simonsez,

> I am trying to figure out some options for
saving or backing up audio files.

In my experience CDR backups are quite reliable. Much more so than the Jaz drive I ended up throwing out. :) Also, the cost of CDR media is so much less than the cost of Zip or Jaz cartridges that you can burn new ones daily and still be way ahead.

> I worry about the Hard Drive crashing and taking everything with it.

Modern hard drives are extremely reliable. I haven't had even a hint of a problem in many years. Even so, I have two 40 GB drives in my computer, with one serving as a backup for the other. I also use Norton Ghost to backup up my C: partition to the second drive, so I can recover in case Windows itself crashes hard or an errant install or upgrade fouls things up.

> Keep in mind what I'm looking for is reliable backup or long term disaster recovery type storage only. (cheap is good too!)

Another good option is removable drive bays that let you easily exchange hard drives. You can't swap drives while the power is on, but if you have two drives as I described above you can exchange the backup one easily and stick it on a shelf.

--Ethan

Ethan,
Why does the power have to be off before you swap the HD?

...probably because he's on a PC ....yikes ;)

simonsez....totally forget Jazz and the like 'cause 1) they're just little portable hd's anyways and 2) they blow for reliability. the reason you wanna use cd's and such is that they should last decades whether or not you accidentally get 'em near a magnet, TV etc.. (as long as you don't scratch the piss out of 'em). you might investigate DVD-RAM, as they're getting cheaper by the day. not fast, but 5 gigs for $30 each isn't so bad...and does Retrospect make a PC version? that's a very standard BU app that shouldn't let you down...

i've used both 4mm datadat and 8mm exabyte for years, and while i've been fairly lucky, i still wouldn't recommend either of them anymore...linear tape dino-stuff anyways...

Hey guys...great discussion..glad to see other people here in this forum as well!!
Simonsez..CD's are definately way more reliable than Zips or Jazz and as others have said CD's are a lot cheaper. I've had Zip's or Jazz drives just erase data on me..because it's still a magnetic read system it can get wiped..CD's are optical..only way to erase them is if they are Rewriteables or if you run sandpaper on them...
Getting extra hard drives is fine but at that point you still have the possibility of losing data if your system gets a power surge or if you dont properly hook up a cable or something silly like that!! If you want swappable drives that means SCSI..even in Mac's you cant hot swap an IDE drive!! At that point you are then building up a collection of drives for backups..that can first of all be pricey and take up a good chunk of shelf space..CD's, well, dont take up any room whatsoever.
I highly reccomend staying with CD's as backups..
here's a tip for backing up..DONT USE 80MINUTE CD'S!!!!! Some CDROMS wont read them and if you fill them up too much you may lose or corrupt data..unfortunately I got bit by this and lost some data..can you say DOH!!!! :D
Opus

The tribe has spoken...
I'll stick with CD's for back up.
Thanks
simonsez

Angelo,

> Why does the power have to be off before you swap the HD?

There are drives that can be swapped with the power on - like USB or FireWire or network drives that connect via CAT5 cable. But I'm pretty sure those are a lot more expensive than standard EIDE drives which require turning off the power before connecting. At about $200 for 40-60 GB these days, a 3-1/2-inch hard drive is competitive with a reel of 2-inch tape! :)

--Ethan

Or ten, actually. I tend to use between 3 and 6 GB per song. Even the more expensive drives are competetively priced when you look at it that way.

Angelo,

> Or ten, actually. I tend to use between 3 and 6 GB per song. Even the more expensive drives are competetively priced when you look at it that way.

And they take up a heck of a lot less shelf space too! :)

--Ethan

I use CDRW's to back up daily changes and additions to songs then a CDR for each song when it's ready to mix. I print a copy of the mix on the same CD.
A second file is where all the mixed tunes go and yet another for the mastered ones.
I also make a file of the song mixes sans Vox as they come in handy for the artist when doing TV spots.
I keep it all on the 'puter till the CD is pressed. Then the CD's are the only Backup.
I do keep the last set of CDRW's as well.

I don't imagine any of this is unique, but I offer it for those less experienced.

Hi!!

I have a DVD_ram drive.. wich works well.

I just have 1 question . What is the difference beteween dvd-ram type I and type II?? can i use both types in my drive??

Thanks

Originally posted by Ang1970:
Or ten, actually. I tend to use between 3 and 6 GB per song. Even the more expensive drives are competetively priced when you look at it that way.

I hear ya

I had been using CD for backup until recently when I went over the 650-700 meg limit. My latest song (compressed) is over 700 megs and I can see that size growing in the future. So I am doing some backup on CD and some on multiple HD's between computers. If you can swing it it's nice to have your own little network. If you do network computers together go with 100 Meg ethernet, so much faster than 10M.

I'm really excited about this fibre channel stuff... wonder how long it'll take for the switchers to come down a bit.

In my main audio computer I have a 45G drive, with four 10.somethingG partitions. I also have an Ecrix VXA1 tape drive, and the smaller tapes have a 12G capacity- I just have eight tapes that I rotate through to do periodic partition backup, and I either do storage backup on CDR's or I ask the client to buy a VXA1 tape. Works pretty well for me.

Guys,

Use Retrospect (it's great, mature software) and some sort of tape drive (DDS3, DDS4, AIT, etc) as a primary backup if possible. Use a 5 or 7 day daily full backup and you're setting a good base for data emergencies. CD and or DVD are good for secondary or archival choices. When you start using 24 bit files these larger capacity formats are essential. Zips, Jaz, removeables are all diasters waiting to happen. In fact the class action lawsuit against Iomega was predictable by any one who had extensive experience using zip or jaz cartridges. In the case of Jaz cartridges a corrupted jaz cartridge could misalign the drive which would murder other jaz cartridges, use one of those cartridges in another jaz drive and you could extend the hideous cycle.

regards,

raregroove