VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

CarynClark · Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:44 pm Post subject: external hard drive

this is apparently not my week... good thing it's almost over.

I have a Western Digital External Hard Drive, to which I save my ProTools files, among other things.

Earlier this afternoon, I received a funky error message when saving my ProTools file... basically saying it couldn't save b/c it couldn't find the drive. Of course, like a ding dong, I didn't think anything of it. I had received this message in the past, and when I restarted, all was well.

Now I restarted my computer and the drive doesn't even show up when I look for it on Window Explore.

Please don't tell me I've lost everything. I'll seriously cry.
_________________
Caryn Clark... The Hip Chick Voice!

"A positive mental attitude and having faith in your ability is quite different from being irresponsible and downright stupid." - Dave

Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:45 pm Post subject:

so you've rebooted and no dice? Ok, try plugging it into a different computer if you have access to one. This will give you a good idea whether it's the drive or something in Windows.
_________________
Jeff
http://JeffreyKafer.com
Voice-overload Web comic: http://voice-overload.com

CarynClark · Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:48 pm Post subject:

I gotta take it to my husband's office. I'll do it right now....

I'm sick to my stomach.
_________________
Caryn Clark... The Hip Chick Voice!

"A positive mental attitude and having faith in your ability is quite different from being irresponsible and downright stupid." - Dave

louzucaro · Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:48 pm Post subject:

Also, is it USB or Firewire? And what version of Windows are you running?

Before you take Jeff's good advice and try it on another computer, try disconnecting it from your PC, then powering down the drive, then plug it back in and power it up again.

I've noticed that sometimes with USB and even moreso with Firewire that "hiccups" in the electrical flow through the cable can wreak havoc. Sometimes you just need to disconnect / reconnect the device physically, even if you've rebooted, before it fixes itself.
_________________
Lou Zucaro
http://www.voicehero.com

"Well, yeah, there's my favorite leaf!"

Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:49 pm Post subject:

remember to breath, Caryn.

Lou's advice is excellent. Try that before you go running off.
_________________
Jeff
http://JeffreyKafer.com
Voice-overload Web comic: http://voice-overload.com

CarynClark · Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:02 pm Post subject:

Too late... I already drove off.

But, the good news is.... I plugged it in here and all is well. Everything's there.

Now, I am breathing. Though, I prolly lost some brain cells from lack of O2 for not breathing for a few minutes.

Ok, I'm running back home to re-plug it in...

THANKS!!!!

PS: It's USB.

Hobo Tounge

S: I'm on Windows XP
_________________
Caryn Clark... The Hip Chick Voice!

"A positive mental attitude and having faith in your ability is quite different from being irresponsible and downright stupid." - Dave

CarynClark · Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:21 pm Post subject:

Ok, I'm home and it works here too.

Thanks Lou and Jeff. I gotta say, I feel like the problem child this week. Jeff, you probably heard me shriek all the way in WA state when this happened.

I'm praying for no more equipment issues... or I'll put it all up for sale and go work at The Gap.
_________________
Caryn Clark... The Hip Chick Voice!

"A positive mental attitude and having faith in your ability is quite different from being irresponsible and downright stupid." - Dave

Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:27 pm Post subject:

so what did we learn here?

Backup crucial data.
_________________
Jeff
http://JeffreyKafer.com
Voice-overload Web comic: http://voice-overload.com

bobsouer · Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:29 pm Post subject:

Jeff,

To buy a second external hard drive and make a copy of everything on that?
_________________
Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express

Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:30 pm Post subject:

or back it up on her main computer.

As you know, the definition of backup is having the same data in 2 places in case one of those places goes south.
_________________
Jeff
http://JeffreyKafer.com
Voice-overload Web comic: http://voice-overload.com

CarynClark · Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:32 pm Post subject:

<sigh>

So, is the recommendation to save everything on my hard drive first, and then just use the external hard drive as a nightly backup?

I'm using my external hard drive as my main source of saving for most things important. No?

I did always wonder what would keep an external hard drive from crashing similar to that of the hard drive in my computer. What's the difference?
_________________
Caryn Clark... The Hip Chick Voice!

"A positive mental attitude and having faith in your ability is quite different from being irresponsible and downright stupid." - Dave

bobsouer · Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:35 pm Post subject:

Caryn,

Nothing except the case.
_________________
Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express

Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:36 pm Post subject:

your external hard drive probably came with backup software. Most do. You can certainly save to your main hard drive and run the backup software to copy crucial data to your external drive.

So to answer your question. Yes, working off your main hard drive and backing up to your external is probably the easiest way to get where youneed to be.

Bob's right. An external drive is the exact same thing as an internal drive. except it has a pretty case.
_________________
Jeff
http://JeffreyKafer.com
Voice-overload Web comic: http://voice-overload.com

louzucaro · Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:41 pm Post subject:

Unfortunately, a lot of the external drives have stopped including backup software, but yeah, many still do.

At home and at work, I always save to my primary (internal) drive and use the external drive for backup.

On my DAW, I use RAID-5 which means that if a drive goes bad, theoretically (never have had to try it), I can just replace that drive and all my data is still there.

I'm curious, though...I've noticed a tendency for my external drives, primarily Maxtors, to actually fail much more often than a "regular" internal IDE or SATA drive. Like "once every few years" as opposed to "almost never".

Anybody else notice this too?
_________________
Lou Zucaro
http://www.voicehero.com

"Well, yeah, there's my favorite leaf!"

CarynClark · Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:44 pm Post subject:

EXCEPT, that the external hard drive has a lot more memory than my computer's hard drive, right?

I think that was one of the reasons I began using the external as my main drive.

Hmmm...
_________________
Caryn Clark... The Hip Chick Voice!

"A positive mental attitude and having faith in your ability is quite different from being irresponsible and downright stupid." - Dave