MS750 Backup

[Vintage Pete]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Pete.......The Seagate drives selected for the music servers are the same robust drives used in DVR's, and are designed to a higher standard with greatly extended run time ratings between failures. They have to be higher grade because the drives run 24/7 whether the MS750 is in Standby or playing. I can't think of anyone who has experienced a hard drive failure with their MS300 or MS750. (Of course, now that I have said that, they will come out of the woodwork. )

I will admit it is very time consuming to initially get the MS300/750 hard drive loaded with your music library, but once completed it is a wonderful audio component that offers an extremely convenient way to enjoy your music.

Dan, Seagate I believe is also the manufacturer of the hard drive in my Home security DVR, which does run 24/7 for obvious reasons. I was told that I could expect to replace it every 1-1/2 years or so. That was in February 2008, and it's still going strong.

I don't know whay Seagate would be anay better than say Western Digital or Maxtor but what do I know.

I do have to ask, why would the MS750 drive need to run 24/7? (Again, what do I know).

I can imagine how time consuming it would be to load all of one's CD library. I have probably 800 CD's in my collection too...

I do like the idea of the server from the convenience standpoint-and the ability to find a particular CD quickly. I often spend 20 minutes trying to find a CD, if it's one I don't listen to much and hence don't remember where I keep it in the shelves!

Pete

[jdandy]

Pete.......Hard drive manufactures make several different versions based on the hard drive's application. Drives that remain operating 24/7 are considered extreme duty drives and are manufactured to more rigorous standards using higher grade bearing materials, as I understand it.

One reason the MS750 hard drive remains running is the McIntosh operating system is on the hard drive, and stays booted when the MS750 is in Standby. If power is completely removed, thus shutting down the hard drive, then the server goes through its booting of the operating system, and requires operator set up commands to finally arrive at the state where music can be played or recorded. Additionally, the operating system is automatically updated from Escient via the Ethernet connection to the Internet, and the operating system must be booted for this to take place. This is the primary reason I keep my MS750 powered with an uniteruptable power supply that is powered from one of my Power Plant Premiers.

You are right about the convenience for disc access. It truly spoils you. Using the remote control, you can enter the first letter of a CD, and the menu advances to that portion of the alphabet to speed selection. You can search by cover art, artist name, CD title, and genre. It is very slick. Keep an eye out for a pre-owned MS300. I have seen them for under $2K. You would immediately fall in love with it.

[Victor]

I always just did a full backup about once every 6 months. The last backup I did took about 80 hours.

[jdandy]

Victor.......Holy mackerel. I think my original back up took about 60 hours. Rediculously slow.

[Victor]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Victor.......Holy mackerel. I think my original back up took about 60 hours. Rediculously slow.

The MS750 is a great product and has given me much enjoyment over the years. I can forgive it this minor weakness.

[Sully]

No doubt about it...backup is a pain in the you know what...
But it makes recovery less of a catastrophic event.
If you use the TeraCopy program, you only have the marathon backup to deal with once, thereafter, it will just backup the newly added music files
Sooner or later these drives will fail, and with Escient going out of business, we're going to be on our own for getting them up & running again.
Best to be prepared

[jdandy]

Sully.......I agree. I downloaded TeraCopy yeaterday. I will use it on my next back up of the MS750.

[deafbykhorns]

Originally Posted by Bigbucks5

My procedure results in a backup right away. I don't use the MS to rip CDs. When I buy a CD, I rip it as a FLAC to my PC using Exact Audio Copy. Then I drag one copy to my NAS (configured as RAID 1) and another copy to the MS. So before I ever play the CD, it is backed up on my NAS.

Can the MS play directly from the NAS?

[mike175gr]

Originally Posted by deafbykhorns

Can the MS play directly from the NAS?

Like the SOLOS devices? I don't know...

[deafbykhorns]

I really like the Qnap setup and undecided on using Squeezeboz, Sonos or Qnap media player to access the NAS. Or a combination based on media since I stream video and photo's in the family room. Trying to get away from the microsoft media server.