Changing IMATCH Set-up from Desktop to Laptop

[nacho02]

Hi everyone. It's been a very long time since I last posted here. I'm working daily with my DB in IM2023 and all is well. 
But now, I've got myself a new computer, and I'm realizing I need some help with moving things around.

Here is the old set-up
IM2023, Database size short of 9,8GB, 220k images. 90% stills, but some videos. Will be more in the near future, so new set-up has to be good for some years to come.
Desktop with DB in c: (SSD) , all images in d: (SATA)  

New setup:
Laptop with 1TB SSD. Want to have all images of the current year on the SSD and the old SATA at docking station with the rest of the images.

First question:
How can I do this move in the easiest and most practical way?

• Just use the old DB and relocate all images as required? On the road, the DB will complain about off-line images
• Create a new DB with just the current images? leave the old DB as is and remove the current year?

I've tried already, but I think I've failed.
 
I have used pack and go to restore from a back up to a different folder on the new computer, but I am now finding some issues:

1. My workspaces did not copy to the new set up. I have no alias set up in the DB and my Users on the machines are the same
2. categories assigned to the images are not being shown on new DB. I thought it might have to do with the images in the old set up having unwritten metadata, so I wrote it and copied the files again to the new drive, but still they do not show any categories. Category structure in the new DB is there, but all empty.

I think this will do for today.. 

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Mario]

Did you read Traveling with IMatch and Installing IMatch on a New Computer in the IMatch help?

1. User-specific settings. I guess you are using a different user name / Windows account on the new system.
See 2.1.4. User Name Alias in the Installing IMatch on a New Computer for details.

2. Categories are stored in the database, not in metadata.
If you want to transfer categories to a new database where you index all or some files you manage in the first database, see Importing & Exporting Categories

It is usually much easier to have one database. Things like metadata templates, categories, AutoFill, thesaurus etc. are all database-specific and if you plan to somehow maintain two databases, you have to take care to export/import database-specific data yourself.

[nacho02]

Hi Mario,

thanks for the reply and LG aus Frankfurt!

I did check the installation piece and the travel piece, but I'll try again. That is why I mentioned the Alias thing. In both cases in the Preferences the alias is empty. The User is the same in both computers.. hence my confusion.

As for the categories. The category structure is available in the new computer. The images have no category assignment, that is the issue.

Ok. One DB is simpler. Understood. 

Thanks!

[Mario]

The images have no category assignment, that is the issue.

If you have added the images do a new database, they will not have any category assignments.
If you copy your database from the old PC, all categories will be available, unless you add the files from the other PC as new files.

The user name alias you enter is the user name on the old computer.
Most likely you log into a Microsoft account on the new system, and hence all settings related to the user name are not available, even when you have copied the settings database from the old PC.

[nacho02]

I will restore the whole DB from Pack & GO and see if this is back to working. Thx!

[nacho02]

Exactly. MS Account in both computers, and essentially the same one. Why would the user be different for IMATCH? But maybe my IT know-how fails me here.

But the Workspaces are not as important as the category assignment, so I'll start there. Thx!
 

[Mario]

Search the IMatch log file for

Logging in user

and make sure the user name IMatch gets from Windows is what you think it is.
If it differs from the old PC, add your user name from the old PC as an alias.

[nacho02]

Ok. Restoring DB from Pack & Go has helped with the category assignment of the images 
As for Workspaces... is still WIP, but I'll get there.
Thanks for the support!
Ignacio

[nacho02]

User works now. Looking at the log files showed that indeed, the user was not the same, so I entered the alias. Works like a charm.

So now I only need to set up the HDD drive with most of the images and relocate.

Super!