Upgrading to a new computer.

[ronp15851210]

I just, finally, upgraded to a new computer!  Woo Hoo!  A powerful one.  But now how do I get my "stuff" in Lightroom?  The drive letter is going to be wrong.  I moved everything, my catalog, my backups, and all my files, to the new drive "E".  I can't remember now the old drive letter.

I have installed Lightroom.  I am using Classic not Cloud.  But have done nothing else.  I don't want to touch anything else until you advise me.   As many times as people do this there must be a procedure.  I did search but probably not hard enough.  So I post.

Should I: 1) Tell Lightroom to use my catalog and it will somehow miraculously figure out to link the files that are in the same drive.  The "hierarchy", if that's the right word, is the same.  The only thing that has changed is the drive letter.  Mine is named "My Photos.lrcat".  Interestingly, disturbingly?,  it is dated May of 2014?    Or should I

2) Inport my files, I think there are around 87,000.  Then after inporting tell Lightroom to use "this" catalog.  

I'm going to sit tight until I hear your advice.  Thank you.

[JP Hess]

Follow this tutorial, and everything should work perfectly. It did for me.

https://www.lightroomqueen.com/how-move-lightroom-to-new-computer/ 

[dj_paige]

If the new drive "E" is an external drive, change the letter NOW to some letter near the end of the alphabet, such as "V". This will prevent the drive letter from possibly changing as you plug and unplug other devices (a lovely quirk in Windows).

2) Inport my files, I think there are around 87,000.  Then after inporting tell Lightroom to use "this" catalog. 

There is no importing of files on the new computer. This is so important, I am going to say it three more times:

There is no importing of files on the new computer.

There is no importing of files on the new computer.

There is no importing of files on the new computer.

There is no importing of files on the new computer.

There is no importing of files on the new computer.

Follow the instructions from the link given above exactly. Do not skip steps (except the part about transferring from Mac to Windows, or Windows to Mac, which clearly does not apply). Do not make up your own steps. Do not add on your own interpretations of the steps, follow them literally and exactly.

[kentdesign]

just to re- emphasize what DJ-Paige said:

DONT "IMPORT" the previous photo files, onto the new Computer's Lightroom!!!

Follow the LightroomQueen.com's steps!!!

[JP Hess]

I wonder if one should reimport images when reinstalling LrC. 🙂

[ronp15851210]

@JP Hess that's the way I took it!  So I'm going to reimport all my images and then tell LR to figure it out!  Lol  

Just kidding.  

I downloaded LightRoom Queen's Ebooklet and am, I'm sure, going to get this figured out.  Should be able to do it tomorrow.  If you don't hear back assume all is well.

Thank you @dj_paige 

Thank you @kentdesign 

And thank you again @JP Hess  for the link (and the smile)

[ronp15851210]

So I am following the Lightroom Queen's directions.  But am I allowed 1 more question? 

I have 4 LR catalogs on my hard drive.  The question obviously becomes which one should I use.  The one is in the original location.  but then I have three that are newer in "Backup" folders.  They aren't that much newer, just a few months.  And they are all relatively same size, so it probably doesn't matter.  

Does it?

[kentdesign]

Well of course. you can ask more questions!!!!

I suggest you launch the new LR Classic while holding down the Option or ALT key.

That tells LR to open and you then get a window asking which catalog to open.

You direct LR to open say the first one on your list of catalogs. LR will tell you it has to Update the catalog to the newer LR version. Let it do that and I suggest giving it a new name rather than My Photos.lrcat. 

It may name it with a -v10.lrcat at the end signifying a newer catalog. Depending WHERE your photo files are located, such as on another drive, you may need to link the photo files to the existing catalog. Yes there is a tutorial for doing that and it it quite simple.

[kentdesign]

You SHOULD using that alt option key when you launch the new LR, open the main catalog that you were using, probably from your screen shot above, that would be MY Photos.lrcat ( dated 5/8/2014 10:21;24 AM.

It looks like the other three are back ups of the original catalog.  

When you have launched LR, and opened that catalog and LR has updated the name.... you can again set LR preferences to set your back up schedule as you prefer - i.e. each time you close the application, once a months, etc.

The new backups will be labeled with the updated catalog name -My Photos - v10.lrcat  or whateer name you chose. and the new back up catalog will be in the back ups folder with a date and time.

[kentdesign]

One more thought...as I am a back up nerd and teach classes on simple back up solutions for the average computer user:

It looks like your catalog and your backups are all on the same drive.

BACK UPS  of LR catalogs are important for many  reasons  - the two main ones being:

1. the catalog is basically a data base - and data could have a missfire and get corrupted ( Since LR started, I have never had that happen to me, however I am told that can happen). SO in that case, you could use a backup catalog which would have been one of the last two or three backups you made, and not lose too much of your work.

2. Computer drives can fail...so if that happened to your main drive, then you could replace the main ddrive and still have your back up catalog in tact - IF IF IF your backups were on a different drive!

SO my suggestion is to keep your main catalog on the internal or one drive - probably with your photo files unless you need more space for these.

Connect a separate drive, and keep the back ups on that second drive. along with back ups of the photo files themselves if the originals are on your first drive, or use this exgternal to keep your photo files.

AND make a back up using general computer back up software of that entire second drive to a third separate drive. 

I personally keep my photo files on that second drive, so that when I back up that second drive, it also backs up all my photo files too, like having a second copy of all the digital negatives.  

And because of things like theft, earthquakes, fires, and floods, I keep that third drive, the one with the full back up of the photo files AND my catalog back ups, in a safety deposit box or somehwere different than where my computer and my main back up drive normaly stay. THen on some regular schedule, I swap the drive in the safety deposit box with the back up drive on my desktop, to keep them both up to date.

Redundancy. 3 separate drives. One has main catalog, or main catalog and photo files. Second has back up of catalog and photo files. THird drive is complete clone of second drive.

hope that makes sense!

And no, I do not sell drives- although I should...!

[ronp15851210]

@kentdesign I will fire up LR and use the "alt" key when I do so.  I didn't know that I could do that.  I was concerned about opening a database and doing something irreversible.  It appears that I am getting close to having LR running again thanks to you guys.

And, yes, I know that I have been very guilty of not having a back up routine. I am fortunate that I haven't had a seroius crisis before now and I fully realize that it is just pure luck that I haven't.  I don't know your thoughts on cloud backup but I did just sign up with Idrive so I do have (will have)  one off site backup.  And I do have a USB drive that I'm going to hook up.  That screen grab, above, is of an internal drive, "E", where all photos and LR catalogs files reside.  

I am moving towards a backup system but at glacial speed.

Thanks again.

[kentdesign]

I have not tried iDrive however, depending on the size of. your files and back up and the speed of your connection, cloud backups can be really slow.  If all you are doing now are fun shots, then the volume of images will not be too large, so the Cloud will probably work for you. The USB external is a great option and the prices of ext hard drives is so low these days, it makes sense to double up...

HOpe you do get to shoot more - Equine sports are so elegant as in dressage, or wild as in the western stuff - and fun to look at!

[dj_paige]

So I am following the Lightroom Queen's directions.  But am I allowed 1 more question? 

I have 4 LR catalogs on my hard drive.  The question obviously becomes which one should I use.  The one is in the original location.  but then I have three that are newer in "Backup" folders.  They aren't that much newer, just a few months.  And they are all relatively same size, so it probably doesn't matter.  

Does it?

By @ronp15851210

“Which catalog should you use? Does it matter?”

Only YOU can answer that, by opening each catalog and seeing what is contained in the catalog, and then deciding. We can't possibly know what is in each catalog.

[JP Hess]

Has it really been 7 years since you last used Lightroom? My suspicions are that you are looking at your backup folder rather than the working folder where your active catalog is stored. The active catalog should be stored in a Lightroom folder within the Pictures folder. If that is the history of your backups then it would seem that you aren't backing up very often, and as has been mentioned, those backups should be stored on a different hard drive.

[ronp15851210]

@JP Hess it probably has been 7 years.  I was trying to not bore you with details but now it might help explain.  I thoughtit was more like 5 but.......  I was a sports shooter, more accurately an equine (horse show) photog.  I developed severe, chronic back issues, and it was close to retirement time anyway.  And, I was just burnt out. So I sold most of my equipment and was done.  The only shutter I have fired the last 7 years was in my point and shoot on a few vacations and cruises.  I am, after the hiatus, now slightly developing some interest in shooting again but it's going to be purely for fun and just landscapes or the possible wildlife shot. 

So yeah, it's been that long since the LR database was opened.  Longer than I thought but yeah.

Thanks,

[JP Hess]

I feel compelled to mention this again. Consider the dates on those catalogs, last modified in 2014. It would seem to me that these are old backups from before Lightroom created zip files. Otherwise, this user hasn't opened Lightroom in about seven years. Am I wrong?

[ronp15851210]

Guys, I don't know what happened but I will take it!  I fired up LR with the "ALT" key.  I told it my "My Photos.lrcat" and got the message that it had to be updated to the new format to v10.  I waited patiently while it did its thing.  Finished another cup of coffee while waiting and came back to this!!!!!  My entire catalog!  I fully expected to have to change the drive letter or somehow send it off on a mission to find the files.  They are just here.  As I said, "I'll take it"!  

So thank you again for all the help, all of you.  It's been years so there will be a (re-) learning curve.  But I'm looking forward to that.  And, of course, there is going to be some shopping for gear!  But that will also be fun.

[kentdesign]

WHoo Hooo!

So glad it worke -

NOW make a back up of your new catalog, and a back up of the photo files themselves ON SEPARATE DRIVES from the originals!