Rats!

The 1.6TB storage device (over 80% used) I was using (which was a Stardom Sohotank U7-4-B2) to archive my recorded shows is not working anymore. I’ve not had a chance to verify it’s only the hardware device and not the drives themselves which is not working. (I don’t even want to think that it may be the drives.)

_{Good news, it looks like all the data on the drives is ok.}

Anyway, so I’ve now ordered a 4TB storage device which supports RAID5, which means in theory, I should have 3TB of usable storage while still having complete recovery capabilities in case of a bad hard drive (just not two at the same time).

_{OK, it’s not much for looks, but anyway…}

However, RAID5 also means if something happens to the hardware, I would have no way of recovering the data except buying another storage device which supports a 4-drive RAID5 set up…

I decided not on the Drobo as someone had a bad experience losing all data using one… so although it may have been a fluke, it’s kind of sad when the device which is supposed to automatically provide redundant storage capability fails on you. I am hopeful that with future versions of Drobo, they’ll work out this flaw.

See more progress on: set up my home theater PC

External hard drive failure

External hard drive device failed. It was a Stardom U74B2 which I bought in June 2006. This means it lasted one year and 4 months. Warranty for this device was one year.

More storage...

It would also be useful to have a USB flash memory storage device to carry around from computer to computer. It would be especially nice if plugging in the device would allow personalized settings to be on the USB flash drive too, so that just plugging it in will basically turn that computer into your own personalized computer. (On a side note, it would be good to have one which can be used to boot up Linux. And finally, it would be nice to have a USB flash drive for storing music which can be played on our FM modulator/transmitter.)

The best candidate at the moment is the Sandisk Titanium model for its durability. It comes in a 2GB model for a reasonable price. However, it would also be great if I could get one with 4GB, 8GB or even more...

• Notes storage is currently 7GB.
• My Documents storage (including Notes) is currently 20GB.
• Documents and Settings for my Windows login is 23GB.

L170 supports 1280 x 1024 or not...

I've moved the desktop which was in the study to upstairs, so that Kyoko can use her ThinkPad in the study with her new desk. I kept the old monitor in the study, and when I moved the computer upstairs, I hooked it up with a different monitor, the ThinkVision L170.

It's supposed to support 1280 x 1024 and from what I can tell when booting up Windows, Windows seems to recognize 1280 x 1024. However, the Intel graphics card seems to think that monitor can only support 1024 x 768. Therefore, when trying to configure 1280 x 1024, it then requires me to scroll the screen in order to see 1280 x 1024.

Baffling..! Aggravating!

Need more!

Already having more than 1TB to store recorded movies does not seem enough. Besides, with individual hard drive enclosures, I would prefer something which (1) allows power down when idling and (2) has a cooling fan built in.

I may have found a good candidate in the Sohotank U7-4-B2. The 4 stands for 4 bays and the B2 is for USB2.