Workflow Suggestion For Migrating Files From Spinning Disk RAID to SSD

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
October 15, 2024
3 replies
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I use a MacPro 2019 as my primary production machine (mostly LrC library and images) and have a little over 4tb on an aging G-Tech 4-drive RAID, configured RAID 0. RAID 5 was too slow for 4K video so using it as RAID 0 with backup to other spinning drives. RAID is starting to get a little glitchy so I will be moving these files to an Oyen U34 8tb external SSD and using that as working drive. Never have done such a migration. Would it be better to copy all files including the catalog files to the new drive, create a new Library and import the old library or just open the original catalog. Would opening the old catalog require relinking (there are about 70,000 images in my catalog) or will LR find the files. I'll be backing up to smaller external SSD's that I have sitting around. I just think it is time to ditch spinning disks both for speed as well as dependability.

macOS

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KR Seals

Community Expert

I did something similar for a pro photographer friend integrating her LrC photos from a bunch of small external drives to a single large external drive on her iMac. Some of the folders contained a great many image files. After the first pass at copying those folders and files to the large drive, I discovered that Finder was NOT copying all the files as intended. I had to compare the original folders to the copied ones and bring in all the missed files in a seperate operation.

When your copy process is complete, I suggest you verify that all the files are there on the new drive.

Ken Seals - Nikon Z 9, Z 8, 14mm-800mm. Computer Win 11 Pro, I7-14700K, 64GB, RTX3070TI. Travel machine: 2021 MacBook Pro M1 MAX 64GB. All Adobe apps.

Conrad_C

Community Expert

I’ll add that although the macOS Finder should be copying everything, for additional peace of mind with such a large migration, someone could consider using robust backup/mirroring software such as Carbon Copy Cloner or ChronoSync. Apps like those add features such as:

Previewing (simulate the copy operation, listing files that will be changed on both volumes and how the copy will look, before actually committing to it).
Verification (confirm that the copy is exactly the same as the original).
Logging (documentation of exactly what happened during the copy, including errors and missed files).

If the software can verify that the copy is identical to the original, then Lightroom Classic should have no trouble relinking everything in a single Update Folder Location step.

dj_paige

Legend

Adding to @Conrad_C 's explanation: do NOT take this as an opportunity to re-arrange photos or folders within your hierarchy. Leave all of that unchanged when you do this.

Conrad_C

Community Expert

This should be a low risk thing if done right, I’ve migrated a couple of times. Yes, you can simply copy what you have on the RAID to the new SSD, and have Lightroom Classic relink the whole thing at once. This is easiest if all of the original photos are under a single top level parent folder on the RAID, because after copying, all you have to do is relink that one top folder, and Lightroom Classic will relink the entire hierarchy of folders under it…as long as no folders were moved/renamed/deleted during the move (it has to find the same folder/file names and relative locations). Specifically:

1. Back up everything.

2. Copy the top level folder of photos from the RAID to the SSD.

3. Open the catalog. (It doesn’t matter whether you moved the catalog or left it where it was.)

4. In the Library module Folders panel, right-click the topmost parent folder, choose Update Folder Location, and point it to same folder’s new location on the SSD. If secondary click isn’t enabled on your Mac, Control-click that top folder instead.

5. Wait until it’s done relinking everything.

If there are multiple parent image folders at the root level of the RAID, then obviously you have to copy them all and relink each root level folder. But if there’s just one, then it’s “one and done.”

Other details are in this article by The Lightroom Queen, although you can ignore all the stuff about a new computer because you’re only migrating photos to a new volume, not a whole new computer.

How do I move Lightroom to a new computer?