Warning! Save Your Midi Files

[voice of god]

Just a quick warning to all to save a copy of all your midis onto a C.D.

My computer's harddrive bit the dust 2 days ago and I lost a few files, some that I had been sequencing myself(like Taxiride-Creepin up slowly and Tenacious D- Tribute) Luckily I had a large portion of my files saved to floppys(by sheer luck)

Apparently when you buy a computer its a bit of a lottery, you never know if you got a good harddrive or not and it could die at any second(I didnt know this)

From this day forth I am saving all and any new midis or changes to midis to a CD, EVERY TIME I GET OFF THE COMPUTER.

Cost of CD = $2.00 max. Cost of losing all your valuable midis, with a w-t rating = OFF THE F***ING SCALE ! (just ask Serena)

So please save your midi files(or any files of value to you) to a CD, coz your harddrive could be next.

[tavenger5]

yes, it sucks when hard drives go. What I've done in the past is use one drive for just C drive and use another for everything else. This way if c goes you can just reload windoz and everything. You'll still have all your files on the other drive.

Usually before a drive goes it'll develop bad sectors and your computer will act funny. Make sure to run checks on your drives whenever possible.

[theARTiSAN]

Very true - check you HDDs routinely.
If you don't happen to have 2 physical HardDrives, you can always set up another partition!

I have multiple hard drives, and multiple partitions on my drives. It's a safety net.

Sorry to hear about your drive Voice - if there is anything you are missing (that wasn't backed up) let us know.

[voice of god]

Yes, apparently my harddrive was showing signs of dying, but I'm relatively new to computers, and was unaware what was happening(if only)
It does suck to lose files you've put a lotta work into but its also been a good learning exp.

This may be the most basic of questions (dont worry I'm a quick learner) How do you run checks on hardrive?

I'm also very interested in setting up partitions in my harddrive(I dont have 2 physical drives) How do I go about doing this most effectively? and would setting up partitions guard against total harddrive meltdown?

[KingXII]

Voice of God: partitioning a hdd can't prevent the hdd to die on you. Partitioning is basiclly splitting the drive up. Having an extra hdd isn't necessarly the best either. Hdd spin at high speed most spin around red line of your car, 5600-15,000rpm.

Here are some tips to keep you're hdd in tip top shape. (Note: Hdds will fail no matter how much you prevent it, it's a matter of time.)

1) Since hdd's are spining at such a high rate of speed, heat is generated. Seperate hdd from each other. If each one is stacked right on top of each other you will run into problems faster than you think.

2) Cooling hdds is a big key. Buy a hdd cooling kit that would fit in the 5.25" drive bay (cdrom sized space) and move your hdd into that space.

3) Use scan disk, and make it go thru a through scan, which scans for bad sectors. Bad sectors are cause by corrupt data, improper shutdowns, and a host of many other causes. (Scandisk is included with windows. I recommend using it in a pure DOS enviroment.)

4) Stay with operating systems that will allow a stable and safe shutdown. Windows NT4, NT5(2000), XP has this feature. "I wound up sending 2 new IBM hdd back to IBM due to my OS. Windows ME. My computer was shutting down so fast that the data never got completely saved onto the hdd."

5) Find out the manufacture of the hdd, run it's dianositic program every 2 months to half a year to check for defects in normal drive functions.

6) Back up data. I bought 100 700mb cdrs for only $30. 30 cents a peice. Most cdrs cost at the most $1 in the USA could be more in other places or countries. Quality also plays a factor in the pricing. I use the pricier cdrs for important data, data I really don't want to lose and the semi cheap cdrs for data I don't care about if something terrible happens.

[Gandalf]

Great advice there from 'KingXII'.

For those new to computers, always remember that sooner or later, EVERYTHING electrical, electronic or mechanical will eventually breakdown. These elements are all present in your computer. Nothing works for ever. As KingXII said, its just a matter of time.

So, always 'backup (copy)' software and data which is valuable to you.

Backing up to physically separate media is always best and preferably to media which can be removed from the PC. Using partitions for backup is not so good because it is not physically separate and also because the backup remains in the PC, so it can be deleted by viruses etc.

Best to use floppy, CD's, removable hard disk or magnetic tape. Floppy and CD's are cheap. CD's are reliable and high capacity. Removable hard disks and tape are quick and high capacity. Floppies and CD's are more portable.

As a general rule, hard disks are more reliable than floppy. After a couple of years, expect floppies to develop problems, even if you've kept them clean, dry and away from magnetism. CD's are probably quite long lasting, but only if you avoid scratching them.

Clean your floppy drives and CD-ROM drives regularly dependant on use and environment.

Be ultra careful not to move or knock your PC when its running. Hard drives will fail very quickly if you do this. So... putting your PC on your desk top is probably not a good idea unless your desk is as solid as concrete. Treat your PC with love and care and it'll give you good service for years (bit like a wife).

To those who have lost data..... I sympathise.... most of us learn the hard way and the first time we lose data, its a hard lesson to learn.

[Ralph'e']

i remember getting a virus once, deleted ALL my files! some of them my original music..

very very bad experience, so i know how u feel v.o.g.

[theARTiSAN]

Great advice from King -
Partitioning will not keep a drive from failing. It can help make data recovery more possible, or keep your data safe if you're having to reinstall a crashed OS.
I keep all my non-OS/non-program data OFF my C: partition. All my pics, midis, music, docs, etc are all elsewhere in case Win dies - I lose nothing. If the drive dies it might not help at all though.

Remember, in addition to backing up on CD, you can always make an image of that particular drive. Norton Ghost works well for that.
You can always make a backup of all your data onto a HDD and remove it too... A little more expensive than CD :rolleyes: but helpful if you are backing up large files or large libraries of large files.

[Ralph'e']

wow.. didnt know comps needed such maintenance.

[§ereña]

lol, frogg.........they need 24/7 care....:):):)

and sorry to hear bout ur collection voice, i know just how u feel......and mine were on CD wah titty rating of.......say......147??

[Ronny]

I was worried about my hard drive crashing again so I put all my midis onto the net on my website in a page which didn't have a direct link. I could go at any stage and get my files. HA,HA, I thought. WRONG! The old server went bust and I lost them anyway.
BO~#@*KS!!

CDR is the way forward!!

[KingXII]

Yeah web servers got their own hdd problems too. Their hdd last twice as long but they spin at 10,000 rpm to 15,000 rpm hey I would love a car with a red line like that hehe
back to the subject some web hosts will disable or cancel you're account for stored archives. They must be linked some how some way to your main page or next thing you know it's not there. I only have about 5 files that are not linked in some way to the main page. about 3 are midi's for my background music and the rest is kinda left behind when i added stuff in.

[Ronny]

A car red lining at 15,000, you need a bike. Mine red lines at about 16,500!!

[KingXII]

yeah cars red line at 15,000k but not on road going cars though

[averi04]

Hey..my CPU has a habit of just shutting down or not coming on when you push the power button. Does anyone know what the prop could be?

[Gandalf]

I think much more info is required to make any sensible guesses, but in the meantime, I'd do three things.

1) Check your CPU fan and Power supply fans are working, just in case its an overheating problem.

2) Try and find some sort of trend.... eg. after automatically shutting down, if you press the power on button , does it fail to start up, but if you wait 10 minutes its OK? The power button problem sounds like maybe like the button itself is faulty, but if it's OK when the pc is cold then maybe it's a heat problem.

3) Check all internal cables and wires are connected properly. ie no loose connections.

good luck

[evansst]

I'm new to this site, so this reply may be a bit late...ish....
averi04... you haven't tried overclocking your cpu by any chance?? If so, you may have sentnced it to death
Hey Voice of God.... Have one HDD for C:\ drive and your data on asecond HDD. If someone can help you do a "Ghost" image of your C:\ drive onto a CD, you can restore not only windoze, but all your applications in one hit, just need a CD boot floppy when you replace the HDD

[The Keeper]

to save all your midfiles--upload ALL of them to midibuddy, safe as houses !!!LOL

[KingXII]

hmmm good idea but i think tpearl would hate it. And wouldn't you hate it when a mod decides to delete your post with your midis.

[pfrsucks]

Just set up a RAID stripe with parity and be done with it!

[KingXII]

well if you run off raid 1 and if one of your hdds fail your screwed too!

[cake-raider]

ok touch wood but all i can say is i have 10 year old hard disks which work. thats why when you buy your computer make sure its not (check list)
1. from a small store with a little chinese man in it
2. golo bilo (pov stores here in aus)
3. a no name brand pc. u know thoes dodgy pc shops
4. a second hand one
5. a mac in general :)
6. one that hasnt been used as gun practise in texus

[KingXII]

Originally posted by cake-raider
ok touch wood but all i can say is i have 10 year old hard disks which work. thats why when you buy your computer make sure its not (check list)
1. from a small store with a little chinese man in it
2. golo bilo (pov stores here in aus)
3. a no name brand pc. u know thoes dodgy pc shops
4. a second hand one
5. a mac in general :)
6. one that hasnt been used as gun practise in texus


actually I build my own computer so I know what goes in it so I can't blame anyone but myself if something goes wrong. BTW nothing has gone wrong because I'm still waiting except for the OS which i really have no control of.

[sonyman]

I prevent crashes in several ways:

1. The SMART feature of my hard drive
2. A backup image on another hard drive
3. Backups of important files on DVD-RWs and CD-RWs.

-Scott

[GTO]

You can couple a promise ATA RAID controler and use 2 equal hard drives. The 2nd harddrive is a mirror image of the first. If one goes, you have the backup!

[KingXII]

but it's expensive to have one for mirroring purposes only

[GTO]

It all depends on how much memory you want on your drives.

You can set up a good RAID configuration for both mirroring and speed for alot less then a SCSI RAID configuration.

Tom's hardware has a review of ATA raid cards ranging from less then $50 USD (perfect for common use) all the way up to $600 USD (for server use).

Check www.tomshardware.com for the card reviews.

A $50 card coupled with two ATA100 40 GB hard drives would run you less then $300 and be the ultimate backup. Being, the files are automaticly mirrored on the 2nd hard drive when they are saved/modified on the 1st.

[theARTiSAN]

Some good ideas here...
Another idea ia to create a ZIP or RAR archive of you midi/kar files and store it somewhere safe.
I do a weekly backup of my 14000 (some-odd) files, and copy it to another drive and to a CD. Small price to pay in time and CDs not to have to start your collection over again.
I'd recommend RAR over zip - the compression is better overall and it seems to be able to handle large numbers of small files much better than zip.

[KingXII]

plus it's able to be split up into parts so they will fit on cds pefectly

[KingXII]

:: decides to close outlook and not look at email due to massive amounts of school work today ::

[theARTiSAN]

Good point King -
Although JUST for midis - you probably won't need to split an archive for a CD...
My RAR archive holds a total of nearly 20000 files (midis, Kar, lyrics, tabs, etc) and is just over 120MB (using high compression).

Now that's a different story if you're going to try to store 120MB on a bunch of floppies...

[dstruct2k]

Forget RAR, go with ACE... The newest version of ACE just packed a 5.2 MB installation file for a game I've got into a 720kb archive. WinRar only made it 1.2 MB.

[Superman199]

Once I've downloaded the midi into my phone I delete it from the computer. Let it go man!!

[KingXII]

Originally posted by Superman199
Once I've downloaded the midi into my phone I delete it from the computer. Let it go man!!

since you only download midis and never sequenced one you wouldn't know the amount of work that goes into sequencing a midi.

[naleca]

I have started saving all my midis (13,500) on to a re-writeable CD and I save them once a week as well as that I bought a small 3Gig HD put it in and copied all them on to it and then removed it again. Saving all your midis to CD is wise, being on this site lets you know how valuable your midis are.

[dvd]

using SMART feature on your HD's will slow your performance. But the best way is to get cdrws or another HD? Which harddrive do you have that crashed?(so i won't buy it hehe)

Sometimes haivng 2 HD is better than one, maybe you should get like a extra 30 gig HD.

[tthere10]

Sorry to hear you'd lost your work in progress. I recently plugged in a 21 page score and I got quite paranoid about saving it - it took 30 odd hours! Now it is uploaded to a site so I don't have to worry even if my house burns down - which isn't such a silly thought around these parts.

BYW - I am new and I read somewhere that you could have your midi files rated (somewhere around here)- I am fairly new at sequencing and would love some feedback on a couple of my midis.

T2

[voice of god]

yeah, just post the files you created in the Self-Sequenced section.

By the way, welcome to the boards:)

[GRAMMPS18]

i save i crash more puters than anyone you,v ever seen button pusher ya know, and the fact live with a puter nut never know when i come home if im reforemated or not get things so messed up i think im a puter nuts worst nightmare ehhehee

[CyberCat]

Sound Advice! :)

My hard drive bit the dust a few months ago good thing I always make backups!

[RockOn]

Here's what you do: Buy an x year old computer (doesn't really matter how old, just make sure the HDD is upgradeable, and that it's not that expensive). Then, buy a 120GB (or whatever, however big you want), and put it in the old comp. Network this comp and your current comp together, make sure to back up every once in a while, and voila: you have a 120GB hard drive that you hardly ever have to worry about: no overheating, no possible virii (or is it viruses? Hm...), and plus, you have another computer! Woohoo!

[jigar21]

Does anyone have experience with some of htese internet firms which allow you to back up your critical directories to their servers via a broadband connection at night or other specified time?

[hezdanswe2]

the story goes, the devil was mad because Jesus got all the attention, he went to God and said, man its not fair, give us a challenge so I can out perform him just once. Well God gave each an essay to write in a certain amount of time, so Jesus was typing typing saving and the devil was typing typing typing, both were just about to print, and all of electricty went out, well the deadline came and Jesus went up and handed God His paper, the devil was furious, man he gets all the breaks the stupid electricity went out and I lost everything, God said, you lost because, "Jesus Saves"
I thought this was a great lesson learned, if I have anything important I learned to always save!

[voice of god]

ha!~~~ nice one

[ryeman]

BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP!
Iv'e lost gigs of info and audio over the years, and now i've
learned to backup everything often.

[BLISS]

so how do you save a midi file to cd

[cake-raider]

so how do you save a midi file to cd
lol..... surprised they even got onto the site

[ermines]

there's a program that lets you recovery any accidentally deleted files......even if it has been reformatted.....

in this way, you can save any files you like.....

the name's getdataback

[johnrowley]

Backing up Midi files is definitely a must as I lost 3 hours of programming by tripping over the mains cable when I came back from the toilet! I forgot to save! Currently having a network at home, and on broadband, I use one computer to back up to as a file server, and have a C and D partition. Also back up to CDRW.