Seeking suggestions for best workflow from new SSD

Are you installing the SSD yourself?  If so, the drive manufacturer probably has some software to clone your HD to your SSD.  But, I would advise to do a clean install of the OS and all software programs.  Any data files that you want to transfer can simply be copied or backed up from one hard drive to the other. 

If you decide to clone the drive in order to transfer the OS, pay attention to Michel's warnings about missing catalog files.  And, in this case his following advice is probably the best option:

That's why I recommended to do a full backup. You can restore the media files tree as well as the catalog on the original HDD or any other drive. It's better not to restore over the original files, even if you can specify the option to skip or overwrite the existing files (not guaranteed).

It seems your HDD has enough space to enable restoring on a different master folder. That's really the safest and easiest way. When you have tested and are happy with the result, you can safely delete the original media files to recover space.

@gfmucci 

"How will you transfer programs and system to the new SSD?"  I was planning to use an app called "AOMEI Backupper." It's a freebie I've already installed.  Anyone heard of it?  Otherwise, I will take other's advice.

I don't know of any external software which can do the job in your case.

Thanks for all the good advice.  I'm not sure at this point whether to do these transfers myself after I install the hardware upgrades, or find a local geek who is familiar with Photoshop file structures. A generalist geek might screw things up more than I would.

You are right that a generalist geek probably won't know the principle of the catalogs and backups in Elements, but if you follow Greg's good advice to go for a clean install the OS and the softwares on your SSD they will help you greatly.

The 'clone' solution would be the easiest for you, knowing that in the first stage, your media files will be restored on the SSD (temporarily). The catalog file will be found automatically and you should be good to work with the catalog immediately. Then you'll have to 'move' your media files library from the SSD to the HDD, which will require new instructions.

But, to understand the situation after the geeks have installed the OS and software including Elements (without any change to the HDD), have a look at your catalogs and media files. You have an empty catalog when you open the organizer. Don't try to import from the files in the HDD !!!! You would lose your albums, creations, stacks and version sets. You old catalog is still on the HDD. The catalog points to files in the C : drive, so you probably need to 'reconnect' all your files, which I don't recommend.

By the way, it's important not to delete the old OS and software data on the HDD to save space without having kept a copy of the catalog folder.

So, whether you are in that situation or if you have just cloned to the SSD, the recommended option is to restore the full backup you have made before the migration to the HDD, in a 'custom' location, that is a master folder of your choice. That will create a working copy of your media files, a working copy of the catalog pointing to custom location, without any disconnected files.

You'll have a duplication of your photo library on the HDD. You can test and verify that everything is ok. Then you may want to delete the old library. If you have cloned with the media files, you'll also have to delete the media files on the SSD... A lot of temporary duplication plus a backup, but max safety.

@gfmucci 

If you follow Greg's good advice and install the OS on the SSD without cloning, what will happen with your catalog? 

I assume the catalog (it's a folder) will be in the default location on the present C: drive, which will get a new drive letter.

In the menu Help >> System Info, you can see the location of that folder. It's a 'hidden' location in the ProgramData section. So, it will not be lost if you don't delete the OS part after installing both SSD and HDD. However, when you reinstal PSE in the SSD, the catalog file will not be used, only a new empty catalog.

You can browse to the old location on the HDD to activate the old catalog. You can even copy the catalog folder elsewhere manually or use the catalog manager to 'move' the catalog folder to the new default location on the SSD.

And that's where you'll discover that all your files are shown as 'missing' (disconnected)!

The reason is that the catalog stores the media files location by two parameters for the drive: the letter AND the internal serial number of the drive. In your case, the serial number is not changed, but the drive letter is. Theoretically, the organizer should use the good serial number in your situation, but that would not update the database for the drive letter. Even if the files don't show as disconnected, I fear that you'll get big issues later, with backups for instance.

So, you may have to try to 'reconnect', but with a big library it's a real chore.

That's why I recommended to do a full backup. You can restore the media files tree as well as the catalog on the original HDD or any other drive. It's better not to restore over the original files, even if you can specify the option to skip or overwrite the existing files (not guaranteed).

It seems your HDD has enough space to enable restoring on a different master folder. That's really the safest and easiest way. When you have tested and are happy with the result, you can safely delete the original media files to recover space.

@Greg_S. 

Installing an SSD: I am convinced it's a must for the future, but I prefer waiting a little to get a whole new desktop. I'll have no problem for the migration since my media files and catalog are on an external drive (really two...) so that I can use them on two different computers without caring for their drive technology.

With PSE on the SSD along with the OS, and photos remaining on the original HD, does PSE bring the image files I am working on in the Editor to the SSD that the program resides on, or does it read and write to the HD where the image file is located?

Without getting too technical about it, the files are read from your HD for editing and will be saved wherever you want to save them.  The Organizer's catalog is only a database that points to the stored files.  I would agree with your proposal to keep the media on the HD (and back those files up on an external drive).  I would also keep the catalog on the SSD because there should be some added performance benefit. 

When I download new photos, should they be downloaded to the SSD or to the original HD. 

I would definitely put them on the HD (with a backup strategy to external drive).  This makes it far easier to reinstall the OS without worrying about your media files. 

Should the original HD be used only for file storage or for cloned backup?

Do you mean a cloned backup of media files to be stored on the SSD?  As indicated, you can keep the media files on the HD.  And I would not use the SSD to store them.  Although, you may have enough room now for storage, your future needs may exceed the drive's capacity.  Newer cameras generally produce larger files.  And, if possible, I would do a clean install of the OS on the SSD, rather than clone the old drive.  You will not only get a performance boost from the SSD but also from having a clean OS.  Of course, this also takes some planning and ensuring that you have the setup files and serial numbers for all of your software.

And Michel, you really should invest in an SSD.  😊

It's an excellent idea to ask before the migration.
I don't have (yet) an SSD, so no direct experience, but that situation has been discussed many times in this forum.

I'll start with an important question:

How will you transfer your OS and softwares to the SSD?

The usual way is to install the OS and softwares directly in the SSD and to keep the original drive as another internal drive;  it will get a new drive letter in Windows.

Or you may use the 'cloning' utility offered by the SSD drive supplier to clone the contents of the original drive to the SSD.

That includes cloning also the media files. It's much faster and easier but most of the time, the size of your SSD drive will not be enough for the media files.

Depending on your choice (which depends on the size of your SSD) the answers to your questions will vary. I'll come back a little later when I have some time, but to start with I suggest you perform a full backup on an external drive.