Back Up and Moving Files and PSE 15 running slow

Report · Jul 01, 2018

Hello All,

PSE 15 was running slow on my Windows 10 laptop (16 gig of RAM). So, I did a back-up (via PSE's tool for such) to my external HD (it is called my E drive). Now, it seems as if I have JPEGs scattered everywhere!

I created a new folder on my EX HD. I named it 'Pictures'. The pictures that were in my C HD on my laptop named 'Pictures' - I moved those to my E drive folder named 'Pictures'.

My goal is to get most of my images in that folder. I do not like them scattered all over the place. Therefore, my goal is every time I run across an image that is not in my E:/Pictures . . . is to highlight these images and drag and drop them into the E:/Pictures folder. Am I going to be creating a bunch of duplicates this way? I guess I can avoid duplicates via checking to see if my drag and drop was successful and if it was . . . then to go back and delete the images from where I got them. Is that OK?

I know I should leave the folder named 'My Catalog' alone. That is the 'back-up' that is on the above mentioned 'back-up' (E:/My Catalog).

I went into 'Preferences' in PSE 15. I changed my 'saved files' to be located at 'Pictures' on my external HD.

Is my trying to streamline manners in the way described above, going to cause me big headaches later/now?

I know PSE has repair and restore functions for My Catalog . . . if I need them.

I find the whole catalog/'back up' and 'don't move your images outside of PSE are it will not be able to find them', a bit abstract for my head.

So, in a nutshell -- is the above OK? Namely, on my EX HD leaving the 'My Catalog' folder ALONE -- YET, moving all other images to one folder on my EX HD?

I do not feel as if I have articulated my concerns well. I hope you can get what I am trying to say!

Thank you for your time and attention.

Much appreciated.

Dean

PS: PSE 15 seems slow. I have 16 gig of RAM and my HD is 68% free -- therefore, why it is slow baffles me. I run Windows 10 on an HP Envy. Any tips/ideas for this problem would be greatly appreciated also. Thanks.

Report · Jul 03, 2018

Back Up and Moving Files and PSE 15 running slow

Backup and moving files can't be faster than doing it from your Windows explorer. Both tasks require reading and writing all your files elsewhere. For my 70 000 items catalogs, that requires more than two hours. When you ask the organizer to do that, it use the explorer to move the files, and at the same time it updates your catalog to indicate the new location on the other drive. Copying is slow, updating is very fast. Moving files is fast if you move them to the same physical drive. That means the files are not copied, only that the Windows explorer updates its own data just like the organizer does for its catalogs.

PSE 15 was running slow on my Windows 10 laptop (16 gig of RAM). So, I did a back-up (via PSE's tool for such) to my external HD (it is called my E drive). Now, it seems as if I have JPEGs scattered everywhere!

When you create a backup, you don't create a simple copy of the photo files tree, you create a 'package' into a dedicated folder. That package (the backup folder) contains everything needed for the Organizer to perform the 'Restore' function where you want.

I created a new folder on my EX HD. I named it 'Pictures'. The pictures that were in my C HD on my laptop named 'Pictures' - I moved those to my E drive folder named 'Pictures'.
My goal is to get most of my images in that folder. I do not like them scattered all over the place. Therefore, my goal is every time I run across an image that is not in my E:/Pictures . . . is to highlight these images and drag and drop them into the E:/Pictures folder.

To do that you don't use the backup and restore method which is intended to move everything, image files tree and catalog. To move a part of your folder tree, you use the left Folders panel. You select the part of the tree to move, then you drag and drop it on the new folder.

Am I going to be creating a bunch of duplicates this way? I guess I can avoid duplicates via checking to see if my drag and drop was successful and if it was . . . then to go back and delete the images from where I got them. Is that OK?

No risk if you move by drag and drop. Simply be patient, that may take some time without a gauge to tell you the % performed.

I find the whole catalog/'back up' and 'don't move your images outside of PSE are it will not be able to find them', a bit abstract for my head.

As explained above, the backup and restore process is used mainly when moving from a computer to another (or to a different drive).

Since the organizer can do the same tasks as the Windows explorer: move, rename or delete, always use it, NEVER the explorer. When the organizer does the job, it also updates your catalog.

Namely, on my EX HD leaving the 'My Catalog' folder ALONE -- YET, moving all other images to one folder on my EX HD?

You don't need to bother with the 'My Catalog' folder for your purpose. But it's good to know that this folder can be copied or moved elsewhere from the Windows Explorer, contrary to the photo files. The contents of the folder are still valid. So, if you decide to copy the catalog folder on your external drive along with your photo files, it can be used if you plug the external drive to another computer with the same Elements version.

Report · Jul 04, 2018

Michel,

Thank you as always. Your help is the best!

I bought another 4tb ext HD.

Lets call my first ext HD 'Old'. And my new one, 'New'.

It seems like with patience, I have moved all the files on my laptops, to a folder on OLD called PICTURES. At the sametime, I left alone folders in OLD that I assumed were from my recent backup of my PSE 15. Folders such as 'My Catalog'. I didn't touch that one.

You came up with the reason why I wanted my PICTURES folder on OLD. So, I could take OLD and hook it into any other Windows machine, and be able to look at my images, irregardless of if said machine had Elements installed on it or not.

Michel, I got a bit lost in your first paragraph. My apologies. Thanks in advance for your patience. What do you mean by 'updating' in Organizer? I also seem to gather that you are telling me that when I move images to my laptop, that when I want to 'backup' my Organizer again (first to OLD, later to NEW) -- that I said do it within the Organizer program. Do I do that by

being in the Organizer . . . then going to File . . . then go to Backup Catalog? And when I backup Catalog (in the future) I back it up to OLD. Then when I see that I safely have two 'My Catalog' files in OLD, I can at that time delete the oldest version of 'My Catalog' that is in OLD. Is that correct?

How do I go about backing up (OLD) my backup (NEW)? Would I just tell Organizer that we are doing the above (see yellow Highlights please) BUT we are now doing it to/on NEW? And then let Organizer make the new back-up ('My Catalog') to NEW? Would it be OK to drag the PICTURE folder from OLD over to NEW via file explorer?

Thank you very much,

Dean

Report · Jul 04, 2018

Whoops. I didn't get my yellow highlights in as promised above:

What do you mean by 'updating' in Organizer? I also seem to gather that you are telling me that when I move images to my laptop, that when I want to 'backup' my Organizer again (first to OLD, later to NEW) -- that I said do it within the Organizer program. Do I do that by being in the Organizer . . . then going to File . . . then go to Backup Catalog? And when I backup Catalog (in the future) I back it up to OLD. Then when I see that I safely have two 'My Catalog' files in OLD, I can at that time delete the oldest version of 'My Catalog' that is in OLD. Is that correct?

I couldn't find a place to highlight so I did BOLD, ITALICS and UNDERLINE instead.

Thank you.,

Dean

Report · Jul 05, 2018

Michel, I got a bit lost in your first paragraph. ... What do you mean by 'updating' in Organizer?

This is what I wrote:

When you ask the organizer to do that, it use the explorer to move the files, and at the same time it updates your catalog to indicate the new location on the other drive.

If you want to move, rename or delete a file or a batch of files from your computer, you can use the explorer or the organizer. The organizer uses the same Windows routines to do exactly the same job.

Where is the difference?

When you 'import' a file in the organizer, the information in your photo files are read and written in a database (the core of the catalog), and the location of the file, drive letter and folder tree path are written as well.

Elements Organizer Help | Elements Organizer User Guide

(See 'Importing media files').

If you move, rename or delete files from the Explorer, the information about the exif info or the file location are now false.

If you do dit from the Organizer, that info is updated. The catalog keeps the link to the real location, real file name etc.

Report · Jul 05, 2018

Now, let's have a look at catalogs, and more precisely, catalog folders.

That is described in detail in the above help file, section 'Managing catalogs, folders and albums'.

A catalog is a folder as we have seen.

You may create several catalogs if you want (not recommended unless they manage different data, professional vs personal for instance).

You can copy or move the catalog folders from the explorer. The contents are not changed. By default, the catalogs are created in a default location on your C: drive. You can use the explorer to move the folder elsewhere, for instance on your external drive. You can tell the catalog manager where to find the catalog in its new 'custom' location.

If you use two catalogs to manage the same files (move, rename or delete), what you do in one is ignored in the other, just like when you do those changes from the Explorer.

What is important in your case:

If you want to move only a part of your image folder tree to another drive, don't backup. Simply move by drag and drop. A catalog can manage files on various drives.

If you want to move all your photo files AND your catalog folder (moving to new computer for instance) you can use the backup/restore function of the organizer.

A backup folder is created in your backup destination. That folder is not a copy for your own use. It's a package that the restore function of the organizer can use to create a copy of both your photo files and your catalog folder on the destination drive.

You restore both to your destination drive and folder. The catalog folder is written under the same location as the image folder tree. The catalog manager has an option to move the catalog folder backup back from this 'custom' location to the default one on the C: drive.

It's your choice.

If you want to share your catalog AND image folder tree, don't move it back to default location, keep it on the external drive, so that you can use it alternatively from two computers with the same Elements version. What you have done with one computer is immediately available when you plug the external drive to the second one.