Transferring LR catalog to backup hard drive for travel?

I plan on taking a photo vacation and want to take along a laptop with Lightroom for processing on the road.
I currently use and process my images on my desktop. LR and the images are all on desktop.
What is the best way to transfer my catalog (with all keyword and collection data) to my backup hard drive for the trip?
Images are not really a problem transferring just takes time.
Do I use the "backup" mode in LR? or, drag and drop the LR folders from my desktop to my backup hard drive?
thanks,

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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Hi artdrake
Just to add to the already good advice posted above.
Another possible approach which works for me, assuming the ext. FireWire HD is large and fast enough (I recommend at least 120GB and 7200rpm) is to format the the ext. HD as stated above (journaled) and then clone your existing startup volume (using Carbon Copy Cloner) to the ext. Hard Drive. This will circumvent installing a fresh OS as well as all the iLife apps to the ext. device. You will simply make an exact copy of your laptops HD to the ext. volume. It takes me all of 30-40 mins. on my G4 system to do this procedure whereas installing everything from scratch may take several hours.
Click Here for example/s:
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Hope this suggestion works as well for you as it does for me. Feel free to post back with additional questions/concerns.
(3) G4 PM's/(3) S-Drives/Sony TRV900/Nikons/6FWHD's/PS7/iLife06/FCPHD/DVDSP/etc. Mac OS X (10.4.8) My ichatav AIM account is: SDMacuser1 (Please use Text chat prior to video)

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Triple-click anywhere in the line below to select it:
tmutil compare -E
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C).
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Ciao.

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To do it, you have to partition the hard disk, so you will have one partition for Time Machine and another one to store files and use them in a PC and Mac. To create the partition, follow these steps > http://pondini.org/OSX/DU3.html
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Trying to copy iPhoto Library to external hard drive for backup. Error message: The Finder can't complete the operation because some data in "iPhoto Library" can't be read or written (Error code -36).

Trying to copy iPhoto Library to external hard drive for backup. Error message: The Finder can't complete the operation because some data in "iPhoto Library" can't be read or written (Error code -36).

That code is
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ioErr
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OT

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Tongue twister of a question, huh?
I am creating a APM-partitioned hard drive for use with a PowerPC iMac G5, so I can have a fresh OS install on one as a reference, and the other be my usable OS. Now, I also want to back both of these partitions up on a storage hard drive that I also want to contain partitions that are bootable on an Intel mac (GUID). My question is, can I clone my APM partitions as backup to designated partitions on my GUID backup/storage hard drive (which I plan on being able to boot other partions on an Intel Mac), and have the option of later cloning the same APM partitions back to an APM-paritioned hard drive and have them still be bootable on a Power PC? I know I won't be able to boot a Power PC from off of the GUID-paritioned drive, but I want to be able to restore my APM-partitioned drive incase things go sour with it.
Thanks so much for your time, guys!

Block-level copier that copies not just the files but the filesystem structure as well. But files can be moved from GUID to APM partitioned devices without any effect on the file. The partition scheme affects whether an installed system will boot a particular type of hardware.
If you installed OS X on a GUID partitioned drive you would not be able to boot a PPC Mac.
And, you're most welcome.
Please note the items listed under Legend in the right sidebar of this page.

I bought an external hard drive for backups to use with Time Machine, but however when I try to connect it with the other windows laptop it doesn't work ? intact it doesn't work on any other device except my MAC ?

I bought an external hard drive for backups to use with Time Machine, but however when I try to connect it with the other windows laptop it doesn't work ? intact it doesn't work on any other device except my MAC ?

Do not worry about it.
Time Machine needs that your external drive is formatted in HFS+, or better known as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)". This filesystem is used by Apple on Macs and Windows cannot read or write drives formatted with this filesystem, being this the reason why all your devices do not read the external drive except your Mac.
You can only use your external drive to make Time Machine drives. If you store anything different, you may damage the Time Machine structure, so it is better not to use it as a drive to store other data. Instead, get another external drive to do it or create a second partition on the external drive formatted in FAT32 by using Disk Utility > http://pondini.org/OSX/DU3.html FAT32 can be read by Windows PCs

My iMac suddenly can't read the backup hard drive I've been using for Time Machine. I did NOT just upgrade the OS or anything. The external HD is an OWC Mercury Elite All Pro. It's worked fine since I got the iMac 4 years ago.`

My iMac suddenly can't read the backup hard drive I've been using for Time Machine. I tried unplugging the cord that connects the HD to the iMac and plugging it back in, but I still get "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer" below which are buttons for Initialize, Ignore and Eject. I was using a cord that went from larger square plug to larger square plug. So then I tried one that went from smaller square plug to what I think is USB (thin rectangular plug) of the sort that connects the keyboard and mouse. It's the type that my printers and scanners use to connect to the iMac. I did NOT just upgrade the OS or anything. The external HD is an OWC Mercury Elite All Pro. It's worked fine since I got the iMac 4 years ago. What else can I try before just trying to initialize and

Thanks, Michael! I do hear it at times spooling up and running. Just after I bumped the thread I looked for troubleshooting for this drive online and found the manual which suggested using Disk Utility which I've seen before accidentally (if I hit Command Shift U instead of Shift U to type "Unit" on a new folder for a student's homework ) but had never really noticed. Disk Utility does see it and also a sub-something (directory?) which might be the Time Machine archives on the disk, called disk1s2), sort of the way that my iMac's hard drive shows up as 640.14 GB Nitachi HDT7... and has a sub-something titled DB iMac, which is what I named my iMac's hard drive.
Anyway the owner's manual just shows the image under the formatting section, not the troubleshooting section, but as soon as I saw it in the manual I remembered seeing it accidentally a few times, went to it, and am now verifying the disk. Right now it's telling me that it will take 2 hours to complete the verification, so I guess I have a bigt of a wait. :-)
Does that fact that Disk Utilities can see it mean it's not failed, or just that it hasn't completely failed?
I can see the virtue in having multiple redundant backups, or at least two backups. What do you suggest? Two external hard drives? I had this one linked by ethernet, and but I also have a cord that could link it by USB (like a printer), so if this one is reparable I could get a second one and link it by USB. If this one is not reparable I could get two and do the same thing. I do have an Airport so I suppose it's possible to get some sort of Wi-Fi hard drive (my new printer/scanner uses only the network and not a cable, although it has a cable that I used for the initial installation), but I'd suspect a Wi-Fi hard drive might have a higher price.
What hard drives, if any, do you recommend? I seem to recall that when I was looking at external hard drives 4 years ago, Apple's were substantially more expensive, which is why I got the OWC Mercury Elite All Pro.

Transferring LR catalog to backup hard drive for travel?

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