Recommend external hard drives

[PeterSt]

Actually, something like this is the best option. This is "eSata" (external SATA), and should have the same speed as internal SATAII disks (which you most probably won't even have in your notebook).
A few remarks though :

1. If applicable, you must have two PC card slots in the laptop, when you need the other for Firewire (like you, Chris).
2. You must really find out whether the speed of the PC Card is okay, and ask for a guarantee of that.
3. Chance is 99% that a by this means connected disk will not be able to spin down after a (set) time of inactivity. Even the PC hybernating ("sleeping") will not incur for this (not much different with USB/Firewire connected disks btw).
4. Cables are usually 1 meter long, but can be 2 meters with pricey cables.

Then, nowadays, eSata connected disk arrays (or enclosures) exist. Note that these will work with eSata multipliers, which actually will devide the bandwidth. This is no problem because you won't be using two disks at the same time. You may use two logical disks at the same time, but this is provided by the two ports on the PC card both working at full speed if all is okay.

SATAII copies up to 300MB per second and is by far the fastest connection of all. Your 1 TB backup would effectively go in less than 3 hours now (theoretically in less than an hour).
In comparison, roughly, Firewire800 is 80MB/s, Firewire400 40MB/s, USB 2.0 48MB/s, Gigabit Ethernet 100MB/s, normal ethernet 10MB/s.

There is no reason the eSata enabled enclosures are more expensive than others, nor are the SATAII disks you'd want then.

[Chris V]

I settled on this to get me started  -  the Freecom Data Tank 1TB

This is something of a bargain at present, with some free promotional vouchers I had, and free P&P it came in at £211.

What pursuaded me?
1. Price
2. Probably the simplest and prettiest box around, which will be OK on view with the sound system
3. Small and portable, for regularly, but temporarily moving to my desk top Internet system for loading music, track titles and artwork using EAC.
4. Quiet, and hopefully reliable - my wife has had a smaller Freecom external hard drive for some time.
5. Capability for automatic back up on its two internal drives (RAID)
6. USB or Firewire 800

I would second what Gerner says, that I will probably only store those Albums that I enjoy listening to on the Hi-Fi. Others will stay on CD for the car etc.

So now to finalise the indexing of folders

[PeterSt]

I can add that the blue lights would match the CrazyA perfectly ... (might you get the CrazyA ...)

On further remark : The backup feature you describe as "Raid" will be about automatically duplicating the one disk to the other. This means that if you by accident delete a couple of folders (or all), they are gone on the "backup" as well, instantly ...

Raid (whatever type) really is not for backup, but for continuous uptime (like with drive failure), which is something different.
So be careful !

[Chris V]

I can add that the blue lights would match the CrazyA perfectly ... (might you get the CrazyA ...)

Well, it is in my peripheral vision, but I am so happy with my EAR 861 power amp that I cant believe it would be so much better as to warrant a change.
One virtue I accept is being able to leave it on all day. At the moment having valves tends to make the Hi-Fi just for 'special' listening, and most valves take about 30 minutes to come on song.
So the Crazy A would not be an instant purchase - I would need to hear it to be persuaded. Unfortunately I checked with Bert, and there is not one in the UK yet. 

One further remark : The backup feature you describe as "Raid" will be about automatically duplicating the one disk to the other. This means that if you by accident delete a couple of folders (or all), they are gone on the "backup" as well, instantly ...

Raid (whatever type) really is not for backup, but for continuous uptime (like with drive failure), which is something different.
So be careful !

Yes I did take note of your earlier comments. I do like the automatic way it does back up (saves me a job) but I agree that care is of the essence. 

[Gerner]

Hi Chris,

Allow me to answer on behalf of Gerner (who is enjoying holidays) : Yes. He has connected them to Vista.
It is just USB, so I can't guess why or how it can't be Vista ready ...

Remember, in one of these, nowadays, you can get 2TB of storage space, as long as the supplier mounts those disks. 1TB (2x 500GB) should be the least that's possible.

Before you decide, please don't forget that USB is a relatively sloooooww connection. A backup of 1TB would really take a day !
For a laptop the best hussle free option would be Firewire800 I think. Note that Firewire is really like a network (similar to ethernet) and you can connect and expand disks as you want. BUT : I really don't know what happens if your sound is Firewire connected too (like you have). O dear ...

Thanks Peter. Nice to have a stand in when the Holiday calls for attention on completely different matters.

I have no problems with my 0.8TB FreeCom tanks running against Vista.

I have neither any problems backing up through slow USB as I only back-up CD's which are added to the main library along the way. Not so many.

So I have a relative peaceful life re. that.

But I see soon I will run out of gas with my poor 0.8 TB. I make so many folders with different favourit tracks. So many of them are stored twice or more.
That's not the way to do it. Then better to make a shortcut pointing at the track in the main library. (Bert told me).

Another way to keep 0.8TB sufficient is not to store c'r'a'p.

Gerner

[PeterSt]

I make so many folders with different favourit tracks.

That is what the PlayLists are for Gerner ...
 

[Chris V]

I make so many folders with different favourit tracks.

That is what the PlayLists are for Gerner ...
 

I hadn't twigged either till now

And Gerner, when you gonna put your system in your profile signature?

[Gerner]

I make so many folders with different favourit tracks.

That is what the PlayLists are for Gerner ...
 

Yep..I know (big surprice, eih...?)

But those folders I made so many of, I use for "alternative" playback systems. So they have to exsist there somehow.

  Gerner

[Gerner]

I make so many folders with different favourit tracks.

That is what the PlayLists are for Gerner ...
 

I hadn't twigged either till now

And Gerner, when you gonna put your system in your profile signature?

NOW 

[Chris V]

I make so many folders with different favourit tracks.

That is what the PlayLists are for Gerner ...
 

I hadn't twigged either till now

And Gerner, when you gonna put your system in your profile signature?

NOW 

Yes!!  Sorry to be a pain, but could you offer the name of the Vista laptop. It would be nice to know which ones are totally glitch free, even at a latency of 48. Also do you use the built in firewire connection?

[Gerner]

Yes!!  Sorry to be a pain, but could you offer the name of the Vista laptop. It would be nice to know which ones are totally glitch free, even at a latency of 48. Also do you use the built in firewire connection?

No problemos....

My Vista LT is a Thosiba Tecra A8 no build in FW. http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/cmod.to?coid=-31400


And my FW card is a Pyro as shown here http://www.cwol.com/firewire-drives/firewire-dvd-recorder-notebook.htm

I don't have the slightest problem with glitches.

Gerner

[SeVeReD]

Well I need space.  How many HDDs can I connect via firewire? hehe... don't think I've reached that limit yet.  Going to pick up one of these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136146
I still want to daisy chain a couple other HDDs on there that are firewire 400.  I've read up a bit and I think I'll have no problems mixing/matching firewire 400 & 800 (I know the speed will drop to 400).  Any thoughts out there?

[PeterSt]

Your only concern would be backup times. Theoretically with a 400 connection 1TB will take (very) roughly 25 hours. With 800 that's 12.5 hehe.

In order to be free of choice, it's best to think of a backup strategy that allows you to make incremental backups. With this, keep in mind that e.g. changing the structure of folders already is an undoable task to follow manually towards the backup (compare a newly ripped CD, which would be doable).

If you can't arrange for this decently, forget about making backups with this speed (even 800). Also note that you won't like to make a backup because you'll think it influences sound.
And then my example was about 1TB only ...

One approach would be maintaining (folder) structure canges in Galeries only, and just never care about the physical structure. Btw, this is what I'm heading for currently, and therefore the Library functions in XX need to speed up 1000 times (working on that right now). Thus, when you are not bothered by physical structure changes and added albums / changed coverart / deleted albums only, IMO keeping track of all manually is doable. Note though, that in order to let this really work, your backup disks have to be online always (rip an album and copy it to the backup right after that).

A good backup strategy is key to cope with these large amounts of data. Don't arrange for that properly, and you'll get stuck with your (amounts of) data.

[SeVeReD]

Sounds good Peter.  Here's how I do my backups though; everything by "hand"/manually.  At the moment, I have all my music on 320GB external HDDs and each one is backed up by 320GB removable sata internal HDD.  I've made it a point to never ever having an external and its backup online at the same time.  When I rip new CDs I send them to a third/different internal drive that is always online... I then copy it to the appropriate external HDD.  After having ripped a few discs/a few days, I then make sure my externals are offline, pop in my removable backup, and move the music/picture/cue files off the third/different internal drive that is always online to the removable backup and then take it offline again.  It so far seems to work.  Theft and fire are about the only thing I worry about.

Well, I went ahead and picked up the 2TB mentioned above here because of price.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/513062-REG/Western_Digital_WDG2T20000N_2_TB_My_Book.html

I wish it had sata too, but oh wellz.  One good thing about it was this listed at WD site:
"User serviceable - Easy access allows you to open the case and replace a drive. No need to send the entire system in for service."
From the looks of the enclosure I'll be able to open it up easy and get to the drives... which I'm betting are two 1TB sata drives anyway.  If I ever do have to do a huge backup (can't imagine why...) maybe I can pop out the drives and hook em up to sata hehe.

As far as XXHe and speed of cue/wav files being read, I think I'm ok there too.  CUE file Question.  When I go through the huge step by step arduous process of opening up explorer and finding my music and cumbersomely dragging my single album wav file kicking and screaming onto XXHE so it can read the cue file and see song titles, (which disappear immediately after pushing play in unattended because SQ is utmost), *does my whole big wav title get read? or, when using cue files, do you then only read (put into memory) individual songs?  OR How is playing/loading a single WAV from "library" read differently (if it is) then playing/loading a WAV/CUE file from explorer?  curiosity kills this cat

[PeterSt]

Uhhm ...   I'm not sure you wrote it like a storm, I read it as a storm, I drunk too much, or it's because a kind of storm is going on here (there is), but this is the answer :

Cue files currently, per track, are read per the complete album and then the track is subtracted from that. That will improve in a future version (as in reading the part concerned only).
Is that something for an answer ?