Resolve possible issues while migrating photos from Lightroom Classic to Lightroom.
Couldn't find your issue in this article? See the workaround for known migration issues here.
The catalog seems to be an exported catalog or has been copied
Error: Something went wrong. The Lightroom Classic catalog seems to be an exported catalog or has been copied.
Solution: For migration of a Lightroom Classic catalog, Lightroom relies on the file paths in the Lightroom Classic catalog file. To resolve this error, open the catalog once in Lightroom Classic to restore the missing file path information and then re-try the migration.
Some files have metadata conflicts
Error: Some files have metadata conflicts. Some of your files in Lightroom Classic have data on disk that doesn't match the catalog. These files will be migrated using the data in the catalog.
Solution: This message is a warning rather than an error. It means that, at some point, you used the Save Metadata To File command in Lightroom Classic by choosing Metadata > Save Metadata To File or pressing Ctrl+S (Win)/Command+S (macOS). This command saves a copy of all the metadata known about a photo—such as develop settings, ratings, and keywords—from Lightroom’s database into a file next to that photo so that other applications can use it as well.
- Ignore this warning if Lightroom Classic has been your primary photo editor.
- If you've been actively using Adobe Bridge to make additional edits, see Resolve metadata conflicts between Lightroom Classic, Adobe Bridge, and Camera Raw to synchronize metadata in your Lightroom Classic catalog.
Not enough cloud storage
Error: Not enough cloud storage. Please upgrade your storage limit. Once you reach your current limit, new photos will not be synced to the Creative Cloud and will only be stored locally.
Solution: This message is a warning rather than an error. You can use Lightroom without syncing everything to the cloud, but some of your files will not be backed up or accessible from other devices. For full benefit, we recommend visiting your Account Management Plans page on Adobe.com anytime to explore upgrade options. See related helpful information at:
All assets are missing
Error: All assets are missing or all folders are missing. Migration cannot continue. Please make sure the photos are available and can be opened from Lightroom Classic.
Solution: If you see this error, it means that Lightroom couldn't find any of the files from your Lightroom Classic catalog at the paths where Lightroom expects to find them. Likely, you moved the catalog, left an external drive disconnected, or a Windows drive took on a different drive letter when plugged back in. Migration can proceed if some files are missing, but this error means Lightroom couldn't find any of them.
To fix this issue, open Lightroom Classic, look in the Folders panel for folders marked with question marks. Right-click and choose Find Missing Folder… to help locate the folders on your drive.
For more information on locating missing files, see Locate missing photos.
Couldn't read catalog
Error: Could not read the catalog. Please close Lightroom Classic before proceeding.
Solution: Lightroom Classic must not be running while you're migrating photos & videos to Lightroom. Quit Lightroom Classic and initiate migration again.
Insufficient disk space
Error: Not enough disk space to complete the migration. Lightroom needs enough space to copy your photos and videos before uploading to the cloud.
Solution: Before Lightroom can import your photos and videos, it copies them to a new location on your local system. Over time, as they are backed up to the cloud, Lightroom may remove these large, original files and replace them with smaller smart previews to save disk space. However, this initial copy operation can require a lot of space.
If you see this error, you may want to direct Lightroom to store original files on a separate drive.
- In Lightroom, go to Edit > Preferences (Windows) or Lightroom > Preferences (Mac).
- Choose the Local Storage panel. Now, click Change Location to select a drive with at least the amount of free space recommended in the above error message.
While migrating the Lightroom Classic catalog, Lightroom also creates a database and Smart Previews on your local hard drive to enable viewing and editing your images during migration. This can take up significant additional space, which can be as much as 20% of the size of your catalog and original files. Especially when migrating large catalogs, make sure you have that amount of free space on your local drive.
Catalog already migrated
Error: Already migrated. You already moved this catalog to Lightroom.
Solution: A given catalog (.lrcat file) can only be migrated to Lightroom once. You can, however, migrate other, additional catalogs.
Unsupported catalog version
Error: Unsupported Lightroom Classic catalog version. Please update to the latest version of Lightroom Classic before moving your catalog to Lightroom.
Solution: Currently, only catalogs from Lightroom 6/Lightroom CC (2015) or newer can be migrated to Lightroom. If you see this error, please download the latest version, now called Lightroom Classic, and open your catalog to automatically upgrade it. You can then quit Lightroom Classic and re-run the migration.
Lightroom is not up to date
Error: Please update Lightroom and try again.
Solution: If you see this error, check the Creative Cloud desktop app for a newer version of Lightroom.
Do more with Lightroom
Lightroom is the complete photo service for professional and enthusiasts alike. Create and edit photos easily with Lightroom presets or customize to your liking anywhere with cloud photo storage management.
