Should I move my LRCAT file to my SSD for better performance ?

[TheDoc46]

I should say i'm new to LL, only been a customer for a month, but pretty tech savvy. Anyway moving on...

My cache folder and LL is installed on my SSD, but my entire picture library is all on a 7200rpm mechanical drive. And being that my Pictures Folder is on the Mechanical drive, by default LL put the LRCAT file in the pictures\lightroom folder.

Can't help but notice that my LL feels laggy at times, and i have an excellent spec machine. Win10 64bit i7700k/16GB ram  and a 1080ti GPU, which in itself has 11gb

Wondering if its because the lrcat file is on the mechanical drive as appose to being on my SSD, (windows and applications drive) or just a trait of LL.

Should i move it to my C: (SSD Drive) ?  i have enough room.. Not to move the entire pictures folder, but for the LRCAT files.

[cmgap]

Are you referring to an external drive - your '7200 rpm mechanical drive'? Lightroom is generally faster when it is running on an internal drive because you are not waiting for the computations to be written to the external drive.

[TheDoc46]

No i meant one of my internal mechanical drives.

[99jon]

Yes I would recommend moving the catalog and previews to the SSD. Everything should be contained within an overall catalog folder. The image files can be retained on the mechanical drive. You can move the catalog to Pictures or Documents (or wherever you prefer) and after moving double-click on your named catalog file ending .lrcat to launch it in Lightroom from the new location. You may wish to have the catalog back up path pointing to the mechanical drive or a different partition to the catalog.

[TheDoc46]

Just wanted to say thanks. I moved the lightroom folder to my SSD, and re-launched LL by clicking the LRCAT file once everything had successfully been moved. Everything seems to be intact which is great news. I also checked the preferences and LL shows the catalog at the new location.  I'm fine with having the weekly backup of the catalog being backed up to that same Lightroom folder, as i have plenty of space on that particular SSD.

[99jon]

So just make an extra copy of the backup from time to time. If the SSD ever fails you have lost your main catalog and the backup.

[TheDoc46]

^^ Absolutely, and thanks again.

[cmgap]

Keep in mind that backups on your local drive will not be helpful if your drive fails. If you have Dropbox or other cloud based storage you'll want your Lr backups to be saved or copied there.

The point of pain is commensurate with the time elapsed from your last restore point. Rather than have Lr backup weekly you may want to have it set to every time Lr exits and skip backup if you don't need it.

[99jon]

You can easily change the frequency next time the weekly backup dialog appears. You can also change the location by simply clicking the choose button – see image below.