moving lightroom to new computer

dagaetch · 01-27-2014, 11:08 AM

Hi, just seeking some reassurance that I'm doing this properly. I've been using old laptop with lightroom 4 for all of my images, stored on the internal hard drive. Just got new laptop with lightroom 5, which will now be my primary machine. To move to the new computer without losing any lightroom work, I'm thinking:

1) on old computer, tell lightroom to save metadata to files. Since all images are DNG, it should just be written into the file directly and no new files will be created.
2) on old computer, use windows to copy all picture files to new external hard drive, saving folder hierarchy.
3) on new computer, connect external hard drive and tell lightroom 5 to add photos to catalog without moving.

am I correct? Is there something I'm not thinking about, or a step I'm missing? thank you!!

ruggiex · 01-27-2014, 11:24 AM

I would copy the lightroom catalog to the new computer and re-use that catalog on the new computer. That way you will keep all the key words, tags, collections etc if you used them.

You can also use lightroom to move files to external drive in the second step. The benefit of the is when you re-use the old catalog, if on the new computer, the external drive drive letter is the same for the external drive where you told lightroom to move it to, it will just work. If not the same path, just point the missing folders to the the right location.

If you don't utilize any catalog features then what you described would work just fine.

**jatrax** · 01-27-2014, 11:44 AM

How do I move Lightroom to a new computer? | The Lightroom Queen

How to Migrate LR to Another Computer | The Complete Picture with Julieanne Kost | Adobe TV

Migrating Your Lightroom Catalog and Photos to a New Computer | Lightroom tutorials, tips and training for Lightroomers!

There is a bit more to moving things than just moving the files and making a new catalog. If you have any plugins, templates, presets or collections already setup you will need to take steps to preserve those. I second the comment above about the catalog. You should copy the old catalog file over rather than creating a new one. Writing out the metadata to the DNG is fine but I'm not sure everything in the catalog gets written out.

delegopa · 01-27-2014, 11:45 AM

A nice walkthrough: How do I move Lightroom to a new computer? | The Lightroom Queen (didn't try it so far)
Keeping your catalog data, presets etc. would be key to me.

dagaetch · 01-27-2014, 12:26 PM

awesome, thank you all! I don't presently use a lot of the catalog features, but hope to be better about that going forward. Is there any downside to re-using the old catalog? Easy enough to put the catalog file on the external drive as well.

Currently don't have any plugins/templates/etc to move, but that's good to know that you can transfer them.

**jatrax** · 01-27-2014, 01:28 PM

One thing you could do is follow the method you suggested and create a new catalog. If everything works as expected you are good. If not, keep your old catalog as a backup until you are sure the new catalog is working correctly. You can always copy over and update the old catalog if there are any deficiencies in the newly created catalog.

I have kept the same catalog going from v3->v4->v5 so I am not sure what all is saved to the DNG and what is all in the catalog. I would say there is no downside to using your old catalog, and if it was me I would just keep using the old catalog. YMMV

Not a Number · 01-27-2014, 02:16 PM

You should de-activate the LR license on your old computer unless you are going to use it. Otherwise at some time you may get a warning when trying to install/re-install that you have exceeded your allowable active license and either have to deactivate an old machine or buy another license. If you no longer have the old machine available you have to call Adobe up so they can confirm your license status and figure out which machine (by MAC address) to deactivate.

dagaetch · 01-28-2014, 07:40 AM

Thanks for all the advice. Moved everything last night with no problems. Lightroom automatically upgraded the catalog, I 'found' the missing folders on the external drive and all is well.

mikemike · 01-28-2014, 04:01 PM

Can a lightroom catalog be mobile? All my pics live on an external hdd which I back up frequently to a second copy which I keep off site at my office. With picasa, just keeping the folder structure kept all the metadata that picasa kept on it in sync. I haven't tested this out yet since switching to LR because I don't have a second license for my office computer but it would be good to know what obstacles I might face with this if it is worth the extra license.

dagaetch · 01-29-2014, 07:43 AM

Originally posted by mikemike

Can a lightroom catalog be mobile? All my pics live on an external hdd which I back up frequently to a second copy which I keep off site at my office. With picasa, just keeping the folder structure kept all the metadata that picasa kept on it in sync. I haven't tested this out yet since switching to LR because I don't have a second license for my office computer but it would be good to know what obstacles I might face with this if it is worth the extra license.

Hmm...If you have the catalog stored on the same external drive as the pics, and everything is in a folder hierarchy, I don't see why it wouldn't work. You might have to relink the parent folder every time the drive letter changes, but that would be pretty easy.

**Miguel** · 01-29-2014, 07:49 AM

Originally posted by mikemike

Can a lightroom catalog be mobile? All my pics live on an external hdd which I back up frequently to a second copy which I keep off site at my office. With picasa, just keeping the folder structure kept all the metadata that picasa kept on it in sync. I haven't tested this out yet since switching to LR because I don't have a second license for my office computer but it would be good to know what obstacles I might face with this if it is worth the extra license.

Well, sorta.
Check out the "smart previews" functions.

M

**Just1MoreDave** · 01-30-2014, 01:24 PM

Originally posted by mikemike

Can a lightroom catalog be mobile? All my pics live on an external hdd which I back up frequently to a second copy which I keep off site at my office. With picasa, just keeping the folder structure kept all the metadata that picasa kept on it in sync. I haven't tested this out yet since switching to LR because I don't have a second license for my office computer but it would be good to know what obstacles I might face with this if it is worth the extra license.

The Lightroom 4 license allows installation on two computers. It probably hasn't changed, so you may not need a second license.

01-27-2014, 11:08 AM	#1
dagaetch Senior Member Join Date: May 2013 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 111	moving lightroom to new computer Hi, just seeking some reassurance that I'm doing this properly. I've been using old laptop with lightroom 4 for all of my images, stored on the internal hard drive. Just got new laptop with lightroom 5, which will now be my primary machine. To move to the new computer without losing any lightroom work, I'm thinking: 1) on old computer, tell lightroom to save metadata to files. Since all images are DNG, it should just be written into the file directly and no new files will be created. 2) on old computer, use windows to copy all picture files to new external hard drive, saving folder hierarchy. 3) on new computer, connect external hard drive and tell lightroom 5 to add photos to catalog without moving. am I correct? Is there something I'm not thinking about, or a step I'm missing? thank you!!

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01-27-2014, 11:24 AM	#2
ruggiex Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: East Bay Area Photos: Gallery Posts: 811	I would copy the lightroom catalog to the new computer and re-use that catalog on the new computer. That way you will keep all the key words, tags, collections etc if you used them. You can also use lightroom to move files to external drive in the second step. The benefit of the is when you re-use the old catalog, if on the new computer, the external drive drive letter is the same for the external drive where you told lightroom to move it to, it will just work. If not the same path, just point the missing folders to the the right location. If you don't utilize any catalog features then what you described would work just fine.

01-27-2014, 11:44 AM	#3
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,991	How do I move Lightroom to a new computer? \| The Lightroom Queen How to Migrate LR to Another Computer \| The Complete Picture with Julieanne Kost \| Adobe TV Migrating Your Lightroom Catalog and Photos to a New Computer \| Lightroom tutorials, tips and training for Lightroomers! There is a bit more to moving things than just moving the files and making a new catalog. If you have any plugins, templates, presets or collections already setup you will need to take steps to preserve those. I second the comment above about the catalog. You should copy the old catalog file over rather than creating a new one. Writing out the metadata to the DNG is fine but I'm not sure everything in the catalog gets written out.

01-27-2014, 11:45 AM	#4
delegopa Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 244	A nice walkthrough: How do I move Lightroom to a new computer? \| The Lightroom Queen (didn't try it so far) Keeping your catalog data, presets etc. would be key to me.

01-27-2014, 12:26 PM	#5
dagaetch Senior Member Join Date: May 2013 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 111 Original Poster	awesome, thank you all! I don't presently use a lot of the catalog features, but hope to be better about that going forward. Is there any downside to re-using the old catalog? Easy enough to put the catalog file on the external drive as well. Currently don't have any plugins/templates/etc to move, but that's good to know that you can transfer them.

01-27-2014, 01:28 PM	#6
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,991	One thing you could do is follow the method you suggested and create a new catalog. If everything works as expected you are good. If not, keep your old catalog as a backup until you are sure the new catalog is working correctly. You can always copy over and update the old catalog if there are any deficiencies in the newly created catalog. I have kept the same catalog going from v3->v4->v5 so I am not sure what all is saved to the DNG and what is all in the catalog. I would say there is no downside to using your old catalog, and if it was me I would just keep using the old catalog. YMMV

01-27-2014, 02:16 PM	#7
Not a Number Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Venice, CA Posts: 10,526	You should de-activate the LR license on your old computer unless you are going to use it. Otherwise at some time you may get a warning when trying to install/re-install that you have exceeded your allowable active license and either have to deactivate an old machine or buy another license. If you no longer have the old machine available you have to call Adobe up so they can confirm your license status and figure out which machine (by MAC address) to deactivate.

01-28-2014, 07:40 AM	#8
dagaetch Senior Member Join Date: May 2013 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 111 Original Poster	Thanks for all the advice. Moved everything last night with no problems. Lightroom automatically upgraded the catalog, I 'found' the missing folders on the external drive and all is well.

01-28-2014, 04:01 PM	#9
mikemike Inactive Account Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: New Orleans Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,053	Can a lightroom catalog be mobile? All my pics live on an external hdd which I back up frequently to a second copy which I keep off site at my office. With picasa, just keeping the folder structure kept all the metadata that picasa kept on it in sync. I haven't tested this out yet since switching to LR because I don't have a second license for my office computer but it would be good to know what obstacles I might face with this if it is worth the extra license.

01-29-2014, 07:43 AM	#10
dagaetch Senior Member Join Date: May 2013 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 111 Original Poster	Originally posted by mikemike Can a lightroom catalog be mobile? All my pics live on an external hdd which I back up frequently to a second copy which I keep off site at my office. With picasa, just keeping the folder structure kept all the metadata that picasa kept on it in sync. I haven't tested this out yet since switching to LR because I don't have a second license for my office computer but it would be good to know what obstacles I might face with this if it is worth the extra license. Hmm...If you have the catalog stored on the same external drive as the pics, and everything is in a folder hierarchy, I don't see why it wouldn't work. You might have to relink the parent folder every time the drive letter changes, but that would be pretty easy.

01-29-2014, 07:49 AM	#11
Miguel Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Near Seattle Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,743	Originally posted by mikemike Can a lightroom catalog be mobile? All my pics live on an external hdd which I back up frequently to a second copy which I keep off site at my office. With picasa, just keeping the folder structure kept all the metadata that picasa kept on it in sync. I haven't tested this out yet since switching to LR because I don't have a second license for my office computer but it would be good to know what obstacles I might face with this if it is worth the extra license. Well, sorta. Check out the "smart previews" functions. M

01-30-2014, 01:24 PM	#12
Just1MoreDave Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Aurora, CO Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,340	Originally posted by mikemike Can a lightroom catalog be mobile? All my pics live on an external hdd which I back up frequently to a second copy which I keep off site at my office. With picasa, just keeping the folder structure kept all the metadata that picasa kept on it in sync. I haven't tested this out yet since switching to LR because I don't have a second license for my office computer but it would be good to know what obstacles I might face with this if it is worth the extra license. The Lightroom 4 license allows installation on two computers. It probably hasn't changed, so you may not need a second license.