windows media player back up

[colins0161]

hi
need some advice i am not the best in the world by a long way with computers.

i have been saving songs onto the media library and have built up qiute a collection now which has took some time, so i would not like to do it all over again.
so is there any way of saving all these to some other removable storage like a disc, cd, dvd, in case my hard drive breaks.
if i was to save to cd-r would i have to do it as if i was burnig a cd and have to copy every track.
is there an easier way as this would take up a lot of time an cds.

any help would be appreciated

[bassman]

Hello colins0161, the short answer is YES. Another alternative would be to use another HDD. Possibly a second on inside your case, or an external one. I think copying to another hard drive might be a bit faster then burning CD's but in either method you still have to copy track for track.

Since I am unfamiliar with using disk imaging tools, I will let someone else comment on that ;).

Good luck

[Sylvander]

The way I do it is:

1. Keep the C: partition as small as possible and keep only the Windows and "Program files" folder [plus odds & ends] on there. My Win98Se installation + 50 odd programs only occupies 1.8Gb of a 3GB partition. It was previously 2GB.
2. Move data such as "My Documents", Windows Address Book, Emails for all identities, Favourites & Temporary Internet Files off C: [D: is where I have them].
3. Separate data into different partitions according to type and use cluster sizes to suit. HUUUUGE files should be held on HUGE partitions with LARGE cluster sizes, that way each file doesn't occupy hundreds of thousands of clusters which can become scattered all over the drive and take a lot of defragmenting.
4. Back up each of these partitions separately to suit their/your needs.
5. The C: partition is the most important. It must be backed up in such a way that it can be restored even if Windows won't boot. I backup mine to CD-RW disks [using (3rd party prog) "Simple Backup"] and can re-format C: and restore to "jump back" to when Windows worked well. This fixes all software problems so far as I know. Once Windows can boot I can restore backups of other partitions from within windows using [backups to a file made by] Windows own "Microsoft Backup".
6. I have just bought, and fixed up for use, an external enclosure holding my old 8GB IDE HDD that connects via USB. I have both USB 1.1 & USB 2.0 and both work, though I believe USB2 is up to 40 times faster. "Microsoft Backup" makes backups direct to that HDD, but they can only be restored when Windows is up and running.
7. An imaging program like "Norton Ghost" is better than the above I believe, but I have "Drive Overlay Software" in use and it appears imaging programs don't work with that in use. I don't think it would be able to access the HDD in the external enclosure when Windows wouldn't boot [because it connects using USB]. I think you'd need to store the backups on a partition on your Primary drive or on a 2nd [your old] HDD [better], or on DVD's or CD's.
8. With such a system of backup and restore, not only would your collection of music and video be safe, but more important, you'd be protected from problems with Windows, Programs, and configuration [all software protected against all problems].

[colins0161]

cheers bassman

but isnt that risky is there a chance i would loose the info from my current hard drive if i try installing a second.

so would i put in a second drive transfer my data then take out the drive to keep it safe.

and just to complicate things a bit more if i had three hard drives could i use one to back up all my files/data, then take it out.
and then with the other two hard drives can i use my current one as the primary for my programmes day to day stuff, and use the secondry to store my music on, thus giving me more space for tracks an easing the running of the computer.

does that make any sense or am i just talking sh*te

[colins0161]

sylvander
cheers for the advice seems a little complicated for me as i am only just getting to grips with computers.

[Sylvander]

Yes, but it's always "easy when you know how".

If you showed a total newbie the things you do now, they'd probably say "woa, too complicated for me".
Think back to when you first began on PC's, then think of what you do now.

I developed the system I use now a little at a time.
That's probably what you should do.
Get something like "Ghost", then you'll ask yourself "ok, where do I put the backups?"
Then you'll find that Windows won't boot and suddenly it's "how do I restore so Windows will boot?"
And "What kind of backup media should I use so I can restore when Windows won't boot?"

You'll find that putting everything on one big partition and making a backup of the whole partition is not the best way to go.

[bassman]

colins, installing a second hard drive (internal or external) should have no ill effect on your existing setup. Only something along the lines of shorting the motherboard or dropping the existing HDD would give you any grief. Installing a second drive is as ordinary as installing more memory ;)
Maybe a full system description now would help us guide you better. What OS? Do you know the size of your current HDD and whether or not it has multipul partitions? How about available space? Do you know if it supports USB2? Do you know the approximate folder size where your music is stored (or if in multipul places, the combined sizes)?

I am thinking that an external USB2 HDD would be a nice setup in this situation as you can just unplug it if so desired and put it in a safe place if needed;) I am currently considering this for myself as I currently have about 9gigs of music and I am getting ready to rip a couple hundred vinyls to my HDD. The time involved in data input for something like this, I only want to go through that once :eek:

Good luck and keep us posted ;)

[Sylvander]

Yes, I'm rather pleased with my external HDD enclosure.
It could be used for anything, but I've chosen to use it for backup. Most of the time it isn't even switched on, so it doesn't show in windows.
It's a pretty good use to which to put an older, smaller HDD that would otherwise go to waste perhaps.
You can connect any number of different types of device, like DVD, CD to the USB2 cable [which includes some electronics rather than the housing, so cuts the cost of each housing].
It can be taken from PC to PC, so can be used to transfer huge amounts of data between PC's.
I bet there are things that can be done I haven't even thought of yet. :D

[colins0161]

Well Thanks Guys For All Your Advice
I Think I Like The Idea Of An External Hdd To Back Up All My Data On, So I Can Detach It From The Computer An Store It Safe.
Thanks Again

[colins0161]

Cheers Guys For The Advice
Think I`m Going To Go With An External Hdd That Can Be Detached And Stored For Safe Keeping

[PrntRhd]

Liked the advice so nice he thanked us twice.
;)