XMP files

[jean mouette]

Hi, I am using 2 separate discs, one for working (A) and another one which is a backup (B).

A and B are stricly identical, they have the same name, the same folders and files. Whenever I plug A or B, my LR catalog does not see the difference between the two and recognize them instantly.

However, when I say that A and B and striclty identical it's not entirely true.

The xmp files of A and B are different, while the ones of A are up-to-date, the ones of B are only the ones from the latest backup.

My question is the following: if I plug B to LR, will my catalog automatically update the xmp files to the ones it has in "memory" hence the ones of A, or will it keep it to the one of B ?

I hope I was clear enough...

Thanks for your help !

[dj_paige · Accepted solution]

Yes, that's clear, and I wouldn't bother doing this. If one disk is intended to be a backup of your photo files, and you also have backups of your catalog file, then the XMP files aren't needed on the backup disk. The combination of backups of the photo file and backups of the catalog files are all you need. I would take one of those disks, and never ever ever use it, not even once (don't even think about using it), except for the case where you update the backups, or in the unfortunate situation where your originals are no longer available (and in that case, the XMP files can still be generated by Lightroom).

[jean mouette]

Thanks for your answer. I'm not a native English speaker, just want to ensure I understood well: so, I shouldn't bother about xmp files of my backup disc and only keep copy raw files on it. If I need to use the latter (in case of an unfortunate event), my catalog will automatically update the xmp files when connecting.

Thank's again for your help !

[dj_paige]

Just in case you missed this part of my earlier reply

"so, I shouldn't bother about xmp files of my backup disc and only keep copy raw files on it."

you need backups of the raw files and backups of the catalog file.

[KS-FOTO_Carles]

Puedes actualizar la carpeta B con la A, a través del programa FreeFileSync.
Es un programa fantástico que permite sincronizar las carpetas A y B, para que sean iguales.
Incluso tiene filtros por tipos de archivo, de modo que puedes indicar al programa que sólamente actualice los archivos con extensión .xmp
Desde que descubrí éste programa, sólo utilizo éste software para realizar copias de seguridad.
Es infalible y te hace copias idénticas de los archivos.