Hard Drives

[Ommid]

Hi all,

Having abit of a hard drive crisis. My data seems to be everywhere.

I currently have 3 Internal HDs and no longer any externals

First Drive: WD5000AAKS

Originally used for my OS, Music, Pictures, Downloads and Documents

Now looking to move all my Music and Pictures to drive 3, Downloads to Drive 2

I will want to reformat and install this HD, should I add any partitions? As it is now just one drive

Second Drive: WD1000FYPS

Full of HD TV Programs, Old backups of photos etc from old PCs, Large to sort folder, some of my games backed up

No programs installed here, just rar file archives and old data.

No partitions

Looking to reserve this for downloads of my TV Programs from Itunes etc and my DVDs of family holidays etc.

Third Drive: WD10EACS

Originally only 300gb full of downloads and dvd backups same as drive 2

Now looking to reserve for all media files for use with itunes and media centre, including music photos, and dvd video_ts folders and avi/mpgs

Again one large partition with no backup


Overall:

I would like an overall faster OS drive that gets less activity of file transferring etc, as I have found this to slow me down alot. Dont fancy a raptor due to noise, maybe a WD640? Will I really see a difference?

Would like some way of backing up around 500GB of my data. Is the best way to do it via external HD?

I would like to know if Partitioning will help me and how?

Shall I use raid anywhere?

Thanks all

[staffsMike]

Have a read of this with regard to partitioning
http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-hardwa...on-theory.html

You'll learn everything you need to I'm sure.

The 640GB is a very nice drive but I wouldn't bother if you already have the 500Gb.

If you could get a 320GB single platter for £30 odd quid that might be worth it but.. you seem to have all the space and most of the speed you will want/need so any money spent I would put on an external drive. It's always nice to have one drive not relying on anything in the one PC.

Raid 1 or ideally 5 is nice for a backup but again, you are relying on just one PC which is never such a great idea.

[Ommid]

Thanks alot StaffsMike. I just feel backing up is a waste of time, what is the chance of a WD Server drive failing?

I will try the partition method mentioned, had read it before, but wasnt sure how good it would be, do you use it yourself? So 100gb for OS should be ok, right?

[staffsMike]

Yeah 100GB is ample

I'm yet to try this exact method but I've done something very similar before and it is effective.

The likely hood of the drive failing any time soon is very slim I'm sure, further to that, the likely hood of you not being able to retrieve 95% or more is even slimmer, but.. what if? lol

If I lost my media drives and had rip or download (legally) all that stuff again I would be so annoyed, so much so that I probably just wouldn't bother. So my external backup's are really important to me lol

[CaptainCrash]

what is the chance of a wd server drive failing?

100%

[mediaboy]

He even remembers to put in legally that time.


As Mike said, hard drives don't often fail, and even if they do you can often retrieve data (I know it's possible, I just can't remember how to do it, I would have to look it up) so internal drives are normally fine.

Personally, because I'm me, I prefer not to have things lying around my desk. I just don't have the room for Ex HDD... but if I did I'd probably have one as a backup drive. As a what-if solution.

And to save my time and save me stress should I ever need to retrieve a back up. I think that pulling it off of an external HDD could be much easier. And of course.. ex HDD are portable... although how you actualy connect them up at either end is something that I wouldn't be willing to comment on.

I don't even know if it's possible....

[staffsMike]

I use a USB 2.0 Western Digital Passport. It's very portable, about as small as they come really (if it has a 2.5" drive inside). It only requires USB power to operate it which is very handy. I'm sure 400 and 500GB versions of these are coming out soon if not already but the 320GB's are very hand none the less.

If you want a big 3.5" drive then you need more desktop space and it will need a plug socket to power it. You do get a lot of flexability with connections this way though. USB 2.0 is the slowest, the firewire 400/800 and then eSATA if you want it to be pretty much as quick as any standard internal drive.

So big media backups take a long time on USB 2.0, I did mine over night and it wasn't even that big lol

[Ommid]

I use a USB 2.0 Western Digital Passport. It's very portable, about as small as they come really (if it has a 2.5" drive inside). It only requires USB power to operate it which is very handy. I'm sure 400 and 500GB versions of these are coming out soon if not already but the 320GB's are very hand none the less.

If you want a big 3.5" drive then you need more desktop space and it will need a plug socket to power it. You do get a lot of flexability with connections this way though. USB 2.0 is the slowest, the firewire 400/800 and then eSATA if you want it to be pretty much as quick as any standard internal drive.

So big media backups take a long time on USB 2.0, I did mine over night and it wasn't even that big lol

I may hang about for a WD 500GB Portable, The Desktop editions have reliability issues, and I was going to get a small portable anyway but will use it for both the lappy and the desktop now.

Thanks alot StaffsMike, the way I look at it, if you use the right software, the first backup takes a long time, after that it just updates with new items and modified items. What do you use? I have tried CMS BounceBack and a few others.

[staffsMike]

Mine changes so infrequently now that I'm down to good old manual backups

The software that comes on the passports wasn't bad as I remember it though.

[peterb]

Thanks alot StaffsMike. I just feel backing up is a waste of time, what is the chance of a WD Server drive failing?

Yes - complete waste of time...

until your drive fails (which it will - sometime - you just don't know when)

and

1. You don't mind reloading your OS and all the applications, and you have all the install disks, driver disks and licence keys to hand
2. You don't mind waiting for all the updates, patches other bits to download
2. Don't mind spending hours reconfiguring the applications again to get the system running as it was
3. You don't have any irreplaceable data - photographs, documents, music files etc

and - when it happens - you have the time to waste doing all that.

[arthurleung]

I would actually suggest getting another 3x WD10EACS and make a RAID5, then you can just store everything on the 3TB array. Just make sure you don't get any virus (perhaps put it in a NAS). It wouldn't be as safe as a complete backup but will give you protection against harddrive failure (up to 1 disk)

[Ommid]

Im thinking, of getting my 500GB internal changed to a 150/300GB Velociraptor.

Flogging the 500gb and getting a small external drive. Like a 320gb and a 1TB too

[staffsMike]

Well if you are still on the look out, there is news of the 500GB's today.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/15/w...ssport-drives/

[Ommid]

Well if you are still on the look out, there is news of the 500GB's today.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/15/w...ssport-drives/

Yea just seen that Tried to get a 1TB External today, but saw that, so will wait I think, lets see how long it takes to get to the UK. Thanks Staffs