PSE 2019 - moving app and files to a new drive

Just to add my 2 cents, although it is probably OK to have program files on a separate hard drive, and it will work 99% of the time, there always seems to be an odd occassion when this causes problems.  So, I would always recommend that program files and all associated App Data sits on the system drive. 

By the same token, if at all possible, all data files, including all photo and video files should be on a separate drive.  There is very little PSE performance difference between external and internal drives.  However, copying to and from an external drive does take longer for heavy activity such as backups.  The real problem with having photo files on your system drive, is that these drives are more prone to fail or have system errors that require a reformat of the drive.  You then lose all of your photos.  (Of course these should be backed up, but most users are not methodical with their backups, so the possibility exists of losing some data.)

@19001522, I strongly recommend that you perform a clean Windows install and reinstall all of your programs from scratch.  Although you will see a huge performance boost going to an SSD, starting with a clean OS and registry will provide an even bigger improvement IMHO.  I know it can be a lot of work, but I think you will find it worthwhile.

A very frequent issue today is that more and more users are using a small SSD for their main system drive.

Either they start with a new laptop or they replace their old conventional drive with a small SSD. In both cases, they have to optimize the small space of the SSD. According to the most recent advice on Adobe forums, the small SSD should be used for the Operating system, the application softwares and the cache of the OS.

Since we are working with Elements, we must take into account:

- the program itself (on the SSD unless it is really too small.)
- the catalog folders

- the data (media files)

- the scratch disk. (managed in the editor preferences, performance)

The most recent and important advice is to put the scratch disk on the SSD if it's large enough. That can be on a different dedicated SSD if your desktop allows it. Even on an USB3 external drive.

The old advice to store the metadata on a separate drive still holds true. Even on USB2 external drives.

Theoretically, the catalog data will be managed in RAM or scratch disk, so storing them even in external drives does not make a noticeable difference. Storing catalogs together with media on an external USB drives allows sharing everything alternatively on two computers.

So, your choice will depend on the size of your SSD and if you can have also conventional internal or external drives, preferable USB3 ones.

For the way to move both catalogs and media files to another computer:

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop-elements/kb/backup-restore-move-catalog-photoshop.html

You should not copy yourself the media files and the catalog, you must leave it to the backup and restore process; you don't have to import again, which loses a big part of your organization (albums, stacks, version sets...)

Other discussion about scratch disks (also applies to Elements).

https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-ecosystem-discussions/what-is-scratch-disk-how-to-prevent-scratch-disk-errors-in-photoshop/td-p/12519445