Moving LR Catalog?

So after plenty of foot dragging I am going to reinstall my Windows 7 OS (currently on a Windows 8 OS that because of various minor quirks and annoyances just isn't working for me...)

Now I know I can copy and migrate my LR catalog to the new OS... but in moving back to Win 7 the folder location for my pictures will be slightly changed... is this an issue that I am right to be worried about? Is there a step in the migration that I need to account for so as not to lose data/edits/etc?

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can provide

I have done something similar and it was not an issue. I actually moved my images to an external drive so when I have to move things in the future it will be more seamless. I had my image files on my internal hard drive. So when I moved the files to the external, I had to tell LR where the files were located and it seemed to have no problem finding them when I moved them since the only real change was the drive letter. If I were to do it again from scratch, I would probably have moved the files inside LR using the library module to put them on the external drive, then do a catalog back up. Then update (downgrade) the OS to Windows 7 and then when installing LR, just open the catalog that was saved to the external drive. As long as the drive specification is the same I would think it would be 100% no issues.

It should be pretty straight forward. Do move your images from inside Lightroom so your catalog keeps the file association. A few months ago I had a total computer failure and ended up having to get all my data back from Carbonite and the drive letters were a little different on the new computer. I just had to move my catalog to where I wanted on the new internal drive and tell LR where my photos were located (on an external drive). Good luck and I don't blame you on the Windows 8. Takes getting used to, for sure.

There really shouldn't be any changes between OS's The catalog, among other things, captures all the edits made to a particular photo. So it should all be the same for Win 7, 8, 10. Now if you use a different version of LR, things can change.

sirquack wrote in post #17503551
I have done something similar and it was not an issue. I actually moved my images to an external drive so when I have to move things in the future it will be more seamless. I had my image files on my internal hard drive. So when I moved the files to the external, I had to tell LR where the files were located and it seemed to have no problem finding them when I moved them since the only real change was the drive letter. If I were to do it again from scratch, I would probably have moved the files inside LR using the library module to put them on the external drive, then do a catalog back up. Then update (downgrade) the OS to Windows 7 and then when installing LR, just open the catalog that was saved to the external drive. As long as the drive specification is the same I would think it would be 100% no issues.

Yea, currently I have an SSD two large drives and an external drive connected. When I originally setup the OS I put the USER folders on one of the large drives and set a regular sync task to the second large drive and turn on the external once a week to sync files there too. But as my drive space slowly seeps away I realized that putting the User folders on the second large drive may not have been useful. So I want to place ONLY the pictures folder on the large drives moving forward. This is the part I am worried about.

ValerieGoettsch wrote in post #17503625
It should be pretty straight forward. Do move your images from inside Lightroom so your catalog keeps the file association. A few months ago I had a total computer failure and ended up having to get all my data back from Carbonite and the drive letters were a little different on the new computer. I just had to move my catalog to where I wanted on the new internal drive and tell LR where my photos were located (on an external drive). Good luck and I don't blame you on the Windows 8. Takes getting used to, for sure.

When you say move your images inside lightroom do you mean when LR is open go to Library and then drag and drop to the new location PRIOR to doing a re-install and pointing to the LRcat?

-Slightly OT but....As for Win8 - wasn't a problem in getting used to it, Have had it installed on my main PC since it was in beta form and for the last 2 years now? I have a multifunction copier scanner printer that no longer scans TO my PC anymore so that was a slight annoyance since the mfg will not update it's software drivers... along with that there are many network issues that are random, sometimes shares work sometimes they don't sometimes my permissions are revoked from other machines sometimes my machine revokes others permissions, all at random with no rhyme or reason - the rest of the home network is on Win7 and they never have any of the issues my PC has... the straw that broke the camels back for me this week was I switched over to a D750 from a Canon 70D... I prefer certain Windows settings for importing pictures from my memory cards or cameras when connected... and Windows 8 REFUSES to use the correct launcher automatically... and in autoplay functions it shows OTHER options but not the ones I prefer (while when a Canon camera is connected it displays the launchers I want in autoplay oddly enough). Without a way to fix this I just give up! While on my wife's Win7 machine everything functions properly... Again this is only a small sampling of the oddities as there are many more but not trying to go too rantish... Win8 is nice - if only I could find a way to fix all the things the way I could in Win7.

chantu wrote in post #17503654
There really shouldn't be any changes between OS's The catalog, among other things, captures all the edits made to a particular photo. So it should all be the same for Win 7, 8, 10. Now if you use a different version of LR, things can change.

See above - the switch has nothing to do with LR differences and everything to do with the OS being the reason to switch... I just wanted to make sure I knew how to move everything and the resulting change in folder location and structures wouldn't be a problem

Thanks everyone for your help, it is greatly appreciated!

I would advise against "downgrading" to Windows 7. It is true that Win7 is superior to Win8 in many ways, but Win10 is just around the corner, and it will be free:

http://arstechnica.com …s-7-users-for-first-year/

Most of the problems you describe should be an easy fix. Setting the default program in auto-play is relatively easy, and I am betting that Vuescan has a driver that will work for your scanner:

http://www.hamrick.com​/

As far as the network issues; you are on your own, but my experience has been that the random network issues you describe pop up occasionally regardless of the Win OS I am using (and yes, it is annoying when a shared folder is suddenly no longer shared, or suddenly a networked computer is not accessible, etc!).

It's just not a good idea to fall 2 OS's behind if you can avoid it. Windows 10 should be a big improvement over Win8. Yes, you will be able to upgrade your Win7 for free as well, but do you really want to change OS's twice? Just my .02.

sharrowm wrote in post #17505211
I would advise against "downgrading" to Windows 7. It is true that Win7 is superior to Win8 in many ways, but Win10 is just around the corner, and it will be free:

http://arstechnica.com …s-7-users-for-first-year/

Yep, was aware of this already - But having been on the bleeding edge of MS software since they launched Windows 3.11 has brought more pain than anything Gone are those days for me! (Heck my PC currently resides inside the first production Case Labs MH-10 that was shipped... so I definitely know what staying updated means...at cost!)

It is something I am going to ponder - but the truth is my wife and my preference is for the older Win7 style "Import Pictures and Videos" and NOT the Win8 style "Import Photos and Videos" - Win8 still allowed certain uses of the old style... but it was haphazard as to when it would and wouldn't. Plus I have a full year of to upgrade and from my understanding unless it is like the Win 8 promos I can conceivably get the upgrade key and sit on it until need be.

sharrowm wrote in post #17505211
Most of the problems you describe should be an easy fix. Setting the default program in auto-play is relatively easy,

Unfortunately the information is coded somewhere in a combination of registry and .inf files. Some items it allows me to choose the exact autoplay software others it doesn't and it no longer allows me to "pick any software I want" for autoplay as it used to in previous OS versions. But we still go back to the preference being the Win7 style import tool (Yes I am aware that I could use LR or any other many software options for importing - but this one is the preference for simplicity and flexibility reasons).

sharrowm wrote in post #17505211
and I am betting that Vuescan has a driver that will work for your scanner:

http://www.hamrick.com​/

Now that right there is amazing and didn't even know it existed! Thanks!

sharrowm wrote in post #17505211
As far as the network issues; you are on your own, but my experience has been that the random network issues you describe pop up occasionally regardless of the Win OS I am using (and yes, it is annoying when a shared folder is suddenly no longer shared, or suddenly a networked computer is not accessible, etc!).

You are right networks do tend to have the occasional issues. But with 6 Win7 pc's in the household and one of them being a dedicated HTPC for our tv watching systems the regularity of the Win7 networked machines having problems is very rare (at least once I got them to a stable install base). I can't say the same about the 2 Win8/8.1 machines we have. And I have given them 2 plus years for me to try and recreate and figure out why or what... couldn't do it... I may not be a pro but 2 years is longer than most give to a solution they aren't a fan of...

sharrowm wrote in post #17505211
It's just not a good idea to fall 2 OS's behind if you can avoid it. Windows 10 should be a big improvement over Win8. Yes, you will be able to upgrade your Win7 for free as well, but do you really want to change OS's twice? Just my .02.

I am aware of the EOL risks with doing so and technically not too concerned with it - I decided I will downgrade to Win7 and keep an eye on Win10 - once it brings a need to upgrade for that option or reason I will do it for the majority if not all of the PC's in house (Except for my Windows Media Center machine... that one remains until cable companies move on from CableCard or until Microsoft shuts it down to a completely unusable state!).

Thanks for your responses though, they were appreciated and thought over. They even had helpful info! I will let ya'll know how the move goes once complete..been taking lots of pics with the good weather so haven't set time aside for the OS migration yet

I can't say that I use the windows importer so I am not familiar with the issue you describe, but it sounds like you have thought this through and that you know what you are doing. I am curious though; is there a reason you don't use LR to import?

Yes, Vuescan is a (scanner) lifesaver, literally. My very expensive Nikon Coolscan would be a very expensive paperweight without it. Hopefully it works for you as well.

sharrowm wrote in post #17505526
I can't say that I use the windows importer so I am not familiar with the issue you describe, but it sounds like you have thought this through and that you know what you are doing. I am curious though; is there a reason you don't use LR to import?

Simplicity, it does what we need with ease - and it also deletes files in one fell swoop (I know I can do that in an LR plugin but not interested in that atm). Also I like to keep things working similarly on my computer and my wifes as much as possible even though I am the one usually testing out new OS etc all the time. Thank god for virtual machines!

sharrowm wrote in post #17505526
Yes, Vuescan is a (scanner) lifesaver, literally. My very expensive Nikon Coolscan would be a very expensive paperweight without it. Hopefully it works for you as well.

This is awesome and if Win7 fails to keep me from jumping to Win10 in the next year or so than I at least know that my scanner won't be the excuse for not jumping to it

Thanks everyone for all the information, plan on blowing out the Win8 install and moving back to Win7 tonight once the kiddos are in bed!

Well after a few days all seems good - took me a bit to get Windows reloaded properly (It hates Raid drivers and EFI boots apparently lol) Once I got that out of the way the Lightroom portion was smooth sailing - pointed it at the LRcat file, synchronized folder and within 5 minutes everything was purring smoothly! It didn't even blink at the fact that I had moved the picture folder onto a different drive and even into a different folder structure.