Upgrading drive to improve LR performance: I have a new ssd drive arriving today for my pc. Currently everything runs off he 16 me ram and the pcs 1T hard drive. It is my intention to...

WDCash Loc: Milford, Delaware, USA

I have a new ssd drive arriving today for my pc. Currently everything runs off he 16 me ram and the pcs 1T hard drive. It is my intention to use the ssd for all photo processing and active image storage.
After I install the ssd, should I move the Lr and PS (all adobe stuff) to the ssd so hat storage and programs are on the same faster drive?

If there is a thread about this process please point it out.

Thanks
Bill

fredpnm Loc: Corrales, NM

You did not state the size/brand/interface (SATA, PCIe or NVMe) of the SSD, that information would be helpful. Assuming 1T SATA (same as the 1T HD you have) migrate the entire HD to the SSD and then replace the HD with the SSD. There should be instructions on how that's done with the SSD. It isn't hard to do, just takes a bit of time.

Keep the PS/LR SW on the SSD, use the 1TB HD as a second drive, be sure the catalog is located there. I hope you already have some backup processes in place for your photos and associated files (sidecars).

Use the UHH search function for other threads on this subject. There are as many different ways to do this as there are members on UHH. Pick one that suits your needs.

rwilson1942 Loc: Houston, TX

Don't know if it is the best, but my arrangement is that I put all of the software, Lightroom, Photoshop, etc, on the SSD and all data (images) on the 1TB 7200 RPM drive.

tcthome Loc: NJ

rwilson1942 wrote:

Don't know if it is the best, but my arrangement is that I put all of the software, Lightroom, Photoshop, etc, on the SSD and all data (images) on the 1TB 7200 RPM drive.

I started out this way. Then I made more folders on the C (ssd with all the APP programs & OS). I put the new imports on the ssd that will be pp. It works faster that way. After a while I move them to my D drive. You can still work on them from there or drag the folder back to the C drive if need be. Just make sure your in LR when you move your photos, assuming your using LR/PS.

WDCash Loc: Milford, Delaware, USA

Thanks to all for the thoughts.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

rwilson1942 wrote:

Don't know if it is the best, but my arrangement is that I put all of the software, Lightroom, Photoshop, etc, on the SSD and all data (images) on the 1TB 7200 RPM drive.

Standard procedure seems to be OS and programs on C and all data on D. the processing is done by the processor, so an SSD isn't going to make that go faster.

jlsphoto Loc: Chcago SubBurbs

WDCash wrote:

I have a new ssd drive arriving today for my pc. Currently everything runs off he 16 me ram and the pcs 1T hard drive. It is my intention to use the ssd for all photo processing and active image storage.
After I install the ssd, should I move the Lr and PS (all adobe stuff) to the ssd so hat storage and programs are on the same faster drive?

If there is a thread about this process please point it out.

Thanks
Bill

Bill, Are you trying to speed up the programs loading? Or is the concern the time it it takes in Lightroom moving from one image to the next one. The few seconds it take for the image to load/sharpen?

Machinedoc Loc: Yorktown Heights, NY

Caution - use Lightroom to move your images to the SSD, otherwise you will need to go through additional steps for LR to find the images in your catalog.

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

WDCash wrote:

Thanks to all for the thoughts.

Upgrade your ram to 32gb and you will see a much bigger improvement. I have all my processing programs on my c drive a 2tb m2nvme drive and my photos on a 2tb ssd with 32gb of ram and a 9th gen i7. Runs very well with my rtx2080super gpu.

geezer7 Loc: Michigan

jerryc41 wrote:

Standard procedure seems to be OS and programs on C and all data on D. the processing is done by the processor, so an SSD isn't going to make that go faster.

I agree with this comment. My experience with using an ssd as the system drive results in much faster boot time and program loading time but little effect on program speed. You might benefit more by adding extra memory although you probably already have enough RAM.

Jon_Armitage Loc: Holmfirth, West Yorkshire

rwilson1942 wrote:

Don't know if it is the best, but my arrangement is that I put all of the software, Lightroom, Photoshop, etc, on the SSD and all data (images) on the 1TB 7200 RPM drive.

This is what I did with my Mac mini. I bought an external 1TB SSD and installed Catalina (Big Sur as of yesterday) and all my software on it. It's the 2014 model, so I can't upgrade the memory (8GB). The photos are on an external RAID.

The improvement was noticeable, not just for LR and my occasional use of PS, but for everything. It complains about lack of memory from time to time, but I never actually notice a fall off in performance.