Moving to a new computer
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I'm going to be moving my photo files to a new computer and also upgrading from Adobe Elements Photoshop 10 to 15. What do I need to do to ensure all of photos are properly transferred to my new computer? For example, do I need to backup my catalog and transfer that to ensure all photo metadata is included? Thank you.
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Follow this procedure: backup and restore.
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Thank you. I need to backup my catalog to another location on my hard drive because I do not have an external drive or DVD reader. When I move to a computer, I will be doing a direct data migration from my old (current) to new computer. How do I ensure that all of my photos and metadata will be transferred properly to the new computer? I have plenty of space on my computer. Thank you.
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jenniferlaufer wrote
Thank you. I need to backup my catalog to another location on my hard drive because I do not have an external drive or DVD reader. When I move to a computer, I will be doing a direct data migration from my old (current) to new computer. How do I ensure that all of my photos and metadata will be transferred properly to the new computer? I have plenty of space on my computer. Thank you.
How would you transfer (migrate) directly from computer to computer?
An external hard drive is not expensive these days.
Of course, you could backup to a new master folder in the same computer. How would you migrate (copy) that backup folder to the new computer?
Some users might consider another workflow when migrating from an old computer to a new one: with desktops it's often possible to add the old computer drive as an additional internal drive in the new computer. Would that be possible for you? Or it's possible to buy a USB drive enclosure to put your old drive into, and use that as the external drive for the restore?
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I'll be transferring the data from one laptop to the other laptop via high-speed network cable. I created a full backup on my hard drive and I see a folder with thousands of files with names (e.g. B0000359)that don't directly correct correlate with the photo files that are stored in My Pictures folder. This backup folder also contains other files, such as catalog.buc and backup.tly. Do I transfer this "backup" folder and all of the files in My Pictures folder from my old to new laptop? Thank you.
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jenniferlaufer wrote
I'll be transferring the data from one laptop to the other laptop via high-speed network cable. I created a full backup on my hard drive and I see a folder with thousands of files with names (e.g. B0000359)that don't directly correct correlate with the photo files that are stored in My Pictures folder. This backup folder also contains other files, such as catalog.buc and backup.tly. Do I transfer this "backup" folder and all of the files in My Pictures folder from my old to new laptop? Thank you.
Ok.
You'll have to copy that whole folder to the new computer via your network cable. It holds anything to restore both your catalog and your media files folders hierarchy (in its own format...)
Once you have the Elements version installed on the second laptop, use the menu File >> Restore Catalog and browse to the catalog backup folder, precisely the file 'catalog.buc'. Follow the instructions.
You'll be asked where (which master folder) you want to restore the media files folder hierarchy. My advice is to create your own master folder, something like 'My Library'. Better choose the option to keep the original structure.
When the restore is finished, you have
- a media files hierarchy (exact copy of the original)
- a catalog folder (copy of the original one with the locaton links on the new computer updated)
- a backup folder which you may want to keep or save elsewhere.
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OK thank you. What about my separate My Pictures folder? Do I transfer that as well?
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jenniferlaufer wrote
OK thank you. What about my separate My Pictures folder? Do I transfer that as well?
You don't need to.
The only transfer which is needed is the backup folder (it contains everything to restore your catalog and your photo files folders). That is equivalent to creating the backup folder in an external drive and restoring from the external drive to the destination computer.
The only thing you might have to look at is if you have several catalogs (ask if that is the case).
Now you should have two identical situations on both computers.
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Thank you. I am now storing a full catalog backup on an external drive as you suggested. Is it OK to keep My Pictures folder on my computer? The reason is I have various photo folders and files I would like to view via Windows Explorer from time to time. Will the My Pictures on my computer and catalog backup on my external drive always be in synch as long as I conduct incremental backups?
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in pse 14 on old computer I ran backup to an external drive, then loaded pse 14 to new computer, performed restore, using new location c:/user/pictures.my catalog. I then connected to that catalog using manage catalogs in pse 14 on new computer, it seems all 57,000 photos are there on the new computer, but in PSE 14, the thumbnails are not there. After 2 days, still no thumbnails. How can I correct this?
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Hi,
Have you resolved your problem?
If not, turn the right hand panel by clicking on the Keyword/Info button (bottom right - toggles panel on/off) and select the Information tab
Select any image and the information panel should tell you where PSE thinks it is. Is that where you expected the image to be?
You could check for missing files [File -> Reconnect -> All missing files]
Brian
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Hello, Brian, Thanks for the reply, I did resolve the issue. Apparently when I did the backup /restore, the folders and data from the C:\ProgramData\Adobe\Elements Organizer\Catalogs\My Catalog did not get moved. These are files below:. I copied them and pasted over the empty ones created by the install. THen I wnet to manage catalogs and remapped the catalog to the path on the new computer and it was all good.
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Hi,
Glad that all is ok.
All those files are part of the catalog and most, especially the catalog.pse14db file should have been in the backup when you used backup catalog in the organizer.
Brian
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Due technological advancements, nowadays there are lot of methods to transfer files from one computer to another:
- Use an external storage media
- Share over LAN or Wi-Fi (Share you drive and share with software)
- Use a transfer cable or data cable
- Connect the HDD or SSD manually
- Try cloud storage or web transfers
- Install Applications which can transfer data easily ( Shareit, Zinstall WinWin, etc.)
Hopefully this will help you!
Thanks!
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Hi Jack,
Those are all alternative message of transferring files but would not have helped in this case - it all depends on you knowing what to transfer.
Basically, the correct method is to use the organizer on the old system to backup the catalog, then transfer the whole of the backup folder to the new system and finally use organizer on the new system to restore the backup.
Brian
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I'm in a similar situation and I've read through this whole thread and it's still not clear to me. My Elements catalog (70GB) is a subset of "My Pictures" folder (115GB). If I restore my Elements catalog on my new computer a) Where do those pictures now physically reside and b) What happens to the rest of the pictures in the "My Pictures" folder not belonging to the Elements catalog?
I like having the ability to quickly click on My Pictures and find a photo, I don't need to open up Elements every time I want to view a picture. I could easily just copy My Pictures over to the new computer but then I lose all my metadata, which I want to keep. It seems there must be a better solution to this?
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gerrym wrote
If I restore my Elements catalog on my new computer a) Where do those pictures now physically reside
In the restore process, you have to choose yourself where the files will be restored.
My advice is to create a master folder just under the root of your chosen drive an not in your new 'My Pictures' folder.
The choice is either same location (not really true, since it's a new computer) or a 'custom' location of your choice.
The restore process recreates the same folder tree if you choose that option.
The catalog folder is also restored under the master folder you have created. The catalog manager sees it in 'custom' location. The catalog manager can also 'move' the catalog folder back to the default location on the C: drive if you prefer.
b) What happens to the rest of the pictures in the "My Pictures" folder not belonging to the Elements catalog?
Nothing is transferred. Those files are ignored by the catalog and the backup/restore process.
I like having the ability to quickly click on My Pictures and find a photo, I don't need to open up Elements every time I want to view a picture. I could easily just copy My Pictures over to the new computer but then I lose all my metadata, which I want to keep. It seems there must be a better solution to this?
Then, how would you do without Elements? You would use another copy or backup tool (the Explorer?) to migrate the contents of your 'My Pictures' folder to the new computer.
So, you could either run the restore to the newly created master folder after your global copy, which will create a duplicate structure, or you can specify the new 'My Pictures' folder as the destination, which should overwrite the duplicates during the restore.
With my library of 70 000 photos, quickly finding them from the explorer is impossible. To be fast and efficient I do need the organizer and its catalog(s).