OS/Storage solution needed - I have internal SSD, Expresscard SSD, and external

Dear forum,

I'm at a storage crisis and hoping someone can advise me as to the best way to go. My Lenovo x200 is no longer able to handle even my bare essential documents, not to mention music files (which I no longer use due to space), photos, etc.

I have an internal 64GB SSD, a 64GB Expresscard SSD for my overflow (which I stopped using as it got way too hot), and an external 500GB Seagate BlackArmor USB 3.0 portable HDD which I recently bought strictly for backups. (All my music files and photos are currently on an older 320GB non-portable HDD, collecting dust.)

I'm at the point where my laptop wants to shutdown programs every couple hours due to lack of memory (I have 3GB DDR3) and almost no storage left (less than 1GB) on the main partition. I’m running Vista but also have Windows 7, which I plan to start using as soon as I figure out a solution to my storage problem. Basically, I was thinking to move everything onto the portable HDD (from both my internal and Expresscard SSDs), reformat both drives and then keep one of the two SSDs for OS and software only. I would then move my most necessary document files to the other SSD, and use the portable drive for all additional docs, music, photos, etc.

Question 1: Is there any problem with running OS and all other program files from the Expresscard SSD, and would this be worse for the system versus using the internal SSD?

Question 2: Will there be any problem running programs, such as Media Monkey from either the internal or Expresscard SSDs when all of the actual music files will be located externally on the portable drive?

Question 3: Is there a better way to do this, and make my system function well with what I have?

I have already lost data on two previous HDD laptops, due to damage, so I am trying to figure out a way to manage my space until 256GB or 512GB SSDs come down in price. (I’ve concluded that I will just have to bite the bullet and keep the portable drive with me at all times until then.)

Thanks in advance for your help! (And sorry if any of this has been answered on another thread.)