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I have a problem with my catalog which gets corrupted very frequently and I have to create new catalogs, one after the other.
I am aware that this problem always happens when there is an interruption of energy between the computer where Lightroom Classic is installed and the external drive where the catalog is saved. I am told that I should have the catalog and the files in the same location. But, how could I do this if the computer has a limited local hard drive? I need to have an external hard drive to storage all the photos (raw files) plus the edited files.
I need some help.
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How is the external drive connected USB? If so you can try another cable and and or USB port.
Provide specs of the external drive including capacity and actual free space available.
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Thank you for your answer. I have tried another USB cable and it did not help.
On the system space I have now 24,7 GB free (of 117 GB), and the LrC folder
is on a USB drive with 794 GB (of 3,63 TB). (I have already said this to JimHess who kindly replied tome, as you can see).
Maybe I have here all the ansers I needed.
Thank you again.
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when there is an interruption of energy between the computer where Lightroom Classic is installed and the external drive
Why are you having this interruption?
Do you mean you loose power?
Or perhaps the drive goes asleep to save electricity?
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Check your power management options. You do not want to let Windows power down those hard drives to save power while running LrC
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I was reading the article that you sent and it made so much sense to me: "By default Windows 10 will power down hard drives after 20 minutes of inactivity (or if the computer is a laptop, 10 minutes when on battery). So, I changed my Power options, and I may never have this problem again, at least I hope.
Thank you so much!
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I am not sure. I hear a sound typical of that sound when you disconnect thehard drive without closing it, immediately Lightroom fives a notice that itcannot find the catalog. It is a connection via USB. I have changed thecable, but it still happened.
By @Teresa Teixeira
If you are disconnecting the external drive while Lightroom is running, that's definitely the cause of the corruption.
Don't ever do that, close Lightroom if you have to disconnect the drive.
Having the catalog on an external drive doesn't necessarily lead to problems, many people who use both a desktop and a laptop computer do it.
But as others have pointed out, Lightroom will be faster with the catalog on an internal (preferably SSD) drive.
Your raw files can be anywhere, but again, if they are on an external drive, the drive has to be connected when you use Lightroom.
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The situation you describe is intolerable for productive use of Lightroom Classic.
You definitely need to have the catalog and previews on your internal drive (hopefully an SSD). If that drive is limited in space, do what you can to delete/uninstall unneeded apps and any thing in the operating system "photos" folder. That folder could be relocated to the external drive. Also, check your "downloads" folder for files you no longer need. Otherwise, upgrade the internal drive to a larger one. A computer repair shop can do that for you. If that is not possible on your computer, get a newer computer with a larger internal drive.
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The Catalog should be on the internal drive. The photos can be on another drive. (Or you can keep the catalog on an external drive, this will probably slow it down, but as long as the drive is continuously connected, you shouldn't get catalog corruption)
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Thank you so much for your good advice an time! I have plenty here to think about and choices to make.
Best regards
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I would agree. It would be best to have your catalog, previews and other associated Lightroom files on the internal computer hard drive. The image files can be stored on the external hard drive with no problem. If the internal hard drive is so small that it cannot handle the catalog and other Lightroom files then you need to consider upgrading that internal hard drive. Preferably it should be a SSD.
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The LrC folder can be on a different drive than the imported and exported image files. How much freespace do you have on the system drive and what size is the LrC folder on the USB drive?
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Ok.
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You could definitely use a bigger system drive. But if you only have 794 GB available on that USB drive then it is essentially full because a drive needs at least 20% free at all times to function efficiently. You are pushing the limits on both drives now. The EHD only has about 22% free, and I have heard it stated that the minimum free should be 25%. So that could be the cause of your catalog becoming corrupted frequently. 22% free space is pushing the limit in my opinion.
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Yes, maybe I have to start by updating my computer and buy a new larger external hard drive.
Thank you so much for your help.
Teresa
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@Teresa Teixeira I'm sorry if I wasn't clear in my answer. I am recommending that the Lightroom Classic catalog and the associated PREWIEW files should be on the internal drive. The photo image files can continue to be on an external drive. However, you need to determine why the external drive is not maintaining a good connection. Drive failing? Bad cable?
As you add photos to your catalog, the .lrcat file will slowly grow along with the preview files. This is reason enough to have a big internal drive. 1TB would probably be optimum.
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794 GB available on the external USB drive should not be causing this issue. What I suspect is that the USB drive is going into low power standby mode, which causes the disconnect in LrC. What exact make and model USB drive are you using?
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Download the WD Drive Utility and install it.
Windows
https://support.wdc.com/downloads.aspx?p=171
Mac
https://support.wdc.com/downloads.aspx?p=157
Next download the WD Drive Utility manual and follow the instructions on page 27 to set the Sleep Timer to OFF. By default it is set to power down the drive after 30 minutes, which may be what's causing your disconnect issue.
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