Import, process images, then Export, using a single hard drive

Question

It seems like it would work, but I haven't tried it.   Can you Import ... edit images ... then Export images ... using only a single hard drive.  TY Windows 11LrC 14.5.1

Conrad_C · Accepted Answer

This works fine, a lot of people work with a computer with just one volume.

Import: You can import from any compatible external or internal volume. If you insert a camera card to import, you’re importing from an external volume. But if you already copied the pictures from the card to a folder on your computer and removed the card, you can also import from that folder on the one volume in your computer. Lightroom Classic lets you choose whether you want to import by leaving the photos where they are, or moving/copying them to another folder.

Edit: Photos are edited from the folder they were directed to in the Import dialog box. If that folder is on your one volume, of course that’s OK.

Export: You can choose to export to any folder you want. Many people choose an export folder on the one volume in their computer.

Per Berntsen · Answer

Yes you can, as long as you have enough space on the drive.

If this is the the C: drive, you need to have at least 20% (some say 25%) free space at any time.

If the drive is small, it will quickly fill up with image files, and the Library previews (preview cache) will take up quite a lot of space.

If you only have one hard drive, catalog backups will have to be saved there as well, so if the drive fails, you have lost all your work. Having catalog backups and backup of images on a separate hard drive (internal or external) is not only recommended, but required.

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