Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

Hello:

My son is studying RTF (Radio, Television, & Film)
at a nearby University. I rely on newsgroup counsel
as I try to help him research his ever expanding
software and equipment needs.


Current Requirement
===================
My son is past due for a stronger approach (as in at
least some approach) to archive and backup. As a
result, I read several posts on this newsgroup with
great interest.

[ We could use a much better backup approach on our
household PCs as well. ]


Removable Drives
================
I think some kind of removable hard drive approach makes
the most sense for my son right now. My son seems
to agree.

Here are the hard drives he has on his system. I
provide a summary of his entire system, from his
computer order of a couple of years ago, at the end
of this message.

80GB Western Digital Drive (system disk)
dual 180 RAID drives = 360 GB (video disk)

Thus, 80GB + 360GB = 440GB


I had thought that my son might get a single "stationary
docking station" for one of his remaining 5.25" drive bays.
He would then get "removable drive trays" for however
many removable drives he ultimately acquires.

[ I have these phrases in quotes--because I have no
experience with removable hard drive hardware. These
are the terms I saw used on a WEB site. ]


Backup/Archive Strategy
=======================
An initial scheme occurred to me.

* An 80 GB removable drive to backup his system drive.
* A 400 GB removable drive to backup his video.


With a complete backup of his system drive, if his regular
system hard drive dies, he *should* be able to boot from
the removable. Is that true?

My son was thinking of just getting a couple of 200 GB removable
drives. His 80 GB System drive is currently only half full. He
is more worried about his video drive than his system drive.

I guess he could partition one of the 200 GB drives into an 80 GB
and a 120 GB partition. He could then save the system drive on the
80 GB partition and still boot off of that partition if the system
drive goes bad. (?)

I would appreciate any other suggestions about a backup/archive
strategy.


Hard Drive Specs Required
=========================
His current system drive was called out on his computer order as
follows.

80GB Western Digital UltraATA 7200RPM 8MB Cache


Would a drive with specs like the following work on his system?
I'm assuming that it would need to daisy off of the same disk
interface cable that hooks up to his system drive. (?)

Western Digital 250GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, MODEL WD2500BB
Capacity: 250GB
Average Seek Time: 8.9 ms
Buffer: 2MB <-------------------------- Wouldn't 8MB be better?
Rotational Speed: 7200 RPM
Interface: IDE ULTRA ATA100
Features: Quiet Drive Technology

His system documentation isn't available to me here. I'm assuming
his system drive interface provides "IDE ULTRA ATA100". (?)


Hard Drive "Form Factor" Required
=================================
This probably should have been included with "Hard Drive Specs
Required" above. I have the following impressions/questions.

* The removable drive stationary docking station fits into
a 5.25" disk bay in the computer cabinet.

* The removable drive trays apparently accommodate "industry
standard" 3.5" hard drives. Do these all have the same
dimenions?

Are there cooling issues or other physical factors about which
one should be aware?


Storage Case for Removable Drives
=================================
I have read that great care has to be taken with the drives
when they are removed. I noticed on a few sites that one can
buy fancy cases with special foam protection inside to protect
these removable drives when they are not mounted.

This seems desirable. Still, my experience with any kind of
decent case is that it can easily cost more than what's inside.
My son may build up a few of these removable drives over time.
Is there a good way to "take care" of them when they're not
in the system?

I don't think my son will be taking these drives "off site".
Temperature and humidity will probably be OK. I guess the fear
is that one of his college roommates might walk by and knock one
of these things off a shelf. (?)


"Hot" Insertion/Removal
=======================
Here is a quote from "Richard" in a message on a different
list.

>> I am now using a Kingwin Mobile Rack on my NLE system
>> and use multiple Western Digital "WD2500JB, ATA100,
>> 250GB, 7200RPM, 8MB Cache" hard drives mounted in
>> Kingwin trays, which can be swapped in and out of my
>> system at bootup time, ...

Do I infer from this that these drives can only be swapped
at boot time? This is "livable", but I'm a bit surprised.
Isn't Windows XP smarter than that?

[ I don't use XP myself. I clunk along on an old computer
that barely has enough horsepower to run Win98 SE. ]

One of my theories about backups is that they need to be
easy and quick--so that they happen often. It would be
great to avoid rebooting, if possible. (?)


Backup Software
===============
Is there something easy, built into Windows XP, software that
will let one make a copy of the system drive, for example?
I've seen the term "disk image". I don't know if I need that.
The copy I want for the system drive needs to be complete
enough that I can boot off of the removable copy if the fixed
system drive dies.

As far as backup of the video data, I guess one can just
use Windows Explorer. Richard, what kind of software do
you use? My son will probably just be copying over project
directories to a removable drive as required.


Backup Software--Rabbit Trail
=============================
Sometime back, I was considering an external hard drive for
backing up my daughter's laptop. (Her system is still not
being properly backed up at the moment.) I ran across a
review of "Acronis True Image 8.0", which had high praise for
this product. [ http://www.ugr.com/nl0804.html ]

Has anyone used this product?

I think something like Acronis True Image might be more relevant
to my daughter's situation. The software will create a complete
copy of the laptop's hard drive on the external hard drive. After
that initial full copy, one can periodically do incremental backups
of the hard drive to the same external drive. You can also burn
a bootable CD. (My daughter's laptop has a CD burner.)

If the system drive goes bad, one can supposedly boot from the
CD and completely restore the hard drive to any point in the
incremental backup chain. This all sounds pretty interesting
for her situation--but doesn't seem as relevant to my son's. (?)


Brands to Purchase
==================
Are the Kingwin Mobile Rack "stationary docking station" and "removable
drive trays" that Richard uses the best way to go? Are there other
suggestions/recommendations?

I tend to favor Western Digital or Seagate drives. I don't really
know why. I've heard heartburn about Maxtor drives--but never
experienced any. I would appreciate any thoughts on which hard drive
manufacturer to chose.

Also, if there *is* any software to buy, I would appreciate
recommendations on which package is most appropriate.


Where to Purchase
=================
I would appreciate any recommendations that you have on where
to buy these things. I've seen some good comments about NewEgg.com
since I've been back scanning DV_L messages. Is that a good place
for everything, or should I go elsewhere for the docking station
and removable tray hardware, for example.


Apology
=======
If you've made it this far, I really appreciate it. I probably haven't
left you with any energy to respond.

Thank you.

-Less


===========================================================================
===========================================================================
Son's Alienware 2001DV SYSTEM
===========================================================================
Dragon Full-Tower Case (400-Watt PS)
Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 3.06GHz 533MHz FSB w/ 512KB Cache w/H-T
ASUS P4T533-C - Intel 850E Pentium 4 Motherboard
1.5GB RDRAM PC-1066
Promise FastTrak100 TX2 IDE RAID Controller - Select 2 Same Size IDE
Drives
80GB Western Digital UltraATA 7200RPM 8MB Cache
180GB Western Digital UltraATA 7200RPM 8MB Cache
180GB Western Digital UltraATA 7200RPM 8MB Cache
16/48x DVD-ROM - IDE - Black w/Software MPEG-2 Decoder
Pioneer DVR-A05 - IDE - DVD-RW - Black
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro 128MB AGP 8x AGP Dual Monitor
KoolMaxx Video Cooling System (Standard Chrome)
Matrox RT.X100 Digital Video Editing System
Sound Blaster® Audigy 2 - 6.1
Intel® PRO/1000 MT Gigabit Desktop Adapter
NEC 19" FE991SB MultiSync Flat CRT - Space Black
Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 500-Watt THX Speakers
Microsoft Internet Keyboard
Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0 - USB
Powerware 5115 750VA 500-Watt UPS
Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional
===========================================================================

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

Hello:

>> "Hot" Insertion/Removal
>> =======================

After a fairly exhaustive WEB search last night,
I am especially interested in this topic. I have
gotten the comment that "hot swappable" IDE removable
drives *are* possible.

People who have said this also say that they think
it is more expensive. I did find these two
advertisements.

http://www.xpcgear.com/kf23ipf.html
http://store.pcpowerzone.com/stididehadrh.html


When I actually go to the vendor's WEB sites, there
is NO mention of "hot swappable".

In the case of a removable drive, mounted in one's
PC case, and tied into the PC's IDE (UltraATA in
my son's PC), is a "hot swap" solution possible--one
that avoids powering down the PC and then booting
up again?

Thanks.

--Less

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

"Less Entropy" <black_hole_3.1416@sbcglobal.net> kirjoitti viestissä
news:1109630966.551576.156890@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Hello:
>
> >> "Hot" Insertion/Removal
> >> =======================
>
> After a fairly exhaustive WEB search last night,
> I am especially interested in this topic. I have
> gotten the comment that "hot swappable" IDE removable
> drives *are* possible.
>
> People who have said this also say that they think
> it is more expensive. I did find these two
> advertisements.
>
> http://www.xpcgear.com/kf23ipf.html
> http://store.pcpowerzone.com/stididehadrh.html
>
>
> When I actually go to the vendor's WEB sites, there
> is NO mention of "hot swappable".
>
> In the case of a removable drive, mounted in one's
> PC case, and tied into the PC's IDE (UltraATA in
> my son's PC), is a "hot swap" solution possible--one
> that avoids powering down the PC and then booting
> up again?
>
> Thanks.
>
> --Less
>

To get hot swappable IDE drives, you need a controller card that supports
it, as IDE is NOT specified for that. The drivers for that card may have the
function, but the mobo IDE connectors don't.


--
Tumppi
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