Migrating to a new laptop, USB HDD, Workflow Question...

Question

I'm finally retiring my old desktop and old internal storage drive. I have a new XPS 15 on the way and want to get input on workflow as far as data storage and organization. Also input on backups.

My laptop will have a large SSD but not large enough to store all my images. I plan to grab a portable USB drive to store all that and keep it readily accessible but I'm trying to do it the most efficient way. My thoughts/plan is to just import photos right onto the SSD for immediate editing/manipulation. This makes it easy as no need to connect the external drive all the time. I can just pop in the SD card and go.

When it is convenient/appropriate I'll plug in the external drive to run a backup so there is at least redundancy in that respect. I will also try to leave it logged in to the wifi at home one or two evenings a week to do the Carbonite backup for an offsite backup. (The basic plan includes an external drive as long as it is connected at least every 30 days.)

What I am unsure about is.... Let's say 6 months later I'm not needing to access the photos from now often. Can I simply, with the portable HDD plugged in, using LR, move those folders to the portable HDD? Is it as simple as dragging those folders (organized and named by date) to the appropriate location on the portable HDD?

If this all works as simple as I'm hoping I can use the laptop with speedy PCIe SSD without attaching the external drive every time. Basically once a week, or as often as I want to backup, I can plug it in and do so.

Better ideas? Input? Ideas?

Bill Sprague · Accepted Answer

"What I am unsure about is.... Let's say 6 months later I'm not needing to access the photos from now often. Can I simply, with the portable HDD plugged in, using LR, move those folders to the portable HDD? Is it as simple as dragging those folders (organized and named by date) to the appropriate location on the portable HDD?"

Yes, it is that simple. My laptop is a little different. I have an SSD, internal HDD and some externals. I routinely move images and clips to other drives with dragging and dropping in Lightroom.

No drive is big enough. Therefore, I use Lightroom to move older files I'm not working on to an external drive. I use one catalog and it keep track. Do not move files with any other method or the catalog gets confused.

Do a little research on preview choices. There are options where you can leave the big drive behind and still edit images that are on that drive.

Enjoy the new computer!

Bill

dj_paige · Answer

My thoughts/plan is to just import photos right onto the SSD for immediate editing/manipulation.

If you want to streamline your workflow and become more efficient, don't do this at all.

Put the photos on the external HD straight out of the camera, don't put them in one place and move them somewhere else later. You will save yourself time, and perhaps reduce the possibility of errors.

There is no speed benefit to put photos on an SSD, other than a trivial fraction of a second that you will never notice.

But, if you need to travel with the laptop but without the external HD, then the above is not possible. You would be wise to develop some clear immutable strategy for moving the photos, so you don't wind up accidentally leaving photos on the SSD and forgetting to move them. Or ... travel with the EDH.

You also need to understand the details of how to move photos from one disk to another, but keeping them connected in LR. This document (scroll down to "Part 2 — Updating Folder Location") explains how to do this. I suggest your practice doing this on some "unnecessary photos" until you understand and can complete the procedure without issue.

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