I have a LOT of time invested in ripping my CD collection to FLAC w/ EAC and I'd hate to have to do that all over again. The way I see it there are three or four acceptable options. For myself, I was thinking about just getting two more 120GB drives setting up a fault tolerant RAID array using the Windows Server 2003 built-in software RAID capabilities.

Your optimal solution depends on how much money and time you want to throw at the problem. The way I see it, the options are:

1. No backup strategy - very costly in terms of time if you have to re-extract and compress your collection. You are living on the edge, my friend!
2. Backup to DVD - I figure you can get maybe 10 average compressed CDs on each disc. Time consuming if your collection has already been ripped to PC but many of us probably already have a DVD burner so it makes sense financially, especially if you haven't started yet and can move your collection to DVD and file them away as you extract them. Not as costly time-wise as #1 but certainly the 2nd worst solution in this regard, with all the DVD reading/writing/swapping, etc.
3. RAID w/ parity - if one drive fails, replace it and then re-gen it. Need to invest in multiple drives, possibly a bigger chassis to hold it all. RAID controller is optional but recommended in a Windows (and Linux?) environment. If more than one drive fails at the same time you are hosed. Spendy folks can even get into hot-swap chassis and such.
4. Tape - RAID honestly seems cheaper and easier if you play the odds against more than one drive physically failing. If money is no object and you want practically no chance of data loss, you should use a RAID array and safeguard it with a tape solution. This should be close to 0% chance of a catastrophe.

-jd

 Re: DVDR pros and cons - agnostic 06:03:55 10/29/04 (0)
 Location, location, location ! - clifff 03:00:23 10/22/04 (0)
 7. Invest in Spinrite 6.0 - jusbe 10:34:52 10/18/04 (0)

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Show full thread outline!

 Re: DVDR pros and cons - agnostic 06:03:55 10/29/04 (0)
 Location, location, location ! - clifff 03:00:23 10/22/04 (0)
 7. Invest in Spinrite 6.0 - jusbe 10:34:52 10/18/04 (0)
 This Big boy will do it! - Tuckers 10:30:19 10/18/04 (0)
 Hard Drive Backups - Lynn 09:23:42 10/18/04 (1)
 Re: Hard Drive Backups - Tuckers 10:27:29 10/18/04 (0)
 Re: Q for everyone - backing up your collection - summitgnp 07:05:24 10/18/04 (2)
 DVD Issues - Lynn 09:22:29 10/18/04 (1)
 Re: DVD Issues - summitgnp 10:01:24 10/18/04 (0)
 Re: Q for everyone - backing up your collection - james22 19:29:47 10/17/04 (2)
 I disagree... - Tony 12:47:19 10/18/04 (0)
 I agree with James and use offline hard drives (nt.) - Lynn 09:14:53 10/18/04 (0)
 5. Duplicate hard disk - Stephen 19:19:27 10/17/04 (0)

FWIW, I just had to replace the 60GB drive in my notebook because it died. At least it gave plenty of warning (retries, strange noises).

Also, see below for Iomega's REV. Each cartridge is 38GB native. I haven't yet priced this but doubt that it's economically viable compared to 250GB/300GB external drives.

Stephen

• Iomega REV

There is some good software out there like CasperXP which quickly and painlessly clones one drive to another. MirrorFolder is another excellent utility that integrates with the Explorer shell and can be used to sync up selected folders onto another drive, either in real-time or at regular intervals.

Of course, this requires as many drives as RAID 0 yet does not provide the same level of to-the-minute protection, but it has some added benefits:

- Avoids the hassle of setting up a RAID, which can be tedious even for the tech-savvy
- It can protect against data corruption due to, say, system instability, power failure, or even a virus (one could use external USB drives and connect them only to back up). A RAID array will be vulnerable to all of these.

Besides, for archiving your CD collection a weekly or even monthly updated backup is usually sufficient.

Of course, if you require plenty (e.g. >500gb) of storage a RAID 5 array is the likely the most efficient way to go...

James

In terms of reliablity, I have heard about DVD rot which has gotten a lot of press lately. Apparently, this can destroy over time even commercial DVDs.

For DVD-R/RW, aren't they adversely affected by both heat and light (UV)? Of course properly stored this should not be an issue. However, CDR/DVDR makers have backed off of the lifetime archival claims of this media. I wonder why?

Then there is the issue of some DVD media not being able to be reliably read by different drives. What if your drive fails, and your next drive has problems with the media you have archived?

Lastly, I would be concerned that a scratch are two can toast your backup.

For now, I think I will stick with harddrives that are stored offline and only periodically refreshed as backups.

Lynn

• LaCie Bigger Disk

Big J.

• Gibson Research's Spinrite site.

Most hardware raid solutions that are implemented on the MoBo's are relatively easy to setup. Simply tell it the type of RAID you want and voila! I am speaking specifically of the IDE RAID solution that was implemented on my Abit KT7A-RAID MoBo.

That has been my experience.

-Tony

I now have all my data on a pair of 120Gb hardware mirrored drives (motherboards with RAID controllers are easy, also PCI RAID cards cost only £20 ($30) or so.

Over the home network I keep another (oldish) PC with a similar 120Gb mirrored pair. This is in my garage (nearest thing to a USA cellar / basement!) and in a steel box. The most fire-resistant place I can find.

Every night the remote PC synchs to the main one (Using Robocopy).

Every month or so I bring in the DLT drive from work and make a DLT tape backup which is stored off site.

Once bitten ......

I've found the size an 'average' (say, 500MB / 60 mins) CD compresses to varies hugely, how 'loud' the disc is has a major bearing. Older albums and classical titles will compress at 2:1, so an 'average' disc of about (around 60 mins/500MB) will come in at less than 300MB.

'Loud' (ie compressed) modern pop/rock/jazz titles of similar length will often be closer to 400MB.

Partly because I avoid these generally horrible sounding discs, most of my CD's seem to end up at about 300MB with the 'standard' preset in Monkey's audio, so I get 14-15 on each DVDR.

Caveat is the yet-to-be-known life of DVDR. I use branded ones and keep them in the light-tight 'book-shelf' type cases that most DVD-Videos use.

Also I know from experience that they are not nearly as robust, or fault-tolerent as some might think. Although DVD has much more thorough error detection and recovery than CDROM, a scratch on the wrong part of the disc can prevent them from 'mounting' (your computer won't see the disc), so they have to be handled with the utmost care.

It's also a good idea to periodically 'verify data' (say every 10 or so discs)on a DVDR straight after it's burned, if only to be sure your writer is still 100%. Alternatvely you can copy a couple of tracks straight back to HD and run Foobar2000's 'bit-compare' on the original and backup versions.

R.