# Lightroom Catalogs can not be opened on network volumes, removable storage, or read only volumes.



## DavidF

Operating System:High Sierra

Lightroom Version: 
_Latest CC update (I can't access LR right now without restarting my computer)_
Question or Description of Problem:
When I start up LR CC, I regularly get a message saying...
_*Lightroom cannot open the catalog named “xxxxx” located on volume “(External drive)” because Lightroom cannot save changes to this location.*
Catalogs can not be opened on network volumes, removable storage, or read only volumes.
_
My catalog is stored on an external drive so that I can take it with me on holiday.
If I restart my iMac, it usually works fine (till the next time!). I have uninstalled and re-installed LR CC but the problem keeps returning.
Has anyone else experienced this, and if so, any ideas how to correct it, please?


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## Johan Elzenga

This might not be a Lightroom problem, but a MacOS X problem. Apparently, that disk is seen (sometimes) as a removable disk. What type of disk is it and how is it formatted?


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## DavidF

It's a 2TB Seagate Backup Plus Portable Drive formatted with Mac OS Extended

I can see the drive on Finder and have been able to open an image by double clicking on it. Although it was opened in Lightroom Elements which I still have on my Mac, rather than LR CC!
This morning I have been unable to open LR CC despite Restarting (twice) and performing a full shutdown. Not sure what to do now!


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## DavidF

Just tried to open LR CC on my MacBook Air with the external drive attached. Worked fine!
So it seems that something is awry with LR CC on my iMac (or maybe in my iMac Settings?)


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## Johan Elzenga

DavidF said:


> So it seems that something is awry with LR CC on my iMac (or maybe in my iMac Settings?)



Like I said: I don't think it's Lightroom, I think it's MacOS X on the iMac. It could be that there is something going on with the disk, and that the iMac is a bit more sensitive to it than laptop. Do you use the same cable to connect the disk to both computers?



DavidF said:


> I can see the drive on Finder and have been able to open an image by double clicking on it. Although it was opened in Lightroom Elements which I still have on my Mac, rather than LR CC!



That is completely normal. Because Lightroom needs to import images before it can work on them, it is not an editor that can start up and open an image when you double click on it.


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## DavidF

Yes, I used the same cable on both computers. 
If it is a MacOS X issue, what can I do to resolve it?
Also, for info, the problem has been happening since before I recently upgraded to High Sierra. And both computers have been upgraded to High Sierra.


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## Johan Elzenga

First of all, make sure you have a backup of that disk! If that disk is about to fail, you want to be prepared. Then you could run Disk Utility - First Aid, to see if that reports any problems it can solve.


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## Linwood Ferguson

ummm... I didn't realize that lightroom could not be used on a "removable" volume.  What's Adobe's definition of removable.  EHD's are by definition (well, my definition) removable, and I hear people putting them there all the time.


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## Johan Elzenga

Ferguson said:


> ummm... I didn't realize that lightroom could not be used on a "removable" volume.  What's Adobe's definition of removable.  EHD's are by definition (well, my definition) removable, and I hear people putting them there all the time.



I think the definition is that with removable storage, you can change the *disk* without changing the disk *drive*. That makes an EHD not a removable. For Windows users this should be easier to understand than for Mac users. Windows shows you the drive, even when that drive is empty. MacOS X however shows you the disk, so an empty drive (like an empty card reader) is not shown.


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## Linwood Ferguson

JohanElzenga said:


> I think the definition is that with removable storage, you can change the *disk* without changing the disk *drive*. That makes an EHD not a removable. For Windows users this should be easier to understand than for Mac users. Windows shows you the drive, even when that drive is empty. MacOS X however shows you the disk, so an empty drive (like an empty card reader) is not shown.


I'm not following you.

Example: I had two EHD's on my desk as I read this, a WD My Passport and a WD Elements.  Sequentially I plugged one in, it showed up as drive "F", I removed it, plugged the other in, and again it showed up as drive "F".  So I then tried creating a new LR catalog on it, and it worked fine, as expected.

How much more removable can you get?   Well... how about this.

I took my Nikon's XQD card out, shoved it in the reader, and created a new catalog on it.  Lightroom was quite happy.  That's pretty removable also. 

I guess my question is what would an example be of a disk that Lightroom would NOT accept?    

The only thing I tried that it refused was a network share (and I wonder if I put it as a mount point if it we even notice, but that's another issue).


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## Johan Elzenga

A standard EHD is not considered a removable because the drive and the disk are one and the same thing. When you remove the disk, you also remove the drive. You won't see anything left at "F:" when you unplug the EHD.

A card reader with a memory card in it is a removable, because you can remove the _disk_ (the memory card) and Windows will still show you the (now empty) _drive_ with its drive letter. On the Macintosh, an empty card reader does not show at all. Removable hard disks are not so popular any more these days, but here's the definition: What is removable hard disk? Webopedia Definition and here's a description of how to use them: Using Removable Hard Disk Drives (RHDDs) - SiliconANGLE

I have no idea what Lightroom accepts and doesn't accept, but an EHD is definitely not a removable so obviously Lightroom will (or should) accept that.


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## Linwood Ferguson

JohanElzenga said:


> A standard EHD is not considered a removable because the drive and the disk are one and the same thing. When you remove the disk, you also remove the drive. You won't see anything left at "F:" when you unplug the EHD.


Indeed, it is gone.



JohanElzenga said:


> A card reader with a memory card in it is a removable, because you can remove the _disk_ (the memory card) and Windows will still show you the (now empty) _drive_ with its drive letter.



But as mentioned above, my Nikon's XQD card worked fine for a catalog and like an EHD the drive letter disappeared after removal (so consistent with that as the definition). 

The article referenced is from 2011, but regardless, manufacturer's are woefully poor at following standards, much less definitions.



JohanElzenga said:


> I have no idea what Lightroom accepts and doesn't accept, but an EHD is definitely not a removable so obviously Lightroom will (or should) accept that.



Apparently.


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## Johan Elzenga

Ferguson said:


> But as mentioned above, my Nikon's XQD card worked fine for a catalog and like an EHD the drive letter disappeared after removal (so consistent with that as the definition).



That means that apparently an XQD card is seen as an EHD, and not as a removable. And that explains why Lightroom is willing to store a catalog on it. I never tried it, but I assume that Lightroom will refuse to store a catalog on an SD card or a CF card, especially when that card is in a card reader.


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## Linwood Ferguson

JohanElzenga said:


> That means that apparently an XQD card is seen as an EHD, and not as a removable. And that explains why Lightroom is willing to store a catalog on it. I never tried it, but I assume that Lightroom will refuse to store a catalog on an SD card or a CF card, especially when that card is in a card reader.


Just tried a CF card in a different reader (and different brand reader) and it happily created a catalog there also.

I think its implementation of what it will and will not use is just inconsistent.

Please note I am certainly not endorsing that any external drive is a good place to put a catalog; I realize a ton of people do, but I have and do think it's a real compromise of reliability.  I get that some people do to take-width, and some because they only have a laptop with inadequate storage, but external drives are not as reliable as internal if for no other reason that there's a cable a human will one day unplug without properly dismounting it first.  Humans are almost always the least reliable part of any system.


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## Johan Elzenga

OK, as I don't think this discussion is very useful to the OP and his problem, let's leave it at that.


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## jan.chris.th

DavidF said:


> Operating System:High Sierra
> 
> _*Lightroom cannot open the catalog named “xxxxx” located on volume “(External drive)” because Lightroom cannot save changes to this location.*
> Catalogs can not be opened on network volumes, removable storage, or read only volumes._
> 
> My catalog is stored on an external drive so that I can take it with me on holiday.
> If I restart my iMac, it usually works fine (till the next time!). I have uninstalled and re-installed LR CC but the problem keeps returning.
> Has anyone else experienced this, and if so, any ideas how to correct it, please?


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## jan.chris.th

I have tried for 100 hours for 2 years on Windows and found the solution.
Here is my idea of what causes the "cannot save to this location":
The external drive, eg on USB, goes to sleep or stops and then this OS sets the read only attribute on the folder where .lcat is residing.

My solution that works (for Windows w LR Classic):
Drag the folder of the .lcat to an another (internal) hard drive and start it from there.
it works and it will find your data on your external drive as before.
Then LR works with all operations and data on your "cannot save" drive, as usual.

You have your Lightroom database file on one hard-disk and your data files on another (the original data drive)

On my data drive I have " Photos controlled by CAT " (just to know that these are originals and not edited by Lightroom. )
and further folder for: Export and import waiting files


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## clee01l

jan.chris.th said:


> he external drive, eg on USB, goes to sleep or stops and then this OS sets the read only attribute on the folder where .lcat is residing.


I think there is an option in Windows like there is in MacOS to keep Windows from shutting down hard drives to save on battery life.


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## johnrellis

"I think there is an option in Windows like there is in MacOS to keep Windows from shutting down hard drives to save on battery life."

It's buried and hard to find: In the Windows 10 search box lower left, type "power & sleep settings".  Then click Change Plan Settings, then Change Advanced Power Settings.  From there, you can change when a hard disk turns off:


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