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andrman
andrman
Participating Frequently
October 29, 2017
Answered

"Insufficient disk space" error when migrating Lightroom Classic library

  • October 29, 2017
  • 1 reply
  • 3214 views

I am attempting to migrate my Lightroom Classic library to Lightroom CC. I am getting the error about insufficient disk space. I have tried changing my storage location to a 2TB drive, but the migration tool still appears to  be looking for space on my internal drive even after making the change. Also, the error says I need 66GB  free, but macOS reports I have 70GB available. So I'm at an impasse.

I have researched a fair bit on the Adobe support articles and forums and have not found a solution. This thread linked below offers an "answer" but the steps provided do not resolve my issue.

Can a migration be performed using an external HD? 

Re: Library Migration needs too much Space?

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Jao vdL

    It appears that Lightroom CC does not take the purgeable space into account that Mac OS X tells you is available. This is quite a problem as it prevents it from doing it's job even though there really is enough space available. Read more about purgeable space here: Rocket Yard Guide: What Is Purgeable Space in macOS? | Other World Computing Blog.​ and here: When free space isn't free: Purgeable storage in macOS Sierra - Six Colors

    You can see how much of the free space is actually "purgeable" space that isn't really free if you do a get info on your hard drive.

    I do not know how to solve this issue easily unfortunately.

    1 reply

    J
    Community Expert
    Jao vdLCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 29, 2017

    You can't use an external for migration. This seems to be a big weakness in Adobe's design of this process. You can store local copies on an external but for the migration it still needs all this internal disk space. This leaves people with small internal SSD drives in the cold indeed. The only solution I have seen is to migrate the catalog in smaller pieces. Basically you export ew catalog files from Lightroom classic into several smaller catalogs taking care to in the end have everything and to migrate those one by one, overtime waiting until everything is uploaded before you do the next one.

      andrman
      andrmanAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      October 29, 2017

      Thanks Jao. I have since freed up the SSD so that there's over 90GB available according to macOS. However, I am still getting the same error, saying it needs 66 GB. How does Lightroom evaluate the disk's free space?

      andrman
      andrmanAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      October 29, 2017

      Update: I have since learned about macOS Sierra and its deceiving reporting of free space. macOS says my drive has 132 GB free, but 80 GB of it is "purgeable." There is apparently no way to force the system to purge, so my actual free disk space is 53 GB. Not enough to do the migration.

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