Restoring to a new computer PSE 6

[WhamBamPam]

Hi,
I've backuped up from within PSE 6 to EHD. I restored to the new computer from within PSE 6. Backup said complete, restore said complete. Except I can't see the catalog, or my tags.
If I use Windows I can see that all the files are there setup with their original structure. But when I'm in PSE 6, nothing no catalog, no tags, no pictures.
The only thing is that after the restore was complete, my computer froze. I did CTRL ALT DEL & restarted. Should I have left it frozen, was it doing something? I have approx 17k pictures.
Thanks in advance for the help!

[Juergen D]

Should I have left it frozen, was it doing something?
Possibly. What OSs do you have? XP or Vista? Or is the old machine on XP and the new one on Vista?

Juergen

[WhamBamPam]

The old machine has Windows Vista & the new one has Windows XP, the new one is an Acer Netbook.

[Juergen D]

Restoring from Vista to XP may have caused the catalog to be placed in the wrong location. It should be here:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\Catalogs\My Catalog

Navigate to that location in Windows Explorer and see if you can find a file named catalog.pse7db. If it is not there, do a Windows search for that file, then open the Organizer and browse to the Custom Location, which you just found in the Explorer.

Juergen

[Michel B]

This is something I did last week. Before doing the backup, I wrote metadata to file to save the tags to my 13000 files, then restored on another computer. I believe the process of backup and restore does not restore the database, only the files and their structure. I had to import all files in a new catalog in the second computer. The tags were recognized, but I had to recreate the custom categories and reassign the tags to the suitable categories. I do not use stacks, so can't tell anything about this.

[Juergen D]

I believe the process of backup and restore does not restore the database, only the files and their structure.
Michel,
It does create a backup of the database, in PSE5 it was called My Catalog.buc. That file is renamed to the regular catalog file (.psa) during Restore. I have not done it with PSE7 yet, but I would assume the procedure to be similar.

My next suggestion, if we can't get anywhere with the previous one, would be to search for the .buc file and manually rename it and place it in the proper folder.

Juergen

[Michel B]

Juergen,

The backup has been created on the external hard drive. (with the .buc extension). Restoring to a new computer, keeping folder structure, does not change anything on the external hard drive, no renaming, which is normal, since the backup might be used to a restore on the initial computer (it was a transfer of a given catalog from my computer to my wife's laptop.)
I did a search on the laptop, and there has been no catalog copied, no new .psa file, no new 'my own catalog' with any extension, nowhere on the catalog. Anyway, copying and renaming the catalog.buc would be inadequate, since the files came from two physical drives and were restored to a new root folder into the laptop. The database would have to be recreated with the new location for each file, not simply copied.
Following your suggestion, I even tried to rename the .buc file, but the organizer did not recognize any new catalog to open on the external drive?
Any other ideas?

[Juergen D]

Michel,
I did not mean that the catalog or any other file is renamed on the backup drive. The renaming should happen when it is restored to the new location. At that time, I would assume, the catalog is also changed to reflect the changed location of the images.

Do you have PSE7? If so, the restored catalog file should be named *.pse7db. You may want to search for it on the laptop.

Juergen

[Michel B]

Thanks, Juergen.
It is PSE6, but I'll do a search on the laptop and come back soon...

[Michel B]

Juergen,
You are right, there is a 'catalog.psedb' in the new root of the laptop. What should I do now?

[Juergen D]

Open the Organizer, go to >File >Catalog and navigate to the Custom Location where you found the .psedb file and open it.

Juergen

[Juergen D]

If that does not work, try copying and pasting the .psedb file into the Organizer default catalog location.

Juergen

[Michel B]

Well, it does open... but now it is generating the thumbnails, which will last all night! We'll see the result tomorrow. The problem may be that the catalog I had already created has the same name that the one being created now (the name of my root folder, 'Michel'. Two catalogs with the same name, with one in a custom location? The new one is [current]. Of course, they both refer to the same files, since I did not change nor add anything since the last restore.

So, to summarize, the correct procedure would have been to restore as I did, then ask the organizer to find the new catalog in a custom location, which is the new root directory: /Michel. Not very obvious.

Thanks very much for your help, Juergen. Learning something useful new everyday, as usual!

[Juergen D]

Good. I'm glad it worked. Yes, there will a rebuilding of the cache file, which does take a pretty long time, depending on the number of images in the catalog.

Since the two catalogs are in different folders, I don't think that will do any harm. Once you are completely happy with one you just retrieved, maybe you can delete the other one.

Juergen

[WhamBamPam]

Okay, I had to do it about 10 times, but I finally got it.

Here are the steps:


On your old computer BACKUP to EHD from within PSE
From your new computer RESTORE from within PSE
When you are restoring, make sure you choose to restore original file structure
When you get the message that the RESTORE COMPLETE, click okay & don't do anything, don't touch anything... your computer is not frozen... just walk away & leave it alone for minimum 1 hour (maybe more if you have a lot of pictures or a slow computer)
Check regularly until your files appear.
Thank significant other for telling you to be patient & walk away!

I hope this helps!
WhamBamPam

[Michel B]

Good. I'm glad it worked. Yes, there will a rebuilding of the cache file, which does take a pretty long time, depending on the number of images in the catalog.

Since the two catalogs are in different folders, I don't think that will do any harm. Once you are completely happy with one you just retrieved, maybe you can delete the other one.

Juergen
As a matter of fact, it did not take long to rebuild the thumbnails... As was to be expected, no pictures were found; the next step is reconnecting the files from the new folder. Automatic, and has the advantage of putting the tags in the main categories (people, events...). You only have to rebuild the subcategories. Less work than my way of simply creating a new catalog. Really, you have to take into account the necessary time to rebuild 13000 thumbnails! Reconnecting is not so long. Anyway, it is a pity the subcategories were not recognized.