# media cache files - how can i put them on another drive?



## gcstanat (Dec 16, 2013)

LR4. Mac.

My Media Cache Files folder is getting too large (I've recently started working with video in LR). Is there a way to move it to another drive?

I don't think this is accomplished by moving the normal Cache.

Thanks in advance for any help.


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## clee01l (Dec 16, 2013)

Welcome to the forum I don't have a Media Cache folder, but IIRC, it is a folder similar to and along side the Preview Cache folder and in the same folder as the catalog.  If I am correct, LR expects to find this folder alongside the catalog.  
So, one thing you can do is move everything to a different drive including the catalog  Or you can move the cache folders and substitute an alias with the same name in the folder where these formerly resided.


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## Den (Dec 17, 2013)

My catalog and preview folders are on one drive and I have the cache folder on another. I cut and pasted it there sometime ago. (Don't remember why, but I had a reason back then?)


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## gcstanat (Dec 17, 2013)

Hmm…
to *clee01l: *if you don't have one, i suppose that means that you're not processing video. but strangely, mine is NOT next to my normal LR cache. it's in a completely different place (put there automatically by LR). it's here:
Users/me/Library/Caches/Adobe/Lightroom/Video/Media Cache Files
so maybe you DO have one, you just haven't seen it 'cause it's tucked away in an oddball place. 

to Den: i don't think you can just cut and paste your cache folder. you need to tell LR where to put the cache. is that what you did?

anyways… i can't find any info about it and i certainly don't know how to tell LR to put it somewhere else.


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## gcstanat (Dec 17, 2013)

to clee:
my folder is in a funky place, so maybe you just haven't seen yours yet? mine is here:
users/me/Library/Caches/Adobe/Lightroom/Media Cache Files
or maybe you don't work w/ video so you don't need one?
anyways, i only discovered mine w/ a hard drive scan showing me where my space-offenders are

to Den:
i don't think you can just cut/paste your cache folder w/o telling LR where it is.

and that's my problem; i don't know how to tell LR where to put/find this particular cache folder. :(


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## clee01l (Dec 17, 2013)

Yes, I don't do video.  And yes, I do have that Video folder.  I think LR will create one in that location whenever you import video. Now as you know the Library is a system folder. So what I am about to suggest should be done with full knowledge that a) it might not work and b)  it could require sincere remedial efforts on your part to put things back like they were should the suggestion not work.  My suggestion is as earlier.  Copy the Video Folder to your desired location and replace that existing "/Users/me/Library/Caches/Adobe/Lightroom/Video" folder with an alias pointing to the new location. 

Alternately, you could simply delete these old files since LR does not have a mechanism to do this kind of housekeeping.  You will have to repeat this process periodically


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## Den (Dec 17, 2013)

Sorry, different cache folder. I was talking about the camera raw cache. (and yes LR knows where it is since one can specify) The file you are talking about resides in a different place on my PC than yours. Mine is User/Name/AppData/Local/Adobe/Lightroom/Caches/Video. Is this the file that gets purged in "preferences">"file handling" or is there another video cache?


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## Victoria Bampton (Dec 17, 2013)

Yes, you're both talking about the same cache - the locations are just different as you're on different OS's.  And yes it's the one you set the location for in Preferences dialog > File Handling.


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## clee01l (Dec 17, 2013)

clee01l said:


> Yes, I don't do video. ...
> 
> Alternately, you could simply delete these old files since LR does not have a mechanism to do this kind of housekeeping.  You will have to repeat this process periodically


  It looks like I misspoke when I made the above statement. 

The File Handling tab of Preferences does provide a mechanism for housekeeping on the video cache  folder.  It does not permit you to relocate it but you can limit it to 1GB and manually purge the contents with the {Purge Cache} button.   The best that I can determine, the alias is the only means of relocating the contents on to another drive.


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## Victoria Bampton (Dec 17, 2013)

Well spotted Clee, I'd forgotten that too!


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## gcstanat (Dec 17, 2013)

i'm going to try to purge it (not on that machine right now), but i'm pretty sure that i already tried that with no luck. which is weird. then i'm going to try the alias idea - that's a good one, and i don't think recovering from it will be rough since it's just cache files. thanks!!!


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## Den (Dec 17, 2013)

It certainly does work. That was what I was alluding to when I said: Is this the file that gets purged in "preferences">"file handling" or is there another video cache? Guess I should have put up a screen shot like Cletus did.
You were correct about not being able to just cut and paste that folder. I tried and LR just recreates a new folder in the original location. I guess that's why there's no choice as to location like there is for the Camera Raw Cache.


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