Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Storage

CD (with jewel cases) storage ideas?

plungerjoke — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 09:30:02 -0800

How should I store my CD's? Metafilter is the only place where I'm relatively sure no one will say "Get an Ipod." I have upwards of 1500 CD's, and it is a collection I would like to store more attractively. I currently use several mismatched towers, and I have boxes for the overflow. I'd like some sort of large, high capacity shelving unit.

I can spend about 200 dollars either on a pre-built storage unit, or the materials for one I build myself (limited experience, nothing complex).

Does anyone have any ideas? Also, I would like there to be some room for collection-growth.

thanks.

Help me come up with best Mac based server and backup solution for a small business.

jesseendahl — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:27:02 -0800

Help me come up with best Mac based server and backup solution for a small business. Hi,

I have been considering either an XServe or new Mac Pro to replace our aging XServe G4. Either way, I would like to have 8TB (4 x 2TB drives) on-site and 8TB off-site storage. Preferably this storage would be rack-mountable, hot swappable, and eSata. Also, hardware RAID is not really important to me and seems to add a lot of extra costs.

I am currently using SuperDuper for backup since it is a) very fast, and b) retains all permissions and ACLs, which is very important to me. I would like to continue using SuperDuper as my backup software.

The XServe's internal hard drives have to be Apple Drive Modules, which are limited to 1Tb each but have many benefits. See: http://db.tidbits.com/article/10166

Due to the space limitations of the internal XServe hard drives, I am considering using an external rack-mount solution for both the on-site drives as well as the off-site ones.

If I go with a Mac Pro, I would be able to use the internal drive bays for the 8TB of onsite storage, and then only need 4 bays of external rack-mountable hard drive bays.

What are my best bets: XServe with 8 bays external storage or Mac Pro with 4 bays external storage? For the external storage, is it standard practice to purchase "server grade" hard drives for backup purposes?

What brand of eSata card is best for this purpose?

What is the best rack-mountable hot-swappable eSata storage solution?

Last but not least, are there any alternatives to all of the above that I may be overlooking?

Thanks in advance!

Pimp my database!

H. Roark — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:07:45 -0800

Oracle / Storage geeks: What are the alternatives to exadata for high-performance I/O with a rac system? We are getting pretty close to buying an exadata setup and I'm trying to find viable alternatives that are cost-effective and deliver similar performance. We need to be running RAC for load balancing and fault tolerance, so I believe direct attached storage like SSD-arrays is not an option. Buying a dedicated SAN seems to be lower performance and higher cost than exadata. For benchmarking the exadata system we are looking at (1/4 rack) delivers 4.5GB/sec sustained I/O to disk. Our current SAN (which is overly shared) gives us approx 150MB/sec and our 4-nic dnfs systems to a netapp runs at approx 350MB/sec.

So assuming we need at least 3GB/sec and it cant be direct-attached what are other good options out there?

Lets just ignore the other features of exadata that make it fast like smart-scan. Thanks!

I want boxes for my CDs

nowonmai — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:30:23 -0800

What's a good source of some kind of boxes for carting around large numbers of CDs (1000+) in their jewel cases? I will be moving my CD collection around a lot in the near future, and am having trouble finding good boxes to pack them up. I need some kind of boxes the right size to hold CDs, in their jewel cases, roughly the size of the sort of moving boxes you'd pack books in, but I haven't been able to find a source of boxes a good size to pack the CDs in efficiently without gaps. Does anybody know of a source of convenient boxes, or indeed purpose designed boxes? Google will only help me find mailers for single CDs or storage solutions for CDs without cases. I have around 500 or 600 CDs where I am now, and then I'll likelypick up a similar number in a few months.
I am in NYC.
Ripping them all to HD and flogging them is not a option.

Storage facilities in San Diego area

america4 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:27:43 -0800

Recommendations needed for storage facility (eg 5x10 or 10x10 spaces) in the San Diego area, preferably around Del Mar. Looking for inexpensive but also safe place to store miscellaneous belongings/furnishings for several months.

Mmmmm, breeeaaadddd. D'ough!

SquidLips — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:17:19 -0800

Fresh baked bread noob. What's the best way to keep fresh bread dough for 24 hours before baking? So I found an awesome recipe for some fresh bread that I would like to make rolls with for the family Thanksgiving dinner. Problem is there will be some time traveling and spending time at family B for lunch, so I can't go straight from machine to rising on the counter to oven as I'm used to.

I'd like to be able to make the dough the night before, and be able to bake it fresh the next afternoon. What's the best way to go about this? If I let it do its rising cycles, can I then refrigerate the dough overnight and on the way to dinner without affecting its quality? Or would it be better to chill the dough immediately after its done mixing and let it do its rising for the few hours it'll take to drive and make the first family visit?

I do have a timer on the bread machine, so I could set everything up to start mixing early in the AM and be ready to take out and let rise about the time we would leave, but it would sit in the car (in MN - not exactly yeast-rising temps) for the roughly 4 hours it'll probably take to drive to family A, eat/visit, and drive to family B.

Any tips on how to keep the dough? Thanks all!

Best way to store 4 TB of media?

heliostatic — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:58:36 -0800

I'm looking for reliable, scalable storage, around 4 TB. I've got the usual setup: several computers, home network, lots of media to share. Right now, I've got most of the media on a NAS (Infrant NV), which holds ~2 TB with RAID. However, I've got another 2 TB floating around, and I'd rather use the NAS for backup. I don't want to lose the media, but the current setup is expensive and doesn't scale well (i.e. cheaply). I'd be willing to add external storage to an existing computer or build a new file server, but I'm not sure what will scale best over the next couple of years.

Help me make my computer backup checklist

Elminster24 — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:21:00 -0800

BackupFilter: My new replacement laptop arrives tomorrow--help me make sure I don't forget anything critical in my backup process when I transfer everything to the new computer because I have to ship the old one back to Dell (hard drive as well). So here's the situation...I have a Dell XPS m1730 that is being replaced by Dell with an Alienware m17x since my graphics cards fried. The m1730 runs Vista 32-bit and the new one (which arrives tomorrow!!!) will come with Vista 64-bit and a Windows 7 upgrade disc. After doing a little research I've decided I'd like to try doing a clean install of Windows 7 on the new machine (versus just the upgrade option) and I have a laplink cable which will hopefully help facilitate data transfer from the old machine to the new one, although if I need to I can temporarily move things to my 1Tb external Lacie drive.

Now on to the question...

I'd consider myself pretty good with computers but I'm a bit paranoid when it comes to making sure I have a backup of everything I need to and that I've transferred things over the right way. Below are a list of key things that I plan on backing up and the specifics that I think I've got covered in terms of how to transfer the data but I'd love some additional opinions to make sure I am not missing anything important that I wish I'll have later. The reason for this is that once I am completely finished, I need to do a complete HDD wipe and send the old machine (including the HDD) back to Dell to complete the exchange and thus will no longer have access to the machine or data. I considered making a disc image of the drive but I'm not sure how useful that would be for recovery purposes if I won't have a similarly configured machine available to load the image onto.

Also, just a general note...the vast majority of the software I have on there, unless specifically noted otherwise, was...*ahem* "acquired" via Bittorrent. So I will most likely have to redownload everything as I did not save the installers.

1. Web Development
Right now I build my websites in Dreamweaver and have several site profiles setup that I need to transfer...not quite sure how to do that. I also have a local server setup via XAMPP.

A. How do I backup my Dreamweaver sites properly so that all the site logins and file paths aren't completely messed up?

B. How do I properly transfer my XAMPP server which houses several several databases from Wordpress installs and multiple sites?

2. Design
I have Photoshop CS3 installed currently. Since I need to redownload it I'll most likely just grab CS4. However I have several brush packs, fonts, patterns, filters, etc. on the current machine. What is the best way to back this up?

3. Internet
I use Firefox 3.0.12 and have a TON of addons and themes. I successfully used FEBE to transfer my bookmarks, profile, addons, themes etc. between machines in the past but I'm worried that it won't work if I try to load the backup into a newer version of FF.

A. Anybody know if FEBE can load a backup from an older version of FF into a new one?

4. Media
I don't have any music I've purchased off of the ITMS or anything but I have a ton of MP3s and iTunes is music software of choice. My photos are stored in my documents and I use Picasa to manage them.

A. Do I need to do anything with my iPod and iTunes on my old machine like deauthorize or anything?

B. Is backing up photos as simple as copying them all and then putting them on the new machine and just importing them into Picasa again?

Aside from those four things, I think the rest of the files on there are fairly straightforward things to copy/transfer--mainly MS Office files and some user data/preferences from games like Savage 2 and Battlefield. Is there anything else I'm forgetting about here that is crucial? I feel like I'm forgetting some important things that I'm going to really be pissed about once I wipe the drive... And speaking of wiping the drive, I don't want anybody getting a refurbished machine with my old HDD in it and accessing my data. What is a FREE guaranteed way to completely wipe the drive?

I understand this is a pretty meaty AskMeFi question so if you're able to provide answers to all the parts you're a rockstar, and even if you can only provide some, I'll take any advice I can get on this as I only get one shot at this and need to do it right. Happy to answer any additional questions anybody has.

I'm going home! (for 2 weeks)

Fiat124 — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 08:39:18 -0800

ExpatFilter: American Expat returning home for 2 weeks. What should I do while I am home? BonusFilter: Help me decide what to do with all my worldly posessions that didnt go Expat with me. I'm an American Expat whose been living in the Far/Middle East for the last 3 years. I'm returning home for 2 weeks for vacation and to visit family and friends whom I havent seen since I left.

2 Part Question:

1 - What things should I do in my hometown (San Antonio, Tx) since I will physically be there? One example is getting my Drivers License updated as it will be expiring next year. I'll also be getting a safety deposit box at my bank to store my important papers (currently being stored in a firebox at my parent's house). Fun suggestions welcome too.

2 - Before I left, I basically threw all my junk that wouldnt fit in my luggage into a 10'x20' climate controlled storage unit and left. Most of this stuff is not worth shipping overseas (3BR House worth of furniture, small appliances, books, old clothes, etc). What should I do with it all? My first thought was donating to a Veterans group but the ones my parents contacted all said they really only wanted money instead of household goods. Goodwill is my last resort as they will come and get it all. Any other recommendations? Tax deductible preferred but not required.

Thank you for taking the time to read.

Not-so-Fantastic Plastic

Miko — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:19:55 -0800

Can you help my household kick the plastic habit? I've been reading all sorts of creepy things about plastics lately, and really want to stop using them as much as possible, especially for food storage and heating.

I've been using Pyrex refrigerator dishes for leftovers for a long time, and have a bunch of old-school Thermoses that still work well. I've become aware of round metal "tiffin" containers, but haven't bought any yet. We store a lot of grains, beans, and spices in canning jars in the cupboards.

Beyond that, I'm still searching for solutions. Things like: when I want to pop a bowl of dough or something in the fridge with an airtight cover, what can I use? Are there reusable sandwich bags or food wrap of some material other than plastic? What about sandwich-shaped containers? What can go into the freezer and provide a real seal - as for frozen pizza dough, leftovers, etc?

A lot of cosmetic products come in plastics, too. Any ways of getting around that?

Thanks all.

How do we fit all this stuff in a Hyundai?

RobotVoodooPower — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:17:34 -0800

What's the best way to carry cargo on extended road trip with a mid-size SUV? We are going for an extended road trip (>6 months) and are taking all essential possessions needed to work, live, and play on the road. We will need to take clothes, camping gear, personal stuff, computers, portable bikes -- about 70 cubic feet of stuff, we estimate. We also need the cargo secured when we can't take it all indoors (hotels, for instance).

Our ride is a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe with two passengers. The initial idea was to just pull a small cargo trailer, but is there any other combination of roof racks / trunk racks that would maximize our rolling storage capacity?

Kitchen storage dilemma

mosk — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:09:43 -0800

[KitchenStorageFilter]: OK, this is pretty mundane, but we'd like to toss our old kitchen storage/Tupperware-wannabee containers and would appreciate some recommendations so we can replace them with something good. These sorts of purchases seem to persist for a very long time, so I want to make a good decision this time around. The last time we did this was 10+ years ago with an extended set from Costco, and those containers sucked.

I've recently seen the Snapware containers at Costco and Target, and they seem to have some attractive qualities: removable rubber seals, compact storage, fairly cheap, etc. So for purposes of getting a conversation started, I'll put those out there as something we're looking at, but I worry that the hinges on the sides of the lid will fail pretty quickly.

Last data point: We use these mostly for leftovers stored in the refrigerator, so they don't travel much, however, they will be subject to a horrific number of hot/cold and wet/dry cycles.

So many shoes, so little space!

gilsonal — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:25:33 -0800

Organizing fans: Help me figure out what to do with my shoes in my miniature entryway/kitchen this winter! My apartment opens right into my kitchen; the stove is right next to the door. This means that I don't have a nice hall closet or anyplace to put my shoes. In the summer it wasn't a problem since i would wear sandals every day, but come winter I have more shoe options (two kinds of boots, tennis shoes, etc) and therefore more shoes cluttering a small place.

I had a shoe rack but that takes up floor space I'd rather avoid using. It just made the area cluttered. I've only got about two square feet of floor space that wouldn't result in tripping or being unable to open the door. Something that went on the door or wall would be ideal, but I'm not sure a traditional over-the-door shoe rack would fit over my outside door, or if it would result in a compression of weather stripping and therefore more drafts. To give you an idea of the space I'm working in, this is what my entryway looks like:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11691760@N00/4007252406/

Does anybody have any great tricks/suggestions?

My girlfriend is getting a bit suspicious that I keep googling for a "nice rack."

history is a weapon — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 08:10:59 -0800

I can't believe I'm asking this, but I want a magazine rack next to my toilet and can't seem to find one anywhere that doesn't look like it belongs at my grandparents' house. Dimensions about 6 1/2" width (from toilet to wall), the height is less important, and the depth is up to 17" or so.
Ideally, it would be a like a simple metal bin, but not weaved wire, wire mesh, or plastic thing. It'd be nice if it looked sturdy.
I'm in NYC and I'd love to see it and pick it up in person if possible. I went to all these yuppie furniture places (like ABC Carpet and Home) and came up completely empty handed. Does anyone know where I can pick up a cool industrial looking magazine rack or a simple metal box with roughly those dimensions? If it's not in NYC, that's fine. I just need a place to store the current month worth of magazines.

I promise my next question will involve the overthrow of the capitalist state.

Little deaths 4kb at a time

arniec — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:27:59 -0800

Is my data gone? Convoluted data storage question involving two Macs, a Drobo, and some file permission errors... Question on possible recovery options, and questions on how to stop it from happening again. I have recently switched to a mostly Mac household, with one Windows XP machine and one Windows laptop still around.

For data storage I picked up a Drobo and put in 3 1TB disks on it. I have it hooked to a Mac Mini on the network so it can be used for data storage. I have been moving files off my primary machine (a Macbook Pro) to the Drobo when space was needed on my hard drive.

I have gone back to get some of that data and I cannot get to it. I get the error message:

Item "itemName" is used by Mac OS X and cannot be opened.

I have tried opening these files from my Macbook Pro, from the Mac Mini where the Drobo is directly connected, I've tried moving the files to a new location, opening the files, etc. and I keep getting that same message.

I have checked and even reset all the file permissions to ensure my account does have rights but still the file won't open.

Now it appears many of the files are only 4k or 8k making me think that something went wrong. I'm guessing these files are names only taking up the minimum possible space on the disk and that my data is gone...is that right?

But I don't know if something went wrong when moving the data to the Drobo, when just being stored on the Drobo, or something else. Has anyone encountered anything like this at all?

Please help me store my oats.

The corpse in the library — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:43:24 -0800

Please help me find the perfect oatmeal container. My mother-in-law has an oatmeal container I covet, and I'm trying to find one for myself. I want it to:

- be clear
- be sturdy
- have a secure lid that's easy to open
- be around 4 quarts (bigger is okay)
- have a nook on the outside for holding a scoop, and the scoop should be 1/4 cup or larger
- be available in the USA, preferably on-line, or else in a store in the Seattle area

I don't want to put the scoop inside the container, I want it to be attached to the outside. Yeah, I know, I'm being very picky, but I cook a lot of oatmeal. The container my MIL has is about 30 years old and has no useful information. I like these, but they don't have the scoop receptacle. We go through oats quickly and don't need to worry about them getting rancid.

Suggestions?

Cloud File Storage with Tagging

king walnut — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:15:26 -0800

What's a good cloud file storage service that has TAGGING? It doesn't have to be free. I've looked through dozens of reviews, and I can't find one that offers file tagging. At least none of the ones that look like they'll still be around next year.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

I need help storing hundreds of clothing items in a manner that I can quickly access them.

2legit2quit — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 07:36:50 -0800

Please help me manage my clothing inventory in a smallish office! I am not just limited to closet organizers and have an entire room to get this together. I own a small on-line business that sells clothing among other things. I have approximately 1,000 hanging items (shirts, sweaters, jackets, etc) at any given time and need an efficient way to store them in a smallish office. I have tried garment holders such as: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=11072970
and also large plastic bins.

The bins work nice, but it is a huge hassle to get to the right bin and to find the correct size when processing orders. The garment holders are nice also, but they take up too much space and all but the most expensive ones seem to fall apart after a month or two.

My ideal solution would have the following characteristics:

1. Each size in each item is separate, or at least very easy to locate.
2. Easy to get in and out of each storage device.
3. CLEAN. Items must be protected from dust.

Thank you for your help!!

How to make my LaCie 5big NAS better?

Señor Pantalones — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:55:32 -0800

LaCie 5Big NAS hacks/modifications/tricks? Just got a 5Big NAS (5TB) running RAID5. Has a built-in torrent client but it's pretty weak. Any way to hack it to run a linux distro of Transmission or Vuze, something like that? Any other tricks that make this box better (aside from "spend $1500 more and get a readyNAS")

Thanks!

Monstrous boxes don't fit under my bed!

hamsterdam — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:11:51 -0800

What are some good under bed storage solutions that are shorter than the average 6" tall under bed box? Most boxes and containers sold for under bed storage purposes are 6" or 6 1/2" tall. My bed only has 4 3/4" of clearance underneath it, which obviously doesn't work. Does anyone have any clever ideas for off-size under bed organization, short of building my own boxes?

Assume bed risers are not an option.

How to store silicone sex toys

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 09:59:59 -0800

We need suggestions on how to safely and cleanly store silicone sex toys. With standard plastic sex toys we have always stored them in a bedside drawer just tossed in (after being washed of course) or sometimes a duffel bag. But after finding out about the germs and cancer risk caused by normal plastic toys (porous) we have upgraded to safe, sterile silicone and glass only.

But for those who don't know...silicone toys can't touch in storage. Fir reasons beyond my small brain's lack of comprehending molecular science, if two silicone toys touch for an extended period if time...they melt. It's happened to us and the rest is..disturbing.

Well we just got some new silicone toys and aren't sure how to store them in a manner that is convenient (I.e. Not one toy per bedroom drawer) and also won't cause them to melt. The glass toys come in nice padded bags, but nit the silicone. I've thought of wrapping them in a handtowel fir storage but I fear that may leave residue.

Suggestions??

How can I swap large .wav files back and forth for a long distance music collaboration?

markjamesmurphy — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 18:37:47 -0800

My cousin in New Hampshire wants to collaborate on music with me. I'm in Seattle. I'd like to figure out a convenient way for us to pass large .wav files to each other. I can pull his completed rock songs into a multitracking program and create vocal tracks - then I need to pass the vocal tracks back to him in the form of .wav files so he can add them to the mix on his end. I know there are web based file storage sites, and I can randomly try some out, but I thought I'd start with the hive mind: Can anyone recommend a service like this? I'm thinking free, uncomplicated and capable of handling large file sizes. The files don't need to live there for a long time - just a reasonable window of time to pass them back and forth. Have any of you done this kind of thing?

who will think of the towels?

pinky — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 06:08:37 -0800

If you don't have a linen closet, where do you keep your towels and sheets? I was cleaning out our guest room and realized that the large decorative wooden chest that we cram all our extra blankets, afghans, sheets and towels in was straining at the seams, so I took the towels out. But now I have nowhere to put them. I've tried storing linens in large plastic totes before, but they always end up musty.

Do you have an actual piece of furniture for this purpose? Link it!

One drive to rule them all

Hands of Manos — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 06:42:44 -0800

I'd like to import my DVD collection onto a harddrive but then be able to watch it through the tv. What are my options? I have a Mac, I have plenty of harddrive space and a lot of movies. What'd like to do is somehow be able to get rid of all the dvd's laying around (that don't get put back in their case and/or get lost/damaged) by backing them up on a harddrive but then somehow be able to watch them on my tv.

I've heard Apple TV can do this, I've also heard there is a cheap alternative of using an unused laptop to do this feature as well querying iTunes. I've also heard of something called Boxee?

I believe there is a program called Handbrake that imports your movies for Mac.

Anyway, I don't want to go through a lot of hooplah to watch a movie. I'd just like to sit down, press a button and queue up a movie.

The TV is hd (I think...on the back it says "HD/DVD IN"...there are a million things to plug in the back of it...it's an older TV but apparently HD...one of the earlier models...I had a guy with an Apple TV look at the back of my TV and said "yep, it'll work!").

I'm okay with dropping a little bit of cash for this, if it'll help solve the spilling out of DVD's...I'd say I have about 50 movies. I've got a few large harddrives that would fit a number of them on there (I don't have to burn everyone on there, but there are certain ones I'd like).

So what's my options?

Glass Storage

dreamphone — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:53:47 -0800

Best small glass dishes (with lids) for refrigerated storage? Looking for your recommendation: I need glass storage of various smallish sizes to store leftover bits of food (mainly toddler-sized portions, say from 1/4-cup to 1-cup sizes). Anyone have good small glass storage with lids that fit and don't get unusably misshapen by the dishwasher? Thanks!