read the back-up external hard drive.

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Can you provide a little more detail about how it failed? Because no matter how you organized the folders on the original failed hard drive cataloged by Lightroom Classic, if both the backup catalog and the backup folders were an exact copy, it should have been fast and easy, although there are a number of points where things can go wrong.

These are the steps that should happen. How far did you get, at which step did it fail?

1. When you connected the hard drive to your Mac, it appeared on the Mac desktop normally.

2. In the Mac Finder (not yet in Lightroom Classic), you can see the entire set of photo folders on the backup hard drive, so you verified that they are in the backup.

3. You started Lightroom Classic, and then you opened the catalog you were previously using. (Or you opened a backup of that catalog, if the original catalog was lost with the failed original hard drive.)

4. In the catalog, the Folders panel displayed the folder hierarchy last saved with the catalog.

5. All the folder icons had question marks on them, so you right-clicked the folder at the root level and chose Find Missing Folder.

6. When you chose Find Missing Folder, you selected the root level folder on the backup hard drive that matched the root level folder on the original drive, and you clicked Choose.

7. The folders all reconnected normally and you were set to go.

For example, did it fail at step 1 (the Mac couldn’t even mount the backup hard drive), step 2 (The backup didn't have the right folders on it), or step 4 (The folders you expected were not listed in the backup catalog, so maybe it was actually the wrong catalog), step 6 (Even though you can see the backup folders in the Finder, they are not appearing in the Find Missing Folder dialog box)…or something else not on the list?

You can see where this is going…trying to narrow down whether it was a Mac system problem, a backup hard drive problem, or a catalog problem.

[Todd Shaner]

"I updated that copy frequently. When the first external hard drive did fail however I didn't do something right because Lightroom could not read the back-up external hard drive."

How are you making these "updated copies" and using what application? Also make sure you do not move, rename, delete, or add files and folders from outside of LrC using Finder or Windows File explorer. Only perfrom these operatiosn from inside LrC using the Library module Folders panel. Performing those operations from outside LrC will cause the files and folder to show as missing. Lots of good tutorial resources here:

https://www.lightroomqueen.com/

[kentdesign]

To reinforce what Todd said: Do not move anything using the FInder or Explorer. Always consider Lightroom as the operating hub. You can move photos or folders onto different folders or even different drives from within the catalog. 

The best way to make a complete duplicate back up of the external drive where the Lightroom folders are located, is simply to use back up software like Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper however, make sure you read through every option before pressing the clone button.

If disaster stikes your regular external, you can easily "link" your LR catalog to the back up files on the second external.

Again Check LightroomQueen.com

[kentdesign]

One more suggestion: 

Backup your regular LR catalog to make sure there is a copy of the catalog incase the drive where your catalog resides were to fail! You can do this when quitting LR and setting up the backup location to your external drive where the photo files are stored.

Then when you clone - make a backup copy of - your external drive, you automatically also make a back up of your catalog to a second location.