Windows 10: How should I configure a SSD & HDD for photo editing?

I had to send my HP Envy back as it was defective. I am in the process of picking out a new one & I would like to know if having a SSD & HDD would be best for photo editing? I have read so many different opinions about what to store on each that I don't know what to do. I would need to know how to get downloads to get to a particular drive & how to get my documents , photos, etc to automatically save on the HDD. I would appreciate any help you could give me.

:)

 

I want to move all my files in HDD to SSD (except OS),

So we know SSD is a great for keeping files and HDD is good for OS. I want to move all my files in HDD to SSD (except OS), and make my computer continue to automatically save files to SSD while OS stays in HDD. Is this possible? If so, how? Diagrams/Photos
would be great. Thank you.

Original title: HDD to SSD

 

Windows 10 Reinstallation to SSD

I think your idea is great. Your operating system files get used most often, so if you can put your operating system on a SSD you should get faster performance.

If moving your installation from a HDD to a SSD was only a matter of copy-and-paste it would be that easy. But it's not. In addition to all your files and folders, there is disk meta-data that you can't see. That's information about the layout of your files
that isn't contained in a file so it can't be copied.

In addition, the physical layout of the files on a SSD is different from a HDD, obviously. In a HDD your data is arranged in concentric circles, not so in a SSD. You need to account for the different layout when moving from an HDD to a SSD.

The easiest way to move an operating system to a different drive is with disk imaging software. You would image the HDD and restore the image to the SSD. Imaging is not that easy to understand, but once you learn how to use disc imaging software you'll wonder
how you lived without it. Never again will you have to worry about losing data. You also need to learn about disk alignment, which is how data is laid out on a SSD.

This is geeky stuff. You should definitely do a web search on
move windows from hdd to ssd and get ready to take notes.

Paragon Migrate to SSD will help you get the job done but it's not free and you need to learn how to use it. Nothing about this change
is easy.

Good luck with your project. I did the same thing and was very happy with the result. I actually have my software (Windows and programs) on the SSD and my user folders (documents, pictures, etc.) on a separate HDD.

 

When it comes to file storage, a hard drive is a hard drive. You would use Windows Explorer to choose what Hard Disk or Drive Letter (partition) or Folder you wanted to save your stuff in. Don't over-think it.

For programs loading into Windows or running for file editing the process will be faster from the SSD than from the HDD. So you might benefit from installing the photo editing program on the SSD.

But the actual photo files can be on either. They may take a few (mili) seconds longer to load from the HDD, but once loaded the rest of the work is processor and memory dependent and the speed of file-save is pretty much irrelevant.

 

You can set up the computer to save downloads, documents, pictures, ... on the HDD to avoid using up space on the SSD containing Windows & your applications. This is a fairly common thing to do.

See Relocating user folders in Windows 7 and Windows 10 Relocating these "user folders" will reduce your C drive usage to about 40GB or less.

** Where you use such facilities as the File explorer, This PC, Documents entry or Libraries you are in fact making use of hidden shortcuts to the folders in C:\Users\YourUserName\Documents etc - it is this path that your own files are actually stored in by default {until you "relocate" them to a folder of your own choosing on your HDD}.

Having this split between C & D drives can be very useful for backing up - C drive is your system drive and D drive is your own collection of files. You can use System images for your system drive and straightforward file backups for your own files.

Denis

 

Everything on the SSD if you can, skip the HDD unless you need it. The only real advantage to storing things NOT on the SSD is to save space on the SSD. If however, you can store everything you want on the SSD, you might as well use it.

 

Thank you all for your tips! I have a lot of photos & genealogy documents so I will need to put them on the HDD.