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Data Back-up

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PHXPhlyer
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Data Back-up

#1 Post by PHXPhlyer » Fri Mar 24, 2023 5:28 pm

I have just acquired an 8T back-up hard drive.
My intention is to consolidate stuff from several hard drives on current computer that are filling up and also from hard drive in previous machine via relocation to USB external enclosure.
My specific concern is moving I-Tunes music files (several hundreds of MBs).
Windows 10 will be the OS.
Any suggestions?

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Boac
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Re: Data Back-up

#2 Post by Boac » Fri Mar 24, 2023 5:37 pm

What specifically is the concern? Are you using a backup programme of just copying?

PHXPhlyer
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Re: Data Back-up

#3 Post by PHXPhlyer » Fri Mar 24, 2023 5:44 pm

The backup drive (Seagate 8T) comes with backup software (now installed yet) but I want to move music files from other drives selectively.
I guess I should hook up the drive and instal the software first before worrying about the process.
One of my projects for the afternoon and beyond.

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Fox3WheresMyBanana
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Re: Data Back-up

#4 Post by Fox3WheresMyBanana » Fri Mar 24, 2023 5:54 pm

I experienced no problems migrating my iTunes files to an external drive (Windows 7), but that was a long while back and I no longer use iTunes.
I have about 100GB of music.
I just block-transferred the files to a folder with the same name on the external drive, in roughly 20 GB lumps, whilst I went to work for the day. I have never used the included software.
Do remember to ensure you are hooked up via your fastest USB port(s), usually USB3.
Then I just changed where iTunes looked for the files.
Backup solid state external hard drives have a longer life if their data isn't rewritten often, so the first things to transfer are stuff like music and movies that you wish to keep permanently and won't be modifying.
Stuff like spreadsheets that you change often should be kept elsewhere.
Programs also can run more slowly if they are on an external drive.
I would recommend having multiple external drives to allow for failures, and get several smaller ones rather than one big one.
The sweetspot of not losing too much value is usually around a half to a quarter of the maximum commonly available size, so about 2T or 4T at the moment, as these come on sale quite often as doorcrasher deals.
I keep copies of my iTunes and other personally valuable files on all my external drives, so I won't lose them when one eventually breaks.
You can now get 128 GB thumb drives and microSD cards at reasonable prices, so I store my music on these also for easy portability between devices - phones, car stereo, etc.
I have found Western Digital to be the most trouble-free, but also have a Seagate. I did have a La Cie some time back, which lasted well, but they are not sold where I now live.

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Re: Data Back-up

#5 Post by Boac » Fri Mar 24, 2023 5:54 pm

See how it goes. Assuming all the target drives are on your PC I cannot see an issue. You can always just copy the I-Tunes media folder separately if need be.

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