Hey guys,
As some of you know, I have lost my 3rd computer this year. (I must wear them out pretty good). Anyways, I am now in an Apple iMac 24inch Flat Screen unit and am pretty impressed with it.
However, I have been stuck with all my files on about 6 HD's and 1 Media Drive, averaging from 320 Gigs to 1 Tarabyte.
I thought I would tell you how I decided to manage this all.
I have had a 1 Tarabyte HD installed in the iMac, created Boot Camp drive with Windows XP on half of that. So half is 500 Gigs of XP, and half is 500 Gigs of OSX Apple. (I plan to use Apple for graphics and movies and various media).
Then, I took a Tarabyte HD and cleaned a 360 Gig HD and installed them into a Aluratek CyClone. Its a cool little 'apple' looking aluminum case that holds 2 drives. You can set it up to run RAID, RAID fast, RAID safe, Normal, and 'Big' modes. I have it as Normal so it registers having 2 drives in the box. (BIG reads as a super drive. If you had two 1.5 Tarabyte drives in it, that would be a 3 Tarabyte drive). eeeks!
I then used one drive (the 1TB drive) as the main FS holding tank. All sims are in here, as well as some huge picture folders. (One picture folder was 23 Gigs alone). The other drive in the CyClone is what Apple calls 'Time Machine'. The drive is named 'Time Capsule'. Basically its an enginious little system that backs up files.
Now, that leaves me with a stray 4 HD's and the HP Media Drive. The HP is fine as it is, as it has optional cables so it can be run on the desk, (features a nice little case, etc).
As for the remaining 4 drives, 3 are SATA, one is PATA (old version). I obtained a Vantec NexStar socket drive. This thing is AWESOME. Basically, you simply plug in a HD into the top slot, turn on the button on front, and Voila, your drive shows up on your computer. Turn it off, push the eject button, and the Drive pops loose.
Very cool.. I can hide it behind the Mac when not in use. I can also access SATA drives in the blink of an eye. As a matter of fact, the slot also works with smaller laptop drives. I can open the laptop up and pull the laptop drive out, link into the NexStar, and drag and drop files in high speed fashion into the drive, and replace into the 'lappie'.
So.. Now with TweakFS's FS Registry fixers, I reset my FS installations to the TB drive, and they are all running now. Not on the main HD, keeping it clean and ready for 'work'. I can also backup to the TB drive, and Apple manages the 'Time Capsule' side of it.
I was originally looking for a 4 passenger HD tower, but couldnt find one I liked. One was $15.00 and was basically just a fragile rack, no cables, etc. Some were from $400.00 to $700.00. I think I found one that was around $1,000.00, but that had drives already in it. The silver one I got, the CyClone, was only about $60.00, give or take a few dollars.
It was interesting seeing how they install a HD into a new iMac 24inch case. For those that dont know, its like a small plasma TV with the computer built into the back. Very wild and futuristic. The glass is held on with a powerful magnetic strip all about. Take that off, and you have full access after lifting the screen, which is secured with screws and some wire loom clips. The interior is quite well laid out. Reminds me constantly of a iPod, but gigantic, lol..
By the way, at NewEgg.com, you can get Seagate 1.5 Tarabyte drives for $129.00.... Wish I had known this a couple of weeks ago, arrghh..
Bill
As some of you know, I have lost my 3rd computer this year. (I must wear them out pretty good). Anyways, I am now in an Apple iMac 24inch Flat Screen unit and am pretty impressed with it.
However, I have been stuck with all my files on about 6 HD's and 1 Media Drive, averaging from 320 Gigs to 1 Tarabyte.
I thought I would tell you how I decided to manage this all.
I have had a 1 Tarabyte HD installed in the iMac, created Boot Camp drive with Windows XP on half of that. So half is 500 Gigs of XP, and half is 500 Gigs of OSX Apple. (I plan to use Apple for graphics and movies and various media).
Then, I took a Tarabyte HD and cleaned a 360 Gig HD and installed them into a Aluratek CyClone. Its a cool little 'apple' looking aluminum case that holds 2 drives. You can set it up to run RAID, RAID fast, RAID safe, Normal, and 'Big' modes. I have it as Normal so it registers having 2 drives in the box. (BIG reads as a super drive. If you had two 1.5 Tarabyte drives in it, that would be a 3 Tarabyte drive). eeeks!
I then used one drive (the 1TB drive) as the main FS holding tank. All sims are in here, as well as some huge picture folders. (One picture folder was 23 Gigs alone). The other drive in the CyClone is what Apple calls 'Time Machine'. The drive is named 'Time Capsule'. Basically its an enginious little system that backs up files.
Now, that leaves me with a stray 4 HD's and the HP Media Drive. The HP is fine as it is, as it has optional cables so it can be run on the desk, (features a nice little case, etc).
As for the remaining 4 drives, 3 are SATA, one is PATA (old version). I obtained a Vantec NexStar socket drive. This thing is AWESOME. Basically, you simply plug in a HD into the top slot, turn on the button on front, and Voila, your drive shows up on your computer. Turn it off, push the eject button, and the Drive pops loose.
Very cool.. I can hide it behind the Mac when not in use. I can also access SATA drives in the blink of an eye. As a matter of fact, the slot also works with smaller laptop drives. I can open the laptop up and pull the laptop drive out, link into the NexStar, and drag and drop files in high speed fashion into the drive, and replace into the 'lappie'.
So.. Now with TweakFS's FS Registry fixers, I reset my FS installations to the TB drive, and they are all running now. Not on the main HD, keeping it clean and ready for 'work'. I can also backup to the TB drive, and Apple manages the 'Time Capsule' side of it.
I was originally looking for a 4 passenger HD tower, but couldnt find one I liked. One was $15.00 and was basically just a fragile rack, no cables, etc. Some were from $400.00 to $700.00. I think I found one that was around $1,000.00, but that had drives already in it. The silver one I got, the CyClone, was only about $60.00, give or take a few dollars.
It was interesting seeing how they install a HD into a new iMac 24inch case. For those that dont know, its like a small plasma TV with the computer built into the back. Very wild and futuristic. The glass is held on with a powerful magnetic strip all about. Take that off, and you have full access after lifting the screen, which is secured with screws and some wire loom clips. The interior is quite well laid out. Reminds me constantly of a iPod, but gigantic, lol..
By the way, at NewEgg.com, you can get Seagate 1.5 Tarabyte drives for $129.00.... Wish I had known this a couple of weeks ago, arrghh..
Bill
