Restoring multiple catalogs to 2 different drives

[Darlene Fr]

I have 10 catalogs, each one ranging from 160GB to 650GB. On my old computer, all 10 catalogs showed up when I clicked on File, Manage Catalogs, even though the catalogs were on 2 different drives on the computer. I am trying to restore all my catalogs to 2 different drives on my new computer. I am using Elements 15 on Windows 10. I chose custom location for each of the 3 catalogs I've restored so far-2 catalogs on 1 drive and the 3rd on a second drive. My problem is that when I click on File, Manage Catalogs I can only see 1 catalog at a time. If I want to open another catalog, I have to browse to the drive it's on and click on the one I want. Is there a way to restore the rest of my catalogs so all of them show up when I click on Manage catalogs? Should I have clicked on "Original location" instead of Custom location? I've tried clicking on all 3 buttons under Manage Catalogs (Catalogs accessible to all users, catalogs accessible to the current user, and custom location), and I can still only see one catalog at a time.

[MichelBParis]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Darlene+Fr  wrote

I have 10 catalogs, each one ranging from 160GB to 650GB. On my old computer, all 10 catalogs showed up when I clicked on File, Manage Catalogs, even though the catalogs were on 2 different drives on the computer. I am trying to restore all my catalogs to 2 different drives on my new computer. I am using Elements 15 on Windows 10. I chose custom location for each of the 3 catalogs I've restored so far-2 catalogs on 1 drive and the 3rd on a second drive. My problem is that when I click on File, Manage Catalogs I can only see 1 catalog at a time. If I want to open another catalog, I have to browse to the drive it's on and click on the one I want. Is there a way to restore the rest of my catalogs so all of them show up when I click on Manage catalogs? Should I have clicked on "Original location" instead of Custom location? I've tried clicking on all 3 buttons under Manage Catalogs (Catalogs accessible to all users, catalogs accessible to the current user, and custom location), and I can still only see one catalog at a time.

Catalog location:

What is not clear in your description is the location of the catalogs (which is independent from the location of the files they manage).

By default, the catalog folders are stored in a hidden location on your C: drive even if they point to files in an external drive.

The catalog folders can be copied or moved from your explorer anywhere else;  they are now in 'custom' location. If you restore a catalog on an external drive, the media files AND the restored catalog will be in the same custom location.

If you want to see all your catalogs, they must be in the default location (catalogs accessible to all users). The catalog manager lets you move back from custom to default even if it can't move from default to custom (which is made from the explorer).

There are good reasons to choose either custom or default location, but if you want to see all catalogs, they must be in default location.

Edit: to find the location of a catalog, menu Help >> System Information.

[Darlene Fr]

Michel,

Thank you so much for your answer. I have restored my current catalog to my L drive, and have restored 2 older catalogs to my D drive. If I use the Move command and move the 2 older catalogs so they're accessible to all users, will the folders (photos) in those catalogs remain in the D drive? And do I have to move the current catalog so it's also accessible to all users, or will it appear with the older catalogs once I move those older ones? And if I move it, will its folders remain on my L drive?

Also, is moving the catalog a brief procedure, or will it take as long as the original restore? It took about 4 hours to completely restore a 160GB catalog so all the thumbnails showed up.

[MichelBParis]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Darlene+Fr  wrote

Michel,

Thank you so much for your answer. I have restored my current catalog to my L drive, and have restored 2 older catalogs to my D drive. If I use the Move command and move the 2 older catalogs so they're accessible to all users, will the folders (photos) in those catalogs remain in the D drive?

Yes, moving the catalog folders won't move the media files managed in the catalogs. The links in the catalog are not changed by the move, they still point to the real location.

And if I move it, will its folders remain on my L drive?

You can check the location of your current catalog by having a look at the menu Help >> System Information. It should be there on the C drive.

Also, is moving the catalog a brief procedure, or will it take as long as the original restore? It took about 4 hours to completely restore a 160GB catalog so all the thumbnails showed up.

It's a matter of a few seconds if moved on the same drive, a couple of minutes if moved to an external drive.

Restoring a 160 GB catalog takes less than one hour for me with a USB3 external drive, and a little more for rebuilding all thumbnails.