Moving Lightroom to a new computer (software+db)

[carchiba]

I bought a new computer and I now want to move my current install of lightroom from my old computer to my new computer.  Does anyone have any recommendations around how to do this with the least amount of hassle?  I'm assuming I have to do a new install of the software.  My image database is in the 35K photo range, so its fairly large.

Windows XP Pro to Vista Ultimate

Thanks

[John S C]

Not gone from XP to Vista but have done XP to XP.

Copy your LR directory to the new machine. and the images as well.

When you start Lightroom up on the new machine hold down the <contriol> key. This will enable you to select the library you want to use, using a browse function.

When the library is loaded it wont find you images unless they are in exactly the same place on the new HD. The missing images will appear in red in the library section Now depending on how you've set up your image directory, all you need do is right click on the images folders that are in red  and you'll get a prompt "Locate missing folder". You click on this and you will be presented with a explorer window. Simply navigate to the correct location and LR will update it's info.

If you've got the images in a root directory such as "Images" and all you images are in sub directories you may be able to get away with simply pointing to the root directory. From memory this is all I did, but it was a few months ago so the memory of exactly what I did is a bit vague.

Don't forget to back up before you do anything

Hope this helps

John C

[peter.doerrie]

You can do the backing up and the move in one step. Just tell Lightroom to "Export as Catalogue"

You should have selected all images. Then Lightroom will export all your files with all the metadata and Previews to your selected directory (including the catalogue file). Now simple install lightroom on the new computer, update it with the latest patch and point it to the catalogue file (following the technique described above). Done.

[Rusty]

I just did this recently and followed the instructions provided by the good folks at Adobe:
Thank you for contacting Adobe® Web Support for assistance with Adobe
Photoshop Lightroom 1.2®
I understand that you want to know the best way to install Lightroom on
the Microsoft Windows Vista Business computer you will be upgrading to.
Because the updates have added compatibility fixes for Vista as well as
other fixes and changes, the best thing to do is install directly from
the 1.2 update installer on your new computer. You do not need
to install the earlier versions first, and the same serial number should
work. The update is available on our website:
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=3728
It would be a good idea to make sure you have the same version installed
on your existing computer so any database updates are done before you
transfer to the new one.
I also understand that you want to know the best way to transfer your
catalog and images to the new computer.
The best way to do this in Lightroom 1.2 is to use File > Export as
Catalog. You can select a new folder to export to, and you can include
the #negative# files which are your original images. It will keep the
same folder structure you have for the images in Lightroom, and those
folders will be copied into the folder you specify for the catalog
export.
You can either copy the folder to the new computer, or if you have the
external hard drive, you can do the export directly to that drive. Once
you have the files copied over or the external drive attached to the
new computer, go to File > Open Catalog to have Lightroom open that
catalog.
I hope this information helps to answer your question.
If you require further assistance with this question, please update your
web case with complete details including what steps you have already
completed and any additional information you feel is
applicable to your question.
You may also call us at (800) 642-3623. We are available from 6:00 am
to 5:00 pm Monday - Friday, Pacific Time.
Kind regards,
Leland B.
Adobe Web Support

Worked fine for me, best wishes