AnimeSuki Forums

Michael Hopcroft · 2010-05-06, 19:42

Two related questions concerning storage of large numbers of files:

I am looking into getting another external hard drive, as the one I'm storing all the anime on now is almost full. I'm looking at trying to get something with at least 1TB or more at the best price possible, and will not have the cash on hand for another two weeks. Is there anything I need to avoid, and how does building your own drive by taking an internal HDD and putting it in an external bay compare with buying a completely external drive in terms of cost and reliability?

On a relate note, i want to put some of my collection on DVD-ROM. This is taking up a LOT of DVDs -- I figure I'm going to need at least 100 to back up a 500GB drive. What I'm wondering is two things: are there DVD brands I absolutely must avoid (and hope I don't own already), and how long can i expect files stored on DVD+R to last?

I'm technically savvy enough hat I should know the answers to these questions, but they're rather confusing me at the moment. And the two weeks to ruminate on the questions are not helping.

Sides · 2010-05-07, 09:10

For DVDs get the ones with Taiyo Yuden dyes and store them properly.

As for external HDD, if you asked a couple of years back, it would have been cheaper to build your own external HDD, but nowadays most retailers have special offers, so the costs between a diy and prebuild external hdd are probably the same. If you have a firewire connection on you computer, it is worth getting a external drive with firewire connection.

Tiberium Wolf · 2010-05-07, 09:19

HDD only. No removable media. They simply take too much physical space. Of course if you use HDD only you will be putting all the eggs in one basket. If you are going to buy external HDD make you buy ones that you can actually open them to replace the HDD. Usb firewire, external sata... it doesn't matter it's for storage you don't actually need to care about it unless the PC's you use to connect are limited.

Michael Hopcroft · 2010-05-07, 11:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sides

As for external HDD, if you asked a couple of years back, it would have been cheaper to build your own external HDD, but nowadays most retailers have special offers, so the costs between a diy and prebuild external hdd are probably the same. If you have a firewire connection on you computer, it is worth getting a external drive with firewire connection.

I have this connection on the front of my PC that I have no idea what it does. It may be firewire. However, it's very awkwardly placed and is clearly designed for cameras rather than drives.

If the new HDD comes in, one of my current drives (probably the smallest one) will have to move to my bedroom media station computer. You could say I have a lot of storage until you realize just how much media data I actually have.

I have actually had a HDD die and lost the data on it. It fell down at one point and the heads went all out of whack. Given the size of my desk I've been lucky that doesn't happen more often.

Discipline · 2010-05-07, 12:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Hopcroft

On a relate note, i want to put some of my collection on DVD-ROM. This is taking up a LOT of DVDs -- I figure I'm going to need at least 100 to back up a 500GB drive. What I'm wondering is two things: are there DVD brands I absolutely must avoid (and hope I don't own already), and how long can i expect files stored on DVD+R to last?

There are lower end DVDs, which you can usually tell from the price. Most of those use cheaper technology and materials to make them, so there might be one or two that don't work. I've personally had the most luck with name brands like Memorex and Sony. Any name brand DVD should be fine for storing files.

Now, the shelf life for a DVD is very dependent upon how and where you store it. Optimally, given a climate controlled environment and proper handling, a DVD should last up to fifty years, maybe longer. Obviously, scratches, poor handling and storage will detract from the overall life of them.

synaesthetic · 2010-05-08, 16:23

in before "fansubs are not archival" whinging

Just get more HDDs. You don't even need to really specifically externals, either.

Michael Hopcroft · 2010-05-08, 19:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

in before "fansubs are not archival" whinging

I'm not going to step into that one. Although I had to look up what "whinging" means to understand the context.

Quote:

Just get more HDDs. You don't even need to really specifically externals, either.

Well, right now I want to open my case as little as possible. I'm pretty sure I have bays available -- for one thing I have only one DVD drive -- but I REALLY don't want to open the case if I don't absolutely have to. Which is why I'm not going to swap out my 500GB system drive for a 1TB -- since I only use the internal drive for documents, audio and programs these days I've still got about half my system drive free.

(And yes I have noticed that game programs are getting bigger. I have Napoleon: Total War and it's about 20GB on my hard drive. It came on two DVDs, and it turns out they were both compressed.)

Vexx · 2010-05-08, 20:32

I'd say your money is better spent on several external HDD as back up rather than a huge array of DVD.... unless you buy the really high quality DVDs and then its still just cheaper to buy more terrabyte drives.

The "odd connecter" (if its a large rectangular boat shape) is a 1394 (firewire). Otherwise it might be an eSATA connector but those are relatively new options.

The advantage of eSATA connection over USB is speed (takes a long time to move a TB of data across USB), but if you're patient no big deal.

I used to be religious about DVD backups... I still do it on occasion for specific "must not lose" series just because of paranoia. But the DVD lifespan studies make me wary of being too tied to them.

I suppose if I were being *really* fault-tolerant, I'd get an "enterprise tape backup system" ... but this idea of multiple externals is seeming to work well.

Currently I have a 1TB HDD for online library (and a separate HDD for the downloads of the day, it gets the heavy access hits). Then I have two 1TB external drives labeled A and B that I use as backup. At the end of each season, I organize a series and file it in the online archive (and the next backup run with the externals catch it).

One caveat... avoid the "green" drives even if they're cheaper. For this you really want the "black" drives... slower rotation speeds are fine though.

I buy from a local components dealer so for me the prices are better to buy a "raw" HDD and an external enclosure.
$99 for a Seagate 1TB 32M 7200rpm SATA2 and $29 for the enclosure.

Example:

Spoiler for sample of an enclosure:

SeijiSensei · 2010-05-08, 21:16

In the business world, the general practice is to store at least one copy of whatever backups you make off-site. This protects against fires, natural disasters, etc.

Michael Hopcroft · 2010-05-11, 16:15

Well, I got some bad news yesterday: I only have $100 to work which, which means I have to go for probably the cheapest 1TB drive available -- which may cause me problems later on if I have to go for an off-brand.

Unfortunately, an off-brand may be my only choice. The online drives I see generally add about $7-$8 for shipping, something that would add substantially to the price of the drive. Right now my only choices locally are either one of the maligned green drives ($100 even locally) or a Verbatim of unknown true origin ($90). Were it not for the fact that I am in desperate need of space, it would hardly seem worth the bother and I'd be better off spending the $100 on Pocky.

Mmmm. $100 worth of Pocky....

Seriously, I'm rather annoyed about this. I had such high hopes for getting a nice, big hard drive that I wouldn't have to expand again for half a year or so. Now it looks like I'll be going through this all over again in four months.

Tiberium Wolf · 2010-05-11, 17:23

Can't you find Seagate 1.5 TB drives at 90-100$ ? I think it's at that price range now.

synaesthetic · 2010-05-11, 17:48

OP, you can get an OEM Samsung Spinpoint 7200RPM 1TB drive from newegg for $80. Then pick up an enclosure as Vexx suggested, and when the HDD fills, yank it from the enclosure, put it in an antistatic bag and put it up somewhere safe. Then drop a new HDD into the enclosure. Easy, easy.

2010-05-06, 19:42	Link #1
Michael Hopcroft Embarrassed! Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Portland, OR USA Age: 60	Strage Recommendations and Backing Up Two related questions concerning storage of large numbers of files: I am looking into getting another external hard drive, as the one I'm storing all the anime on now is almost full. I'm looking at trying to get something with at least 1TB or more at the best price possible, and will not have the cash on hand for another two weeks. Is there anything I need to avoid, and how does building your own drive by taking an internal HDD and putting it in an external bay compare with buying a completely external drive in terms of cost and reliability? On a relate note, i want to put some of my collection on DVD-ROM. This is taking up a LOT of DVDs -- I figure I'm going to need at least 100 to back up a 500GB drive. What I'm wondering is two things: are there DVD brands I absolutely must avoid (and hope I don't own already), and how long can i expect files stored on DVD+R to last? I'm technically savvy enough hat I should know the answers to these questions, but they're rather confusing me at the moment. And the two weeks to ruminate on the questions are not helping. __________________

2010-05-07, 09:19	Link #3
Tiberium Wolf Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Age: 44	HDD only. No removable media. They simply take too much physical space. Of course if you use HDD only you will be putting all the eggs in one basket. If you are going to buy external HDD make you buy ones that you can actually open them to replace the HDD. Usb firewire, external sata... it doesn't matter it's for storage you don't actually need to care about it unless the PC's you use to connect are limited. __________________

2010-05-08, 16:23	Link #6
synaesthetic blinded by blood Author Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Oakland, CA Age: 40	in before "fansubs are not archival" whinging Just get more HDDs. You don't even need to really specifically externals, either. __________________ Indie science fiction author and all-around weirdo: Check out my original fiction here! Read an excerpt from my sci-fi novel Binary System!

2010-05-08, 20:32	Link #8
Vexx Obey the Darkly Cute ... Author Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ... Age: 66	I'd say your money is better spent on several external HDD as back up rather than a huge array of DVD.... unless you buy the really high quality DVDs and then its still just cheaper to buy more terrabyte drives. The "odd connecter" (if its a large rectangular boat shape) is a 1394 (firewire). Otherwise it might be an eSATA connector but those are relatively new options. The advantage of eSATA connection over USB is speed (takes a long time to move a TB of data across USB), but if you're patient no big deal. I used to be religious about DVD backups... I still do it on occasion for specific "must not lose" series just because of paranoia. But the DVD lifespan studies make me wary of being too tied to them. I suppose if I were being really fault-tolerant, I'd get an "enterprise tape backup system" ... but this idea of multiple externals is seeming to work well. Currently I have a 1TB HDD for online library (and a separate HDD for the downloads of the day, it gets the heavy access hits). Then I have two 1TB external drives labeled A and B that I use as backup. At the end of each season, I organize a series and file it in the online archive (and the next backup run with the externals catch it). One caveat... avoid the "green" drives even if they're cheaper. For this you really want the "black" drives... slower rotation speeds are fine though. I buy from a local components dealer so for me the prices are better to buy a "raw" HDD and an external enclosure. $99 for a Seagate 1TB 32M 7200rpm SATA2 and $29 for the enclosure. Example: Spoiler for sample of an enclosure: 3.5inch SATA USB 2.0/eSATA Azio Store ID: encl-azi-009 $29 Brand: Azio Model: ENC311SU31 Features Support all 3.5in SATA Hard Disk Drives. Hot Swappable - Plug & Play. Aluminum design to keep your drive running cool and quiet. Add extra storage to your computer without opening up your computer case. Easily share one hard disk drive between multiple computers. Features both USB 2.0 and eSATA Interfaces. Maximum transfer rate up to 480 Mbits/s (USB 2.0). Maximum transfer rate up to 3 Gbits/s (eSATA). Specifications Interface: SATA to eSATA + USB 2.0 Power Supply: External 12V/5V Dual Output Material: Aluminum Case Body LED: Blue Application: All SATA 3.5in Hard Disk Drives Platforms: Windows 7/Vista/XP/2000/Me/98SE/ Mac OS X and Above Dimensions: 8.4in(L) x 5.1in(W) x 1.2in(H) Manufacturer Link: http://www.aziocorp.com/product/storage/35HDE/enc311su31.htm __________________ "It Really IS Rocket Science", Novel series rough drafts; vol. 1 thru vol. 3 complete Volume 4 in work, Visit the thread for short stories!

2010-05-08, 21:16	Link #9
SeijiSensei AS Oji-kun Join Date: Nov 2006 Age: 74	In the business world, the general practice is to store at least one copy of whatever backups you make off-site. This protects against fires, natural disasters, etc. __________________ Taking Anime Seriously - Politics by the Numbers - Sports by the Numbers - MAL List - Avatars - Images

2010-05-07, 09:10	Link #2
Sides Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Edinburgh Age: 42	For DVDs get the ones with Taiyo Yuden dyes and store them properly. As for external HDD, if you asked a couple of years back, it would have been cheaper to build your own external HDD, but nowadays most retailers have special offers, so the costs between a diy and prebuild external hdd are probably the same. If you have a firewire connection on you computer, it is worth getting a external drive with firewire connection.

2010-05-11, 16:15	Link #10
Michael Hopcroft Embarrassed! Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Portland, OR USA Age: 60	Well, I got some bad news yesterday: I only have $100 to work which, which means I have to go for probably the cheapest 1TB drive available -- which may cause me problems later on if I have to go for an off-brand. Unfortunately, an off-brand may be my only choice. The online drives I see generally add about $7-$8 for shipping, something that would add substantially to the price of the drive. Right now my only choices locally are either one of the maligned green drives ($100 even locally) or a Verbatim of unknown true origin ($90). Were it not for the fact that I am in desperate need of space, it would hardly seem worth the bother and I'd be better off spending the $100 on Pocky. Mmmm. $100 worth of Pocky.... Seriously, I'm rather annoyed about this. I had such high hopes for getting a nice, big hard drive that I wouldn't have to expand again for half a year or so. Now it looks like I'll be going through this all over again in four months. __________________

2010-05-11, 17:23	Link #11
Tiberium Wolf Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Age: 44	Can't you find Seagate 1.5 TB drives at 90-100$ ? I think it's at that price range now. __________________

2010-05-11, 17:48	Link #12
synaesthetic blinded by blood Author Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Oakland, CA Age: 40	OP, you can get an OEM Samsung Spinpoint 7200RPM 1TB drive from newegg for $80. Then pick up an enclosure as Vexx suggested, and when the HDD fills, yank it from the enclosure, put it in an antistatic bag and put it up somewhere safe. Then drop a new HDD into the enclosure. Easy, easy. __________________ Indie science fiction author and all-around weirdo: Check out my original fiction here! Read an excerpt from my sci-fi novel Binary System!