Lightroom 5 to Classic

[ProfessorShirokuma]

Hello, 

I want to import a LR5 .Irca file to Lightroom Classic. (Not upgrade LR on one computer.)

I have an empty new hard disk.

I have a new iMac with LightroomClassic just installed.

Will the following work without issues?

Copy a Lightroom5 .Irca file to a brand new empty Hard Disk along with all 3TB of original jpgs that's associated with the .Irca file. I want to keep all the metadata and collections intact and simply move everything over to a new computer with Lightroom Classic.  I do not wish to sync anything to the cloud, so I should make sure that "Start Syncing" is not clicked under the cloud icon in the right top corner.  Will all my photos (and information in the .Irca file) stay intact if I simply click "import" and choose the Lightroom5 .Irca file?

When I first started LR many moons ago, I had a hard time and I'm still traumatized by the experience. I don't want to start any migration without hearing from the pros that what I'm about to do will be OK. 

[Rob_Cullen · Accepted solution]

Will all my photos (and information in the .Irca file) stay intact if I simply click "import" and choose the Lightroom5 .LRCAT file?

NO, NO, NO.  DO NOT IMPORT PHOTOS!!!

And you do NOT need to use the menu item- [Import from another Catalog].

You should read and carefully follow all the directions in this link-  Move Lightroom to a new computer? | The Lightroom Queen 

Put simply- you COPY the LR5 catalog AND Photo files to the new computer, and 'Open' the LR5 catalog in Lr-Classic, which will then (make a copy) and upgrade the catalog to be Classic v10 compatible. Then continue as normal with the added Classic features.

There is NO "Migration" involved- The term 'Migration' is used for people changing software to the 'Cloud based' mobile version, NOT for upgrading Lr5 to Classic!

[ProfessorShirokuma]

Thank you, thank, you, THANK YOU!  I'm sending you a big virtual hug for your clear instructions. I was able to move--not migrate--everything without any issue. I've been wanting to do this for SO long, but have put it off for fear of messing everything up. WobertC, you're a lifesaver.  🙂