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J
jenniferk58885605
Participant
February 24, 2021
Question

Upgrading from LR4.4 (stand alone) to Lightroom 4 (current)

  • February 24, 2021
  • 2 replies
  • 402 views

After a harddrive crash I have been forced to move from the standalone version of Lightroom 4.4 to the newest subscription based version of Lightroom (I hope I described that right given the name changes and platforms that have happend over the last several years). After the crash, I reinstalled 4 and tried to open my catalog and got a message I needed to update.  I updated to 4.4 and got the same message that my catalog was too new for 4.4 even though I think that is what I was using before the crash?  I tried to download 5 (the next upgrade I could find after 4.4) and was told I needed a license but I can't find one to buy.  As you are all aware, you can't buy 5 or 6 as a standalone or upgrade anymore. 

 

I subscribed to Lightroom and I tried to migrate my catalog to the new Lightroom and received a message my catalog is too old.  HELP!  How do I get my catalog to migrate?  Or, preferably, how can I go back to my old Lightroom 4.4 stand alone to avoid a subscription!

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2 replies

Rob_Cullen
Community Expert
Rob_CullenCommunity Expert
Community Expert
February 24, 2021

To summarize the good answer from @Jim Wilde -

You need to Upgrade from LR4.4 (stand alone) to Lightroom-CLASSIC (v10.1.1)

Contact Customer Care and ask to change your subscription to the Photography Plan (20Gb)

! CONTACT CUSTOMER CARE

 

 

Regards. My System: Windows-11, Lightroom-Classic 15.1.1, Photoshop 27.3.1, ACR 18.1.1, Lightroom 9.0, Lr-iOS 10.4.0, Bridge 16.0.2 .
J
jenniferk58885605Author
Participant
February 25, 2021

Thank you both very much for your guidance.  As it turns out, I selected the right plan but did not realize that there is now Lightroom Classic and Lightroom or appreciate the difference.  I downloaded classic today and was able to import my catalog. 

 

Unfortunately, somehow it did not import 99% of the keywords on the 32k pictures in my catalog.  I am mortified at the thought of trying to redo all of that work.  I welcome any suggestions concerning this new issue.  (Yes, I do have 2 back ups of the catalog from before the upgrade to Lightroom Classic). 

Rob_Cullen
Community Expert
Rob_CullenCommunity Expert
Community Expert
February 25, 2021

What do you mean by "was able to import my catalog. "?

You should not need to "Import" anything!  Lr-Classic should simply upgrade your LR4.4 catalog and add '-V10' to the end of the Catalog name.

 

To check your other backup catalogs-

Make new Folders and copy each of the Catalog Backups into separate folders,

Double-Click each backup catalog to 'open' with Lr-Classic and it will upgrade each to a -v10 catalog.

Now you have several Catalogs to open and compare if Keywords exist in those versions from backups.

(Hold down the [CTRL] key when you next start Lr-Classic and it will show a list of Catalogs existing)

 

Regards. My System: Windows-11, Lightroom-Classic 15.1.1, Photoshop 27.3.1, ACR 18.1.1, Lightroom 9.0, Lr-iOS 10.4.0, Bridge 16.0.2 .
Jim Wilde
Community Expert
Jim WildeCommunity Expert
Community Expert
February 24, 2021

Why are you trying to switch to the "cloud" version of Lightroom? Why not switch instead to Lightroom Classic, which is the latest version of the application that you were using (it's now at version 10, so a lot has changed from your version 4.4). Adobe offers 2 different subscription plans....one called the Lightroom plan which includes the "new" Lightroom desktop app, plus all the mobile apps, plus 1TB of cloud storage space. The other plan is called the Photography Plan and includes Lightroom Classic, Photoshop, the "new" Lightroom, all the mobile apps and 20GB of cloud space.

 

Using Classic all your images remain where they are on your local system, Classic will automatically read and upgrade your existing catalog, and you can get to test the "new" Lightroom to see if you prefer it (if you do, you can then switch plans and migrate the Classic catalog to the cloud).

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