Photoshop Elements on external hard drive

Forum|Forum|8 months ago
May 29, 2025
3 replies
1061 views

I am using Elements 2022, the software is on my Windows 10 laptop but I maintain the catalog on an external hard drive.

I plan to buy a Windows 11 laptop and download the 2022 software onto it.
CanI just unplug the extenal hard drive and plug it into my new computer for Elements Organiser to find and use my Catalog?
Thanks

Organizer

Greg_S.

Community Expert

The catalogs are found in the ProgramData folder not the Program Files folder. You must have system files and folders hidden in Windows File Explorer. Go to the File Explorer's View>Show menu and select Hidden Items. The ProgramData folder should then appear on your C drive. You need to copy the folder named external catalogue from the default location to your D drive. You can place the folder on the root of the external drive, or perhaps create a new folder named Catalogues and copy it there.

N

Nick_BaelzAuthor

Known Participant

Thanks have found the external catalog folder under program data. It contains 139,407 files Are these not the photos themselves already on the d drive?

Greg_S.

Community Expert

No, not unless you have performed some unusual copying activity with your files. The catalog folder generally has small text files that contain catalog database information about each of your imported photos. These include face recognition and other tagging information.

Greg_S.

Community Expert

@Nick_Baelz here is the link that I think @Sameer K was trying to give you.

However, although it is always wise to have a full backup of your catalog, it may not be necessary in your case. We need you to clarify what is it that you "maintain" on your external drive. Is it just your media files? Or do you also have the catalog folder stored there?

If you have both the catalog and the media stored there, you can do the following:

Install Elements 2022 on the new laptop
When you plug the external drive into the new computer, make sure that it has the same drive letter as on the old computer
Navigate to the Catalog folder on the external drive and double-click on the file named catalog.pse20db
The catalog should open in the Organizer and will be remembered next time you launch the Organizer.

If you have not moved the catalog folder to the external drive, here is my recommendation for the additional steps to be taken:

Locate the current catalog folder on your old computer. The default location is C:\ProgramData\Adobe\Elements Organizer\Catalogs and the default name will be My Catalog. You can verify the location and name by clicking on System Info . . . in the Organizer's Help menu. (It may take a minute to populate the dialog.)
Copy the entire folder to the external drive.
Follow the instructions I have given above.

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Nick_BaelzAuthor

Known Participant

Thanks Greg

I see on my d drive which is the external drive the file catalog.pse18db which was updated today. Am using Elements 2023.

However the system info shows as per the photo herewith.
I cannot find any folder in C:/programfiles/ adobe/elements 2023 organiser called Catalogs see photo