Good morning everyone,
I've been struggling with reconnecting my Photo Mechanic Plus catalogs to my relocated photo files for over three months now, and I'm hoping someone can provide step-by-step guidance. Despite searching the documentation and previous forum posts, I haven't been able to resolve this issue.
My Setup
- Software: Photo Mechanic Plus version 6.0, build 7285 (latest)
- Photos: ~40,000 images in a new location
- Photo Location: `D:\OneDrive\07 Photos\My photos\` (contains ~120 year-based directories from 1900-2025)
- Catalog Location: `D:\DB - PM6+\` (moved outside OneDrive to avoid sync issues)
- Catalogs: 6 catalogs named All, Events, When, Where, Who, and Work BoM
Background
My photos have been in their OneDrive location for over 18 months. The problem started when I had my catalogs also stored in OneDrive - every keyword change would trigger a full catalog sync, consuming too much bandwidth and time. To solve this, I moved my catalogs to a local folder outside OneDrive.
What I've Done So Far
1. Installed the latest PM Plus version
2. Set catalog status to "Forget" for all catalogs
3. Used "Catalog Management → Locate Existing Catalog" to point to the new catalog folder
4. Successfully reintegrated the catalogs (showing 39,636 photos - lost ~120 photos, possibly added after my June 1st catalog backup)
The Problem
When I go to "Browse" and try to update the folder location:
1. I select "Update Folder Location ..."
2. I point to `D:\OneDrive\07 Photos\My photos\`
3. The system shows the correct folder path: `D:\OneDrive\07 photos\my photos\`
4. However, it also shows (for unknown reasons) "- My pictures" in the path, which I cannot remove
The folder "- My pictures" points to a folder that no longer exists (It used to be the old location where photos were stored)
5. The connection doesn't work properly
When I check the "Catalog Status" panel I can see the following message:
[Mon 07:46:44] Error: RPCServerConn.rpc_dispatch: exception: RuntimeError/folder where catalog should be created not found: "D:/Documents/Photo Mechanic Catalogs" to=0 msg="open_catalog" location=./archive/server/am_server.rb:407:in `open_or_create_catalog', ./archive/server/am_server.rb:990:in `open_local_catalog', ./archive/server/am_server.rb:796:in `open_catalog', ./archive/server/am_server.rb:619:in `open_catalog', ./archive/server/am_server.rb:1232:in `open_catalog', ./archive/server/am_server.rb:1148:in `call', ./archive/server/am_server.rb:1148:in `handle_root_msg', ./archive/server/am_server.rb:1128:in `block in init_message_dispatch', C:/Program Files/Camera Bits/Photo Mechanic Plus/pmruby/lib/ruby/site_ruby/2.2.0/cila/proto/rpc.rb:1114:in `call', C:/Program Files/Camera Bits/Photo Mechanic Plus/pmruby/lib/ruby/site_ruby/2.2.0/cila/proto/rpc.rb:1114:in `block in do_rpc_dispatch', C:/Program Files/Camera Bits/Photo Mechanic Plus/pmruby/lib/ruby/site_ruby/2.2.0/cila/proto/rpc.rb:1113:in `catch', C:/Program Files/Camera Bits/Photo Mechanic Plus/pmruby/lib/ruby/site_ruby/2.2.0/cila/proto/rpc.rb:1113:in `do_rpc_dispatch', C:/Program Files/Camera Bits/Photo Mechanic Plus/pmruby/lib/ruby/site_ruby/2.2.0/cila/proto/rpc.rb:1062:in `block in rpc_dispatch', C:/Program Files/Camera Bits/Photo Mechanic Plus/pmruby/lib/ruby/site_ruby/2.2.0/cila/fiberpool.rb:60:in `call', C:/Program Files/Camera Bits/Photo Mechanic Plus/pmruby/lib/ruby/site_ruby/2.2.0/cila/fiberpool.rb:60:in `block in add_fiber'
Purged queued catalog import tasks.
Purged queued proxy generation tasks.
Purged queued catalog import tasks.
I also hear my PC working really hard and it runs at 90% of processor load. The culprit seems to be: Ruby interpreter (CUI) 2.2.6p384 [x64-mswin64_100]
What I Need
Could someone please provide clear, step-by-step instructions for properly reconnecting catalogs to the relocated photos? The official documentation seems unclear on this specific scenario.
Future Plans
Once this is resolved, I also need to copy these catalogs to my laptop for work purposes (view-only access, no modifications). Since the databases will remain outside OneDrive, there shouldn't be any sync conflicts. I will never simultaneously run the laptop and my PC and have no intention of making modifications to the database on my laptop.
Request for Help
I would greatly appreciate any detailed guidance on how to properly reconnect these catalogs to my photos. This issue has prevented me from adding new photos or doing any catalog work for months.
Thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide. I've attached screenshots to help illustrate the issue.
Best regards
Luke
