Warning! Save Your Midi Files

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.

---

› See More: Warning! Save Your Midi Files

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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 but helpful if you are backing up large files or large libraries of large files.

wow.. didnt know comps needed such maintenance.

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??

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!!

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.

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

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

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?