# Using Apple Migration to move Lightroom to a new iMac



## YorkshireLass (Apr 4, 2019)

I use Lightroom Classic and Photoshop, both subscription versions, and also I have kept my Lightroom version 6.

I am about to upgrade my iMac, the new one is still in the box. I have just read Victoria’s new e-book about moving Lightroom to a new computer but it hasn’t answered my query.

I have a time machine backup of my old iMac and when I first startup my new iMac I intend to use the Apple migration software together with time machine to move all of my software and data over. I am up to date on all of my software and OS Mojave.  Everything should then be exactly as it was on my old iMac and that I won’t have to do any reinstalling of Lightroom.

Has anyone had experience of doing this and are there any Lightroom pitfalls I should be looking out for? 

Thank you


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## Victoria Bampton (Apr 4, 2019)

Hi YorkshireLass, welcome to the forum!

In theory, it should be ok. If you want to be on the safe side, you could do the prep steps from the book, and then if it didn't work as expected, you could just pick the instructions up from where you left off.


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## clee01l (Apr 4, 2019)

I've moved my LR several times.   (Windows PC to new iMac, iMac to MBP, Old iMac to new iMac, Replacement HD on an iMac with a failed primary Drive)   IMO the Migration Assistant is the only way to go.   In some of these migrations, I had to reinstall the apps but that was a trivial process.


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## YorkshireLass (Apr 4, 2019)

Victoria Bampton said:


> Hi YorkshireLass, welcome to the forum!
> 
> In theory, it should be ok. If you want to be on the safe side, you could do the prep steps from the book, and then if it didn't work as expected, you could just pick the instructions up from where you left off.


Thanks Victoria. I’ll have both Macs side by side so I won’t lose anything.


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## YorkshireLass (Apr 4, 2019)

clee01l said:


> I've moved my LR several times.   (Windows PC to new iMac, iMac to MBP, Old iMac to new iMac, Replacement HD on an iMac with a failed primary Drive)   IMO the Migration Assistant is the only way to go.   In some of these migrations, I had to reinstall the apps but that was a trivial process.


Thanks. I thought this would be the best way.


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## May Hem (Jun 20, 2019)

Hello, 
Like YorkshireLass, I need to move my files and apps (including Lightroom 8.3.1 and Photoshop CC)  from an old iMac to a new one (both running macOS 10.14 Mojave). Your instructions are so helpful; thanks! 

I plan to use Apple Migration Assistant to accomplish the transfer. Do I need to uninstall the Creative Cloud apps on the old Mac  before running Migration Assistant? If so, does uninstalling the CC apps on the old Mac delete my LR catalog? I'll have a complete backup, so can restore the catalog manually if necessary. 

Should I run the Creative Cloud Cleaner tool on the old Mac before running Migration Assistant?


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## clee01l (Jun 20, 2019)

You should not need to uninstall anything .  You are legally permitted 2 instances of your Adobe apps on different machines.  I have had (temporarily) more than 2 instances when switching to a new computer and did not get my fingers whacked with a ruler.


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## May Hem (Jun 20, 2019)

Thanks for your reply.  On Adobe's forum, there are several posts (most from 2015 and earlier) that report problems with using Creative Cloud apps after running Migration Assistant, so I thought I'd post a question here. Here's an example.

And another example.


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## clee01l (Jun 21, 2019)

I think the key phrase there is "2015 or earlier"  As there were some early issues with the Adobe Application manager.  About a year ago I got a new Mac.  I used migration assistant and a Time Machine backup to get the new Mac up and going it was painless.  If there were any problems I don't recall them and any problems that might have come up were easily resolved.


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## Johan Elzenga (Jun 21, 2019)

Same here. Switched from an older MacBook Air to a new MacBook Pro about two years ago, and from an old iMac to a new Mac Mini with eGPU at the beginning of this year. In both cases I used Migration Assistant and was up and running again in about an hour.


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## Martin Owen (Jun 22, 2019)

I am about to get a new iMac and have read Victoria’s book in preparation, however.......

My current iMac is old (mid 2011, running High Sierra) and I believe it is feeling it’s age. As mentioned in other threads, LR Classic is not running well with repeated crashes and an inability to complete syncing.  Hence the decision to get a new device.  I keep my Lightroom catalog on a separate G-Tech 3GB hard drive, not on the iMac HD.  (Incidentally, I also use CC Mobile on an iPad Pro and iPhone, so syncing is critical to me).  The separate G-Tech HD is also getting long in the tooth and although apparently running well, I don’t believe it will be compatible with the new iMac, so I am getting a new LaCie 5TB drive.

I normally back up using Time Machine to another separate drive, and also to Backblaze.

Given the potential for the old iMac to have errors and problems I intend to set up the new iMac from scratch without using the migration tool.  I use iCloud and other cloud based programs and apps, so once established on the new iMac, all my other data should flood in.

My intention (and here’s where I’m looking for input, suggestions or STOP! from more knowledgeable Gurus) is to copy the contents of my existing separate G-Tech  drive to the new LaCie drive and when everything is set up on the new iMac point Lightroom to the LaCie drive where hopefully it will pick up on may library and data.

Am I cruising for a disaster or should this work?


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## Johan Elzenga (Jun 23, 2019)

There should be no problem with that, except that if you do not give the new LaCie disk the exact same name as the old G-Tech disk, you will see ‘missing’ images and folders that you will have to reconnect (assuming the images are now also on that G-Tech and will be transferred to the LaCie as well). That is easy to do however: Lightroom thinks my photos are missing—how do I fix it? | The Lightroom Queen


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## Martin Owen (Jun 23, 2019)

Many thanks Johan.
I was assuming that if I had copied all the file to the LaCie and given it a new name, I could just ‘point’ LR to the new drive as the source of my catalog and it would be OK.  It would appear not.  I’ll either have to name the new drive the same as the old (not ideal) or go through the process of showing the program where each folder is, rather than just where the catalog is.  Is that correct?


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## Johan Elzenga (Jun 23, 2019)

Martin Owen said:


> Many thanks Johan.
> I was assuming that if I had copied all the file to the LaCie and given it a new name, I could just ‘point’ LR to the new drive as the source of my catalog and it would be OK.  It would appear not.  I’ll either have to name the new drive the same as the old (not ideal) or go through the process of showing the program where each folder is, rather than just where the catalog is.  Is that correct?


Correct. The catalog contains links to the images, so right now something like “G-Tech/Folder/Subfolder/Image”. When the catalog and the images are moved to the LaCie drive, Lightroom needs to know first where the catalog is. That is simply a matter of double clicking the catalog file to start Lightroom. You only need to do that once. But the links would still be pointing to the G-Tech, so that needs to be changed to “LaCie/Folder/Subfolder/Image” as well.

That sounds worse than it is, however. If you reconnect a folder, Lightroom automatically reconnects the whole subfolder hierarchy inside that folder, so you don’t have to reconnect hundreds of folders. In the ideal situation you only have to reconnect one folder, in a lesser situation maybe a few dozen.


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## Martin Owen (Jun 23, 2019)

Johan Elzenga said:


> Correct. The catalog contains links to the images, so right now something like “G-Tech/Folder/Subfolder/Image”. When the catalog and the images are moved to the LaCie drive, Lightroom needs to know first where the catalog is. That is simply a matter of double clicking the catalog file to start Lightroom. You only need to do that once. But the links would still be pointing to the G-Tech, so that needs to be changed to “LaCie/Folder/Subfolder/Image” as well.
> 
> That sounds worse than it is, however. If you reconnect a folder, Lightroom automatically reconnects the whole subfolder hierarchy inside that folder, so you don’t have to reconnect hundreds of folders. In the ideal situation you only have to reconnect one folder, in a lesser situation maybe a few dozen.


Very many thanks Johan.


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