UPDATED - Cross platform migration help needed for Lightroom 5-Mac to Lightroom CC-PC

[Retrogroucho]

Hello all, first post, long time Lr user in need of catalog/setup assistance. 

Long story short: My Macbook Pro died, and I removed the SSD and placed it into an external housing. Now I need to migrate my Lr5 catalog from that Mac formatted SSD into Lr CC on my newly built Windows10 PC, where all my image files are stored under the same name/folder hierarchy as they were for my previous Mac setup.

I've installed Lr Classic and LrCC onto my new PC (I've read that Lr5 catalogs must be updated to Lr Classic before migrating them into Lr CC). 

I used external drives to copy my old Lr5 catalog and preview files to my new PC.

Opening and updating my old Lr5 catalog with Lr Classic shows 0 photos in it. What have I done wrong? How can I successfully update my Lr5 > Lr CC and switch platforms in the process? 

Final note: My end goal is to use my PC as a main machine, storing my catalog, files, and backups. I would also like to use my ~160gb MBA laptop for tethered shooting in the field or studio. Can they share the same catalog/presets/adjustments cross-platform?

Happy New Year, and thanks for your help.

{Thread renamed by moderator}

[Sahil.Chawla]

Hi there,

Welcome to the Adobe Community!

Yes, to migrate the catalog, the first steps should be to prepare the catalog in Lightroom Classic:

• Optimize the catalog (File > Optimize Catalog).
• Reconnect any missing files. See Locate missing photos.
• Optimize the metadata for the migration. Some tips:
  • Try creating a smart collection to find any metadata conflicts. See Create a smart collection.
  • Resolve metadata conflicts.
• Custom folder names are not migrated to Lightroom. As a workaround, before migrating, create collections in Lightroom Classic mimicing the custom folder names/structures.
• If you want to continue using Lightroom Classic after migration, consider upgrading to its latest version before migrating the catalog. This step makes it simpler to sync photos and metadata between Lightroom and Lightroom Classic. The original versions of any photos you import into Lightroom are synced back to Lightroom Classic.
  
  

For more information please have a look at this article: https://helpx.adobe.com/in/lightroom-cc/using/migrate-to-lightroom-cc.html

Regards,
Sahil

[Retrogroucho]

Thanks for the quick reply Sahil.

I immediately see an issue with your recommendations: My Macbook Air will never have my image folders on it. The SSD is 160gb, and my images are many hundreds more than that. Those images have all been migrated to two internal 500GB SSDs on my PC. Is it possible to save my years of  Lightroom edits by relinking to their new locations after migration? 

I should clarify my Windows 10 PC is using "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom v3.0", and my old catalog was created using Lightroom6.0, on a MacBook Pro running High Sierra. 

[Just Shoot Me]

You will need a program installed on youir Windows PC that will allow it to Read the Mac formatted drive.

There are several.

https://www.google.com/search?q=read+mac+formatted+drives+on+windows&oq=read+mac+formatted+drives+on...

https://www.howtogeek.com/252111/how-to-read-a-mac-formatted-drive-on-a-windows-pc/

Then just Copy over your Catalog file and all your images. Place all the images in the same folder structure (other that Drive Name, it will have to be under a Drive Letter instead) as they were on the Mac system and then use one of the links below to Find missing file and folders.

Find missing photos in Photoshop Lightroom Adobe Help System

Find Missing Photos Updating the Folder Location in Lightroom « Julieanne Kost's Blog

Find moved or missing files and folders Computer-Darkroom

[Retrogroucho]

Great, thanks for the help. This has been a nightmare process recovering and reformatting my drives, data, etc. and moving it all to another platform. 

So it sounds like I should just be able to replace the Lr catalog files on my new PC, and update/relink from there. 

I've tried to access this Mac formatted SSD using my PC, but because it's a Mac formatted boot drive from the main bay of a Mac, it would not talk. 

I can use my new Macbook Air to move those catalog files to my PC, though.

[Just Shoot Me]

Right a LR catalog used on a Mac is still a .lrcat file, Same on a Win PC, and images are either JPGs, A RAW Format, TIF, PSD, PNG. Same on both systems. Just like a Word Doc is a DOCX file on either system.

[Just Shoot Me]

Oh, another good link for going from one system to another. Whethere the same OS type or different.

How do I move Lightroom to a new computer? | The Lightroom Queen

[Jao vdL]

Instead of installing software on the PC and connecting the mac formatted SSD to your PC, you can also use a cheap external hard disk. Make sure it is ExFat formatted and hook both the SSD and the external disk up to the MacBookAir. Now copy all the images and the catalog file over to the pc formatted drive and hook that up to your PC. Last alternative is if your home/office network is fast enough is just to copy these over from the SSD connected to the MBA to your windows PC using a simple network share. Will not be as fast as direct connection to the drive but will work just fine.

[Retrogroucho]

I've updated my original post to reflect my current scenario. 

I've moved Lr5 catalog and previews files onto my PC, opened/updated them using Lr Classic, but Lightroom Classic then shows an empty catalog with 0 images. Where did I go wrong? Thanks in advance. 

[Just Shoot Me]

You have opened, converted, the Wrong Catalog (alos copied the wrong catalog over from your old system).

Do all your folders show up in the Folders section? Do they have Question Marks on them?

It is best when posting a response like the one above to include a Full Screen Shot of the program window so others can SEE what you are writing about.

[Retrogroucho]

Thanks, I will have to figure out how to screen shot the process when I get back to my computer.

I only have one Lr5 catalog/previews backup, and I’m trying to open it with the current version of Lr Classic. When I do, the catalog shows 0 pictures, 0 folders, etc. No broken links, no thumbs, none of my images are there.