New PC laptop storage setup question

[JulieE]

I'm configuring a new windows laptop. My current laptop has a 1TB SSD internal drive of which I have used 387 GB. I use a 2 TB EHD to store my photos on which I have 860 GB of files. I could keep the same setup for the new laptop or I could get a larger 4 TB SSD internal drive. I find this attractive because I wouldn't have to have an EHD dangling off my laptop. I use the laptop around the house and around town. When I travel I use a surface and 2 EHD's for backup. The laptop is my main machine for editing and home use. I am a hobby photographer. I'm still using my D500. I plan to make the jump to mirrorless in the future and assume that would mean larger file sizes after I make the switch. I backup with carbonite.

Is there a downside to putting all my files on an internal drive? Is there a higher risk of drive failure the larger the drive capacity? Will this somehow change my editing speed? I use ACR and photoshop on the CC plan. I've been using an EHD for so long I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around the concept of not using one.

Thank you in advance.

 

[bleirer]

Will there be an internal SSD drive? I find it useful to have the operating system, program files, and my Lightroom catalog on the internal SSD, since it is fast. I organize image files by year, one folder for each year, but use only one Lightroom catalog to cover all years. I keep these folders on the internal non ssd drive until I starf to run out of space then I move a year to an external drive but keep the catalog linked.

Also keep your backup plan in mind as a separate thing from your working files.

 

[NorthernFocus]

With your files on an internal SSD things will be faster. Not so significant for editing but you'll likely see a big difference in how long it takes to import files. There's not really a downside as long as you are diligent to back up your files so you always have multiple copies. No the larger SSD is not inherently more likely to fail than a smaller one.

 

[MartyD]

Keep in mind that there are different types of solid state drives. The fastest drives are M.2 NVMe Gen 4 drives but SATA SSD drives are still being used. If you get a laptop with a 4TB NVMe Gen 4 SSD drive then you would have lots of storage and fast speeds. If the 4tb SSD drive is a SATA drive then you give up a lot of speed. A NVMe 4TB costs about $400 and a 4TB SATA SSD cost about $250.

I wouldn't worry about a 4TB drive failing sooner than a smaller SSD, just be sure to maintain backups.

 

[French Avocado]

First, does your laptop has a second M.2 NVMe slot available, and if so then which generation. I would not add the photos to your boot drive. But if you have a second slot then you could easily add a fast second NVMe SSD.
Second, always keep at least one or two backups of your images. With storage being "cheap" (a lot cheaper than it was only a few years ago) you can have multiple externals to store your images.
Third, if the laptop is your primary then invest in a good large monitor to connect your laptop to be able to see your work.
Have fun shooting!

 

[JulieE]

Thank you everyone for your great (and fast) advice!

 

[Calson]

What I have always done with a new laptop is re-partition the hard drive so I have a C:drive and a D:drive. I put all my data files on the D:drive which makes it easier to backup data files by syncing to an external drive or NAS and if I need to restore the Windows installation which is on the C:drive l I do not need to touch the D:drive files at all.

With Windows 10 and Windows 11 the user now needs to buy third party software to create a clone of the C:drive. You can make a bootable USB thumbdrive for the $50 cost of the software and about $30 for the thumbdrive. Do this and then verify that you can boot from the thumbdrive.

Lots of options for programs to sync the D:drive with data files to an external drive and this process takes very little time after the initial backup as only new or changed files are being transferred to the external drive.