Moving LR catalog to external hard drive

I am new and in the process of learning LR. Currently all my photos are stored and developed in my laptop, however it is getting too much for its hard drive. I am thinkinng of moving the entire LR catalog to an external harddrive. Would someone please give me some advice how to do this safely and also how to point the LR to its new location when I open it from the icon.
Thanks much.

Please note:
When we talk of the "catalog" in Lightroom, it means the database where Lr stores everything. It does not mean your photos.
The catalog (i.e. the database, i.e. the file with the ending < .lrcat>) does not have to be on the same drive where the photos(the image files) are.
So you can move your photos to an external hard drive and leave the catalog where it is now. Where is it? Go >Edit >Catalog Settings ? General tab. It tells you the name and location of the catalog.
Before you do any moving of your photos, please note: Lr stores - among the many other things - in its catalog also the location of each one of your image files. This has the consequence that if you move the image files in Win Explorer / Mac Finder Lr does not find the photos in the location stored in the catalog and sends you the much feared "?". How to solve this, see here: http://help.adobe.com/en_US/lightroom/using/WS3BC0B0A1-D48C-4271-891D-DA04EF388E29.html
So, there are two ways to move your photos to an external drive:
a) do it within Lr and Lr will keep on top of the moved files;
b) If you want to move the image files in Win Explorer / Mac Finder it is best you create one (1) parent folder that contains - in various sub-folders - all of your images. Do this in Lr.
Then - in Win Explorer / Mac Finder - you move the parent folder with all its sub-folders to the external drive. When you open Lr again it will show - in the folders panel - a question mark besides each folder. You then have to do the <Find missing folder> routine:
Locate missing folders
If a folder is moved in the operating system instead of in Lightroom, the link between the catalog and the folder breaks, and a question-mark icon appears on the folder in the Folders panel.
To restore the link, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) on the folder and choose Find Missing Folder from the context menu.
Navigate to the file path of the moved folder and click Choose.

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Yes. And you should not have moved that folder. Put it back. To move your iTunes library move the folder from User's Music.
tt2

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I don't know about Mac specific features (I am using Windows 7), but it looks like you are using the word 'catalog' in a different meaning than the Organizer definition.
First, to have a common understanding of your situation, let's see the difference between an organizer 'catalog' and what I call your 'picture library'.
Your library is all your picture files, generally a folder tree on your disk(s).
Your catalog is a special folder managed by the organizer. Imagine you buy a catalog for a paintings museum. It's an independent booklet in which you'll find all the necessary information about all the physical paintings (the library), the location of each one, it's properties (author, size, theme, date...) as well as a small image to show the painting. You find various indexes to help you find by title, author, theme, dates... It's the same for an organizer catalog. There is a booklet (a folder) containing a database for the properties and location of the files, another for the thumbnails and other accessory files and subfolders. You find the location of that folder (each separate catalog has its own folder) by looking at the menu Help/System Information.
I understand you have a copy of your library on the new computer, but what about the catalog(s) folders?

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File>Open Library>New.
Set the location of your new library in the save dialog.
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I've moved iTunes to an external hard drive now have massive duplication of albums

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Result?.........
Here we see, in the second column, that I have both an 'iTunes Music' folder and a folder simply called 'Music' (Highlighted in red). You'll have to take my word for it but these folders have different amounts of music in them. Some is duplicated, some albums are split across the two folders. Howwever, most empty folders are in the 'iTunes Music' folder, whereasost complete folders are in the 'Music' folder! In addition, There's a 'Compilations' folder within the 'iTunes Music' folder (highlighted in blue with a red arrow) which has a small number of compilations most of which I've never selected as compilations.
Note the repetition of folders called 'Automatically add to iTunes' in both the 'iTunes' folder and the 'iTunes Music' folder. There's another one of these in the 'iTunes Media' folder.
Going further in.....
Here we have the 'Music' folder in the 'iTunes' folder. It has its own 'Compilations' folder which is even larger and more irrelevent than the previous one. It also has way more album folders than the 'iTunes Music' folder itself.
If I use the iTunes/File/Library/Organise Library procedure the splash screen that comes up allows me to choose the first optiuon but the second one is greyed out.
One of the results of this is duplicated albums on my iPhone, another is randomly missing tracks in my collection. In addition, my iTunes screen saver now has duplicate album covers and many album covers that I know I've downloaded at high resolution have just gone missing making my iPhone look like its been populated by a chimp! (no offence to our cousins) Where I've discovered a missing track I've used the 'File/ Add to library' procedure. In one case it copied an album folder from the 'iTunes Music' folder where I found it into the 'Music' folder on another occasion exactly the same procedure left the album precisely where it was.
BTW, I have another iTunes folder on my Mac with all the normal stuff in it but only music that I had to add whilst nopt connected to my hard drive.
How can I remove this massive duplication safely?
How can I consolidate my files efficiently without having to go through each folder separately?
How can I remove all these albums from 'Compilations' and prtevent other albums being added?
How can I get all my album artwork back in sync?
Phew!
Thanks!

The folders and files are all normal to a basic iTunes library. They would be there even if you didn't have a single media file. Until you start up with the option key held down, iTunes will keep on looking for your library on the internal drive and will repopulate that folder with those basics if you delete them. You should have a similar folder with contents on your external and that is the one you want iTunes to use. As long as you keep it all intact while copying from one drive to the other, iTunes will be internally consistent and you won't even have to change preferences.
Preferences window
iTunes Media folder location: Just that; where iTunes keeps media. This is not necessarily where the library files (which are what ties the whole thing together) are to be found.
Keep Media Folder Organized - put all your files in folders according to type and name and album etc.
Copy Files to iTunes Media Folder - put it this way, if you didn't have that checked itunes would leave the files wherever you had them when you added them to the library. this one makes sure there is a copy (though not necessarily the only one, but the only on iTunes uses) in your media folder.
What actions take place when itunes "consolidate library" is used?
When you consolidate iTunes looks at all the files you have listed in iTunes and puts them in the location indicated by your media file preference. I don't think it hunts around your drive looking for things that aren't in the library, it just places a copy of those that are innto your media folders. If you want a searching tool you'll have to use a script that does that kind of job.
Your original images are not showing for me so I can't tell what exactly you are seeing.
Again, what I would do given what you have told me is I would make sure iTunes is using the library on the external by holding down the option key while starting iTunes (you only neeed to do that once). If you find there are files on your internal drive that are not in the library on the external then add those and iTunes will place a copy on hte external if you have that "copy files..." preference checked. You'll lose a few things such as playcounts, ratings, on those. If you absolutely must keep those there are a few tricks that can be performed but that's another very long post.

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I am having the same problem. I moved my itunes library to an external drive to free up the space on my notebook and now I "get files not found do you want to search" If I search I can find the song in Windows but have to find each song individually, I have 2600 songs I burned from my CD collection, it would take way too long. I have tried copying the file to the same drive, I have reintalled itunes multiple times. I have checked Apple and my computer is "authorized". Is there any way out of this? Otherwise I will be limited to just having the music I already have on my ipod and being unable to add any more, and if that ever bocomes compromised I would be unable to restore it. None of my music is purchased from itunes, it is all burned from my CD's.

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I have had quite the ordeal...upgraded my Mac iBook G4 from os 9 to os x 10 Tiger.
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Now...my computer won't function because it's out of hard disk space.
I moved my iTunes library to the external hard drive. Everything seems to be jim dandy...except that when I go to play a music file...the computer does not recognize the file.
I have to locate, and re-direct the path for each song to the new file location. SONG BY SONG!
Is there any way to do this globally for the entire library???
What else should I do to ensure I free up hard drive space, without jeopordizing my precious music files?
Thank you!!!

With iTunes 7.x you can transfer iTS purchases from the ipod back into iTunes.
To prevent your iPod from syncing - hold down the 'option' and  keys at the same time when plugging in your iPod. Keep the keys held down until the iPod show up in iTunes.
MJ

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i got a new hp simplesave external hard drive, and i'm moving all my files from an older external hard drive (can't find brand name). Some of the files are bringing up error 36 which is something along the lines of can't read/write file. which is causing the file transfer to stop on that one file. there are a lot of damaged files so the file transferring is going very slowly. is there a way i can find out which files are bad ahead of time so i can get rid of them AND THEN transfer the files?

Well, since the MacBook with Tiger still has issues with the drive, I think it is some kind of hardware problem related to the external drive. I have numerous USB and FireWire drives connected (probably too many), and I've had no issues with Snow Leopard. Snow Leopard makes my older Intel iMac run better than when it was new.
Make sure you try connecting the drive to a separate power outlet, if it is connected to a power strip. It is also possible the drive's power supply is failing; that can cause the the improper disconnect message to come up, because the drive inside is not getting sufficient power. That is why you need to try the hard drive in a different case, or using the USB adapter, to eliminate possibilities.
Also, I still don't know if this drive is USB or FireWire, but be sure to try it with no other devices connected, in case there is some interference between devices.
One more thing you can try to rule out a problem with your currently installed system. Start up using the Snow Leopard installation disc; insert disc and restart with the C key held down. When you get to Installer's first screen, go up to the menu bar and, under Utilities, select to run Disk Utility.
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No success moving iTunes library to external hard drive

I'm trying to move my iTunes library to an external hard drive to free up some space on my laptop. I'm working on a Macbook running OSX 10.8.2 and trying to transfer the library to a WD My Passport for Mac (which is optimized for Mac OS Extended). I followed all of the steps in this article from apple: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449. When I reopen iTunes, as instructed in step 15, I get the message that "The folder containing "iTunes Library" cannot be found, and is required. Please choose or create a new iTunes library." In the article, it just says that if you get that message, then take your old library back out of the trash. It offers no real solution! I don't want to keep my iTunes library on my Macbook! I've tried holding down the option key when opening iTunes and choosing the folder on the external drive. When I do that I get this message: "An iTunes library file could not be found in the folder "iTunes 1" (which is what I called it). Please choose a different folder." What am I doing wrong? This should be a simple process!

I just want to clarify: Your library had been moved to an external, but your database files are still where they ought to be, right? In the home / music / iTunes folder?
If not, try putting these files back in the Music / iTunes folder in your user folder.
/Users/username/Music/iTunes/iTunes Library.itl
/Users/username/Music/iTunes/iTunes Library.xml
Keep the media on the external drive. If you get a message about missing content, go to preferences and make sure that the library location points to your external drive's itunes folder.

Moving iTunes Music to external hard drive

I am trying to move my iTunes music library to an external hard drive to free up space on my HD, but I'm having trouble. Tried the following, suggested by MacMuse:
iTunes Preferences -> Advanced tab; Keep Music Folder organized ... should be enabled.
* iTunes Preferences -> Advanced tab, set the library location to some folder on the new drive; preferably a new empty folder
* iTunes Advanced menu -> Consolidate Library... This step copies all the files in iTunes' library to the new location. It also maintains your ratings and playlists.
* if it finishes properly, manually delete the original files through Windows Explorer. iTunes won't Move the files, only copy them to the new location.
* If you see a file called iTunes 4 Music Library.itl1 in the old area - leave it alone. It continues to live in that location despite the change to the Library location.
1 - in version 5, this file is now known as iTunes Music Library.itl
I am having trouble in that I can't seem to find the "Consolidate library" command under advanced tab. there is a box to check to "copy files to iTunes music folder when downloading music", and I checked that box. I then hit OK, and a window popped up saying "updating iTunes Library" which took about 30-60 sec, and then it closed. When I went to the folder on the external HD where the music was supposed to be, it was empty.
Do you all have any suggestions? Thanks!
Russ

I think you mistakenly looked in the preferences for 'Consolidate Library..'.
It's in the Advanced menu in the menubar.
You will find more info in this article:
iTunes: Moving your iTunes Music folder
Hope this helps.
M
17' iMac fp 800 MHz 768 MB RAM Mac OS X (10.3.9) Several ext. HD (backup and data)

Ipod cannot find my library since I moved it to an external hard drive

Ipod classic 80gb - Windows XP - HP Notebook - ... I recently moved my itunes music folder (which is exclusively music ripped from my CD collection) to an external hard drive. It was taking up too much space on the C drive. I sorted it all into playlists and everything appeared fine. I attached the ipod and held control/shift so it would not sync. I opened preferences/advanced and clicked the change button and selected the new location of the library. Everything still fine. Music plays on computer, so it is time to sync the new playlists to my ipod. When I try I get the message that a new library is found and would I like to erase the ipod and sync the new library. The problem is that the library is now empty. Anybody any idea what has happened? I do notice when checking through Windows My Music that my music files on the external hard drive are MP4 .. is this the correct format for the ipod to find them? I am now totally unable to find that library in itunes. I have unchecked the automatic sync but will want to sync to get those playlists to the ipod. Thanks.

iPods don't look for the library. iTunes does.
I recently moved my itunes music folder
Don't move your music folder.
Let iTunes do it.
Point iTunes prefs to the location where you wan tit.
Then go to menu Advanced -> *Consolidate library*.
This will copy the iTunes music folder to the location in iTunes prefs.

Moved my library to external hard drive...now nothing will play!

I just moved my library to an external hard drive, and now I can't play anything. ITunes says it can't locate the original file, and asks to locate it individually. Any thoughts on how to get ITunes to recognize my new drive as the location where all the files are?

Delete the existing entries in iTunes and drag the folder with the music into the open iTunes window.
(36219)

Itunes is too big for my laptop, i moved it to an external hard drive and now it's lost

My laptop was too slow and the hard drive was full so I added memory and it was still too full. I bought an external hard drive and tried moving my itunes to it. But now itunes can't find any of my music. I tried moving the entire itunes folder onto the external hard drive and still itunes can't find it. I tried moving everything back to the laptop - but it won't accept the file because its too big. Help!

iPods don't look for the library. iTunes does.
I recently moved my itunes music folder
Don't move your music folder.
Let iTunes do it.
Point iTunes prefs to the location where you wan tit.
Then go to menu Advanced -> *Consolidate library*.
This will copy the iTunes music folder to the location in iTunes prefs.

I moved my music to external hard drive and now iphone 4S won't sync

I recently moved ALL of my media (music, movies, etc) to my external Seagate 1TB hard drive to free up 200+ gig on my Macbook pro. I followed all of the steps, everything works perfectly, iphone is recognized and syncs all playlists, apps, etc EXCEPT it won't add any new music since the transfer.
So for instance, I added a new playlist for the new NIN album. It sits in the exact same place as all of my other music, but when I sync the phone, it only syncs the older media and NIN is nowhere to be found on the iphone.
I've scoured every message board and blog I can find and can't seem to find the answer.
Anyone??

dividedbyzach wrote:
How is that possible? The itunes music folder is now called itunes media folder and that's what was dragged to the trash and deleted:
I can only go by what you wrote.
"I deleted everything in my music folder"
locate your original iTunes Media folder, and drag it to the Trash.
there is no longer any itunes music or media folder on my mac, only the external hard drive
I quoted from the article. That is not what I am telling you to do now.
. If I had dragged the wrong file to the trash previously, it would have given me a warning, no?
No.
On your Mac, you should have an /Music/iTunes/ folder, yes?
If so, follow the steps I posted above.

Moving LR catalog to external hard drive

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