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Taldrenites => Starfleet Command Models => Topic started by: Starforce2 on February 09, 2005, 01:48:07 am
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has anyone used jazz drives to backup their files?
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Yea a 1 and 2 gig. I wouldnt use them for a long term back up though. I use a dvdrom to back up files.
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why not? Whats the flaw with them? DVD rom actrualy failed me recently, looking for alternatives to fickle writes that CD and DVD RW provide, not to mention something a bit faster than burning dvd's which takes ages.
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Well, Zips and Jazzs are similar and though generally rock solid, they are but glorified floppies and are subject to the same things that can corrupt a floppy easily.
Now that said, I have all my SFC1, EAW, OP, and 3 stuff all on Zips (100 and 250 MB units) and then backed up by CDROMs. Neither method is foolproof or corruption-proof. Depending on the quality of the CDROMs you buy, there is a "shelf life" to them. The inks and dyes used to make the digital patterns in them vary in quality depending by whom and when they were manufactured. Some of the lower quality ones will suffer some data degradation in shorter time. Zips, Jazzs are essentially magnetic and stray magnetic and electric fields can degrade them. Once, a friend put a floppy he just used to record some data in his shirt pocket; when he used it less than a half hour later, it was somehow damaged enough that all data was lost.
You might laugh at me, but stuff that is I consider important is redundantly backed up: on my HD, on a flash drive, a Zip disk, AND a 3.5" floppy (shoot, I'd do a 5.25" one if anyone still made those drives!). Since I normally only buy CD-Rs (not RWs), I use CD backup only when a particular set of files, say my SFC model collection, for argument's sake, reaches "critical mass", i.e., just a little under the capacity of a CDROM (600-750 MB).
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ok. I was just curious. I'ev never had a zip fail. If you store them properly, away from magnetic fields and such they should be alright. I'm thinking of getting one sicne they're cheap on ebay. FYI I've seen zip drives that are 750mb disks on ebay or only 60 bucks if you want an alternative to CD-Rs.
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why not? Whats the flaw with them? DVD rom actrualy failed me recently, looking for alternatives to fickle writes that CD and DVD RW provide, not to mention something a bit faster than burning dvd's which takes ages.
Fair question: Ive seen a few zip disks fail, Ive had many hundreds pass through my hands. Regarding the Jaz, the disks seem very reliable but the drives themselves are prone to failiure. I wouldnt work off a jaz disk although they are fast enough to do so, certainly not a zip. Both are magnetic so they arnt gonna last like an optical disk(cd, dvd, whatever).
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Well, if the drives are prone to failure, then I wouldn't work off them, but as to the disks themselves, since they are magnetic, it is easy to refresh the files by simply copying them, but that's a pain in the neck.
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I have bought remote hard drives, actual hard drives that are set inside (you do this yourself, mind you, very easy) a USB plug and play shell. I haven't have one fail yet, I am using a 80GB and 120GB, and have about everything anyone has built model-wise on it.... they seem very effective, reliable. If not in use, I turn mine on for a few hours or a day or so, just to make sure the gears in the hard drive itself do not become hardened through lack of use.
I don't have any links this very second, but can find some if needed.... these shells usually cost around $40 US, and up, and hardddrives.... so on.
I really reccomend this, myself. Anyone else have other good ideas? Saving things on CD or DVD is a good, cheap idea too...
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I might buy an external drive, or simply a alrger interal one but sometimes I want to take files off the drive.
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I have bought remote hard drives, actual hard drives that are set inside (you do this yourself, mind you, very easy) a USB plug and play shell. I haven't have one fail yet, I am using a 80GB and 120GB, and have about everything anyone has built model-wise on it.... they seem very effective, reliable. If not in use, I turn mine on for a few hours or a day or so, just to make sure the gears in the hard drive itself do not become hardened through lack of use.
I don't have any links this very second, but can find some if needed.... these shells usually cost around $40 US, and up, and hardddrives.... so on.
I really reccomend this, myself. Anyone else have other good ideas? Saving things on CD or DVD is a good, cheap idea too...
Well, you could try Lexar's Jumpdrive Trio. It's sort of like a "3 in 1" card reader that's portable and I use a 256 Mb SD card with it (you can get them in capacities from 64 Mb to 5 Gb if you have the cash) and generally the middle range capacity SD cards are fairly cheap, like $40 to 60 USD. And if you fill one up and are loath to delete, then just remove the card, store it, and insert a fresh one!
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i use a 1GB lexar drive to use for traveling between computers but other than that i usually use DVD to store stuff off the computer
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I've actualy got a compact flash card reader for the digicam, with 256 megs. I've though of that, but 60 bucks a card seems a bit much. that's like paying 60 bucks for a 4.8 gig dvd...
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Yeah, but THIS "DVD" is erasable, rewritable untold times! The only thing you have to worry about is if you remove and insert cards too often, the gold contacts may get worn and then you might lose access to your disk.
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with the SCSI jazz disks, how do they connect? is there a special card for it or is that that plug in the back of the tower? I wonder if I should go usb.
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Yes you need a SCSI card - 50 pin or narrow scsi as they call it. dirt cheap, old tech, its what I run on my Mac, but I would get USB ver2 if they have it.
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usb faster? I just gotta watch how many usb devices I get. Only 1 port seems to be useable here right now, typicaly wont regonise webcams and stuff in the other and I want to get a zip750 which seems to be only avail in usb (to replace my zip250.) I might stick an extra internal hd in that drive slot.
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Narrow 50 pin SCSI is about 20 meg/second (well supposedly on a bright sunshiney day) , I think thats a little faster than USB2, Look for an adaptec 1920 or 2920 card. Ill bet you can find one for 20 bucks or less even...