Which drives to set up PE on, and whats important to backup?

[Offul Duster]

Hi

I hope two simple questions, to help me getting my Premiere Elements 15 set up well on my Dell i7 computer (running Windows 10 and Premiere Elements 15)

1.  Drives

I have a C drive which is an 80% full SSD drive, and a D drive which is a large HDD drive at about 20% full.

I also have an external backup drive.

Because one of them is an SSD drive, what's the best settings for my folders when I install Premiere Elements?

2.  Backing up

I have come to the end of my first project which has used up loads of space on the SSD drive.

I now want to be able to move the essential files ONTO my external drive, so that years later if needed, I could restore them to a computer and re-open a project complete with files, and do further editing and amendments.

In the light of the previous question about drives, what are the essential folders (or files) I need to copy to my backup drive.

Thanks for any help

Pete

[Steve Grisetti · Accepted solution]

Keep your programs on your C drive. Store your video, projects and other media on your D drive. That's really all there is to it.

You don't say how much space is on your C drive, but you'll ideally have a 100 or so gigs of free space on your C drive. Maybe as little as 50. But SSDs tend to be pretty small, and you do want to allow lots of free space for Premiere Elements to open up and operate.

You need only back your media files up to your external drive.

[Bill Sprague]

Steve is right.  It can be simple.  But, it can be done differently and having an SSD can significantly speed things up.

I have the same configuration as you with a SSD for C: and an HDD for D:.  I have externals for backup.

My normal procedure is not exactly "text book".   For me, the goal is to maximize the speed advantage of the SSD.  The second goal is to be able to move the project off the SSD and then back again later.

When I start a project, I create a folder on my SSD.  For example, it will be named "Hawaii 2016".  In it will be a sub folder titled video assets.  I put copies of every clip I want to work with in it.  If needed there may be a music or photo assets folder too.  As soon as I start the project, I double check that all the scratch disk preferences are set to "Same as Project".  The idea is that everything is in one folder and everything is a copy.  Depending on the number of output versions, there may also be a folder for that. 

At any time I can move the entire project "Hawaii 2016" folder anywhere.   If I try to open the project on another drive, Premier Elements will be unhappy.  It can be done if you help it find the asset files, but I don't like to do that.   When I want, I can move the entire project back to the SSD for further editing. 

The "test book" way to do this is to use the "Project Archive" features under the File menu.  Read the instructions, but there are options for archiving a project.  I've not tested it, but I think only active parts of the project can be archived.  So if you've not yet added everything included in your project plan, it will be left behind. 

Bill

[Offul Duster]

Thank you guys.

I have just done that, and joy-upon-joy it is actually working!

Appreciate your clarifications.

Pete

[Steve Grisetti]

Great news, Pete! Please mark this question as correctly answered.