New computer & LR catalog

[W.T. Jones]

I have a new Windows 7 computer coming. My images are on a dedicated hard drive that I will move to the new computer and assign the same drive letter (this I can remember how to do). What I want to know is how do I transfer my LR cat file and keep all my rankings, previews, history and Metadata intact? Do Install light room & import catalog from a disk? I seem to remember doing this once, but how I managed it escapes me now.

Should my LR cat file be in the boot drive or on the same drive as my image catalog? My boot drive will be a smallish SSD. If I remember correctly LR defaults the catalog to My pictures. I am trying to get my ducks in a row here so I do not have to spend a week sorting out a major Cluster F###.

P.S. I do have redundant back ups of all files. Both image & catalog.

[PeterAit]

As you are planning, install the disk with the images and assign the same drive letter as before. Then put the LR catalog wherever you want. In LR, File->Open Catalog. I have not actually done this, but I am pretty sure it will work.

[aduke]

I have an "images" folder in the same folder as my catalog. This may not be as efficient as possible, but is sufficiently fast that I've not bothered to change it.  When I bought a new Win 7 computer a few months ago, I took the hard-drive from the older machine and installed it on the new one.

When I first started LR on the new machine, I simply opened the old catalog. Everything went perfectly.

One can simply copy the LR catalog (x.lrcat) to a new location and open it from LR and LR will be perfectly happy as long as it still has access to the images. If you copy the entire folder that contains the catalog, you will get the previews and settings (if you have checked the "keep settings with catalog" checkbox.

Alan

[elied]

An alternate way is to put the copy of the catalog wherever you wish and then install LR but do not open it. Go to the catalog file and double-click on it. LR will open with that catalog. This method prevents LR from making that empty default catalog in My Pictures.

[aduke]

An alternate way is to put the copy of the catalog wherever you wish and then install LR but do not open it. Go to the catalog file and double-click on it. LR will open with that catalog. This method prevents LR from making that empty default catalog in My Pictures.

Yes, much better.

Alan

[W.T. Jones]

An alternate way is to put the copy of the catalog wherever you wish and then install LR but do not open it. Go to the catalog file and double-click on it. LR will open with that catalog. This method prevents LR from making that empty default catalog in My Pictures.

This worked killer, much better than re-importing everything. Thank you very much. And thanks to all who responded.