External Storage Devices - Usb

[Damon Pedersen]

I was reading that USB storage devices are becoming a very cheap and practical storage method for data. I was wondering, has anyone used these for appraisals? We have a la mode software and use the Vault system, but the more you store there, the higher the cost and I can foresee a time down the road when there are 1,000s of reports in the Vault, it could get pretty spendy.

I was just wondering if anyone has done this, what their results have been? Appraisals with maps, plats, etc. scanned in get to be pretty large files so I was wondering if this is even practical. Maybe the storage will only hold several appraisals - I guess I do not know. Someone help me if you can!

Thanks

 

[Anthem]

I have an 80GB USB Hardrive that cost me less than $150. I use it for backup. The nice thing is you can plug it into any PC and immediately have access to the files on it. It works great.

 

[Ramon Tate]

Assuming say.... 20 mb appraisal report file, you can store about 50 per Gigabyte. On a 200 GB usb drive that's 10,000 reports!

Fast? Plenty for archiving.

Personally, I strongly believe in redundancy. I use Laplink software to keep my desktop and laptop synchronized. That's two hard drives with my appraisal files. When the info gets old enough or isn't likely to be used, I'll archive it on the second hard disk of my desktop computer AND burn a CD as well. Paranoid? Yes, I'll admit to that. It's what happens when you only thought you had the backup process licked by keeping separate hard drives synched with the same data but then see those two synched hard drives, on two separate machines, crash within 48 hours of each other and wind up losing many hundreds of hours of personally collected research data. Although its certainly fast enough to work from, I only use the external usb hard drive as a backup archive.

 

[Timothy Wixted]

Originally posted by Ramon Tate@Apr 2 2005, 02:52 AM
Assuming say.... 20 mb appraisal report file, you can store about 50 per Gigabyte. On a 200 GB usb drive that's 10,000 reports!

Actually 20 mb per report may be overstating it. We have 1200 files MOL in the Vault with an average of 3.01 mb per report. Granted some of those reports are probably incomplete and there are 442's in there as well, but they don't take up much space. And extra hard drive storage space is now relatively cheap and easy to use. I wouldn't overbuy though, just as much as you need for the next year or so as prices will probably continue to come down and the storage will get even easier to use. Just be sure whatever you buy has the ability to add more space.

Tim

 

[Carnivore]

All you need is an OLD operational hard drive and an enclosure kit(for safety).

You can use an old 3.5 inch or like me you can use a 2.5 laptop 40GB HD that I salvaged from a llaptop that blew up recently.

I prefer the 2.5, because I use a laptop and you can run this off the USB port. Its very small and will fit easily into my laptop briefcase.

A 3.5 HD will require an external power supply, its much larger and heavier but just as good if not better if you dont need portability.

Go to EBAY for all your needs.

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Heres an idea for serious consideration. Buy a HD larger than your current drive.
Buy a mirror imageng software and back up your total HD once a month. If your current drive fails you can be up an running in about hour.

Use an alternate means to save data between monthly total backups. I use a PCMICA card with a 1 gigabyte Sandisk card. Plenty of room for monthly temporary data.

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ftr, my laptop motherboard fried. The CPU was soldered into it and repair exceeded the total current value if it were operational. I am parting it out to recover some of my replacement cost for a new laptop($1,020).

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Paranoid? Yes, I'll admit to that.

no, they really are out to get you...evil spirits lurk in computers.

I salvaged the old hard drive out of my 1997 circa computer and have it in the computer as a storage. Each report gets a number prefaced with the year so i am currently in 5xxx. This storages them in order as they are created. X reference to my assignments log.

I burn about once a month. twice. I also use zip drives but CD's are so much easier and cheaper, but zips have a place in my work. My latest "thang" is these little plastic memory card devices. Plug in the front of my computer, suck out a bunch of stuff I need and take to the laptop...great. Will carry a lot of reports and pix back and forth between me and my subs. Use a neck lanyard string to carry it.

For my narratives, I put the entire file in the harddrive including scans, etc. but I purge the file in the computer down to the final .pdf which goes no the CD. Can get nearly a year's worth work on 1 CD.

 

[Jeff Horton]

Paranoid? Yes, I'll admit to that.

Just because you are paranoid doesn'tt mean someone/something isn't out to get you!

 

[Bill Rose]

Paranoia scares me!!!

 

[Anthem]

Thats how I did it I bought a good Harddrive and a cheap enclosure kit, Took me about 2 minutes to assemble, plug it in , and Go!

 

[Carnivore]

Heres a backup solution for you laptop users.


2.5 inch hard drive with enclosure