Protect your catalog:

  • Catalog: Enable “Back up catalog on exit” weekly. Store backups on a second drive.
  • Photos: Keep originals on an external SSD; mirror to a second HDD weekly.
  • Cloud: Sync a Catalog_Backups folder to Dropbox/Drive/Backblaze.
  • Previews: Optional to back up; they can be regenerated. If space is tight, skip them.
  • Test: Restore a backup once a month to ensure it opens and finds your photos.

If you swap drives, keep the same drive letter/mount point so Lightroom doesn’t lose the path.