Video & Photo storage

[audsnends]

Daily I make videos & photos and need advice as to what is the most efficient & cost effective method to store this information for quick & easy access.

I'm a novice when it comes to pc technology and I believe the basics for storing would be one of the following options:

1. more ram?
2. discs (I find this method a nuisance & costly in the long run)
3. additional hard drive?
4. I've heard about Flash drives but not clear how these work & whether they're an option to be considered.

Any suggestions, recommendations would be much appreciated (especially if not too technically challenging 😱)

 

[Harvey]

Large hard drives are relatively cheap. So are external enclosures that hold IDE drives and convert them to USB. I'm not recommending this model or dealer. It's just an example, but a setup using as many drives as you want with a couple of those would handle a lot of files and be pretty flexible. 🙂

 

[Matthias99]

For nearline storage (especially if you need to transfer files between PCs or take them with you) the best choice is probably an external hard drive or two as suggested. If you have many systems in one location that need storage, you might look at a true NAS solution, or just building/buying a fileserver with a big RAID5 array and sharing it over the network.

For long-term (or at least longer-term) backup purposes, DVD-R is a good choice if your files aren't huge. If they are, you'll probably want to look into DLT tape drives for archival. You *are* backing up your data, right?

 

[audsnends]

My apologies but I have no idea what all this means?

Text

If you have many systems in one location that need storage, you might look at a true NAS solution, or just building/buying a fileserver with a big RAID5 array and sharing it over the network.

For long-term (or at least longer-term) backup purposes, DVD-R is a good choice if your files aren't huge. If they are, you'll probably want to look into DLT tape drives for archival. You *are* backing up your data, right?

Text

Umm backing up my data? Apparently not, because I don't know how other than putting it on CD-RW's which is getting out of hand the amount of them, because they don't erase.

 

[audsnends]

ohhh #@$% can't even get quotes marks in the right place grrr!

 

[audsnends]

Now this sounds nice and easy to me...simply buy an external hard drive! Too I believe they're less expensive than internal hard drives. Correct me if I'm wrong.

One just plugs it in and can access with a few clicks right? Whereas an additional internal hard drive would have to go inside and I can only imagine very complicated set up with wires and programming. Well for me at least!

 

[ZoomStop]

LOL, yes, take Matthias99's advice and get an external drive.
You'll need to make sure you have a USB 2.0 port and buy a USB 2.0 drive.
What is the make/model of your computer? We can verifty that you have a USB 2.0 port if you are unsure.
And it should be as easy as just plugging it in if your running Windows XP.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: audsnends
Now this sounds nice and easy to me...simply buy an external hard drive! Too I believe they're less expensive than internal hard drives. Correct me if I'm wrong.

They're almost always more expensive than internal drives. You can also buy internal drives and an empty external carrier to put them in, which is usually cheaper. This is what the first reply was talking about.

One just plugs it in and can access with a few clicks right?

Yes; it works just like a USB storage key, but much bigger. Any system with USB (except for some ancient Win95/Win98 boxes) should be able to use it without a problem.

Whereas an additional internal hard drive would have to go inside and I can only imagine very complicated set up with wires and programming. Well for me at least!

It's not really very hard. Plug in the new drive, set the jumpers correctly if it is PATA, and then you should be good to go. 😛

Umm backing up my data? Apparently not, because I don't know how other than putting it on CD-RW's which is getting out of hand the amount of them, because they don't erase.

You can erase CD-RWs -- your burning software should have an option to do it. CD-Rs don't erase. You can also back up on DVD-R or -RW; they hold about 6x as much as a 700MB CD. CD-R and DVD-R are good choices for permanent archival backup, precisely because they can't be erased. 😛

If you have data that you really don't want to lose, you should burn a copy of it to CD or DVD and store it offsite (somewhere safe, like in a bank safe deposit box).

 

[audsnends]

Oh my, more USB's!

I did in fact install one with 4 ports but doesn't work for everything, only my monitor. I use the two existing USB ports in the back of pc for mouse & keyboard. And I've another two at the front that work sporadically.

It's a Dell computer umm, I'll have to search through my original documents to figure out make & model. Insofar as the internal USB ports that I added I've no idea if they are 2.0 port? I doubt I kept any documentation for it, as I believe it only came in a box which I would have thrown out. How would I ascertain if it's 2.0 port?

 

[audsnends]

ohhh I thought DVD's were for....(ok now that I'm typing it, it's sound really dumb) for like movie movies from TV. But a movie is a movie of course!

Wow, this forum idea is excellent for me, such simple things I've learned already!

However, I understood storing discs of any kind in a safety deposit box wasn't the best because of moisture?

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: audsnends
ohhh I thought DVD's were for....(ok now that I'm typing it, it's sound really dumb) for like movie movies from TV. But a movie is a movie of course!

DVDs and CDs just store data. Can be music or video files (audio CDs and DVD-Video and DVD-Audio discs use special formats, but the physical discs are the same), or computer data files.

However, I understood storing discs of any kind in a safety deposit box wasn't the best because of moisture?

Storage media should definitely be kept in a cool, dry place (although CD-R and DVD-R discs are pretty resilient). If your bank's safety deposit boxes have water leaking into them, you need a new bank. 😛

But for really important data (stuff you cannot lose), you should store a copy offsite. All the backups in the world won't help you if they're stored in the next room and your house burns down. 🙂

 

[Harvey]

Originally posted by: audsnends
Too I believe they're less expensive than internal hard drives. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Consider yourself corrected. 😉 Internal drives are less expensive unless you find a great deal on an external drive that's on sale. That's why I suggested buying separate IDE to USB boxes.

The total price of an IDE drive and an enclosure is usually less than a packaged external USB drive, and that's what you're buying. Also, if you don't need all your drives available all the time, you can swap IDE drives between the enclosures.

If you need long term, dedicated storage, DVD-ROM's could be a good choice.

 

[audsnends]

 

[audsnends]

JHC get this forum system figured out yet...lol. Ok to summarize what I need?

an external hard drive;
a USB 2.0 port and
a USB 2.0 drive

and while I'm at it might as well buy some DVD-RW's to try out!

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: audsnends
JHC get this forum system figured out yet...lol. Ok to summarize what I need?

an external hard drive;
a USB 2.0 port and
a USB 2.0 drive

Most of them work on USB1.0/1.1 ports as well, just not very quickly.

and while I'm at it might as well buy some DVD-RW's to try out!

You'll need a DVD-RW drive as well if you don't have one and you want to burn DVDs.

 

[audsnends]

ohhh a DVD-RW drive too! as per Wiggum: Woah, woah Slow down, egghead! ok never mind on those, I'm not only technically challenged but financially too...lol

 

[Harvey]

The RW in DVD-RW stands for Re-Writeable. The blanks are more expensive, and rewitables usually write slower than standard DVD blanks. Don't waste the money or time unless you need to update the same disks repeatedly.

 

[audsnends]

Make & Model of my pc is Dell Dimension 4400 (sadly it's rather old I guess but still works) and I run Windows XP.

Can one tell from this information the kind of USB ports I have?

Still trying to figure out the other USB port # I installed myself.

 

[audsnends]

Is it possible to use the hard drive from my old Compaq pc with Windows 98 which I no longer use?

Naturally I'd have a tech person install it, as I'm sure Windows 98 would have to be removed and Windows XP installed first.

 

[PrayForDeath]

Originally posted by: audsnends
JHC get this forum system figured out yet...lol. Ok to summarize what I need?

an external hard drive;
a USB 2.0 port and
a USB 2.0 drive

and while I'm at it might as well buy some DVD-RW's to try out!

Yup, get all those except the DVD-RWs, unless you're sure you have a DVD-RW drive.

 

[PrayForDeath]

Originally posted by: audsnends
Is it possible to use the hard drive from my old Compaq pc with Windows 98 which I no longer use?

Naturally I'd have a tech person install it, as I'm sure Windows 98 would have to be removed and Windows XP installed first.

Windows XP doesn't have to be installed on the second drive. You just have to plug it and format it. (you also need to set the jumpers accordingly)

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: audsnends
Make & Model of my pc is Dell Dimension 4400 (sadly it's rather old I guess but still works) and I run Windows XP.

Can one tell from this information the kind of USB ports I have?

Still trying to figure out the other USB port # I installed myself.

According to Dell, you should have four USB ports (two in front, two in back). I am guessing they are regular USB, not USB2.0. They'll work, but transferring files will be fairly slow. You can add a USB2.0 card for faster transfers, but that requires opening up the case and installing a PCI card (not real hard).

You can also add a DVD-RW drive, but this will require cracking open the case and plugging a few cables in (unless you actually opted for the DVD-RW drive when you bought it; apparently it is an option on that model). This is also not too hard.

If you are looking for a way to do long-term storage of data, I would suggest getting a DVD-RW drive and burning things to DVD-R. If you are looking to have more storage space for audio/video editing (that is, not permanent storage, but just for things you are working on right now), or you need to regularly move large amounts of data from one place to another, an external drive would work better.

 

[audsnends]

Just checked and other than my C drive is the D drive CD-RW. I didn't have the foresight 3 years ago when I bought pc to get a DVD-RW drive.

So at this point back to another hard drive. which in reading the post from PrayforDeath, using my old compaq hard drive may be the least expensive as I won't need more USB ports neither. Does this make sense?

Matthias, I want both, long term storage and quick n easy access for editing. Appears I'll continue backing up on CD-RW's until I can get a DVD-RW.