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Need help finding a home network storage solution, for computer illiterate user.

D

Doctorsti

macrumors regular
Original poster
We have a 24" Imac 3.06Ghz model with 500GB storage as well as a 500GB Time capsule serving it's backup duties. It has been letting me know it's full for weeks now and I assume it's just replacing changes as the days go by.

The big problem is we have a HD Video camera that we take tons of video of our son on and it takes up crazy amounts of space on the computer hard drive! I'm pretty sure there is only a few GB left on the Imac and I need a solution that can be used for the network.

I have an old Maxtor 1 touch USB 300GB drive that was used as backup for my old Windows laptop (probably 2003-2004 can't remember) that is old and full of random PC stuff I want to keep.

I plan on placing a mac mini in my evolving home theater in the next year or so and want a large central storage solution to play ripped DVDs or personal videos from.

My questions are:
1. Can I use the Maxtor for anything or is it really not worth the trouble?

2. What product or group of products will provide a few TB's of storage that will be accessible either over the network or hardwired to the computer via firewire or something that I can use as a storage and scratch (lingo I think means a place to throw a bunch of raw video to grab clips from to make the edited video)?

My needs summarized:
1. I would like a very large storage space for my Imac in the office that will do all the video editing and storage

2. a network accessible storage place for my wife's macbook when she brings it home from work to share work files from the desktop to her laptop

3. A future use as a media storage beside the internal hard drive of the mac mini in a HTPC application.

Price is important as I don't have a grand to drop on this. Hopefully there is something in the neighborhood of 500 give or take. If there is something that can be added on to so my initial cost is around 500 and then over time I can add to make it larger that would be fine too.

Thanks.

By the way I tried searching but most of the lingo and software is greek to me. I have read about NAS's and Drobos and unRAID and .... I don't understand a word of it. Is there a solution for someone in the medical field that has absolutely no IT skills?
 
I don't know how averse you are to Windows stuff, but the HP MediaSmart servers are the best choice for this kind of stuff, IMHO. It runs Windows Home Server, which will turn a bunch of hard disks (even of different sizes) into what looks like one big one. If you need more space, just pop in another disk. You can also choose which folders you want duplicated onto other disks in case one fails.

You will be able to see and use the shares from your Mac, and the newer ones even have support for Time Machine backups. You will need a Windows machine to set it up, but you say you have an old Windows laptop that will work for that.

I have an EX485, and for the price I just haven't found anything better at the moment. They run around $400 if you can find an EX48x one, or about $500 for the newer ones.
 
ilkhan4 said:
I don't know how averse you are to Windows stuff, but the HP MediaSmart servers are the best choice for this kind of stuff, IMHO. It runs Windows Home Server, which will turn a bunch of hard disks (even of different sizes) into what looks like one big one. If you need more space, just pop in another disk. You can also choose which folders you want duplicated onto other disks in case one fails.

You will be able to see and use the shares from your Mac, and the newer ones even have support for Time Machine backups. You will need a Windows machine to set it up, but you say you have an old Windows laptop that will work for that.

I have an EX485, and for the price I just haven't found anything better at the moment. They run around $400 if you can find an EX48x one, or about $500 for the newer ones.
Click to expand...

I'm not averse to anything at this point, just want something I can understand and use without having any computer networking knowledge that won't come from the user manuals that come with the device. I do have a few windows laptops that could be used to set it up and 650 is not out of the question so the EX495 might be an option.
 
Based on the information you've provided, you probably want to stay away from unRAID because it's more of a do-it-yourself type of thing that will require some tweaking and maybe messing with hardware. A Drobo may be too slow if you will be editing videos off of it (I don't know how well the newer Drobo S, Pros, etc perform, so I can't comment on them). A good performing NAS would probably fit your needs.

I took a quick look at the LG that you linked to, but there was no mention of Time Machine support and/or AFP (AppleTalk Filing Protocol. Handy for people who will be using Macs) support. I suggest you take a look at the Netgear ReadyNAS NV+ or the ReadyNAS Pro. I've read good things about them and setup should be easy enough. The biggest benefit of the ReadyNAS Pro over the NV+ is its ability to be expanded by replacing smaller drives one at a time. The NV+ can also be expanded, but you won't see the additional storage until all of its drives have be upgraded. That should allow it to grow with you as your storage needs increase over time.

Being a NAS, you can access it from your HTPC as well. From what I've read, the ReadyNAS products should be fast enough for your video editing needs.
 
I was just checking out the LaCie 2Big and 5Big Network storage devices. Any info on them from the forum? I have come to the point where I have to get some external storage and RIGHT NOW. I have 100MB left on my IMac local drive and am tiding myself over by reformatting a Maxtor one touch 300 GB USB drive and copying my raw HD video files over to it to free some space up to upload from my video camera and digital SLR.

Has anything new come out from CES that is ideal for a home user with 2 computers to cover for very large storage where I won't be upset that I could have just bought another IMac for the same price?
 
Need help for my daughter's hard drive storage issues

My daughter and I both have iMacs. She downloads a ton of videos clips from Youtube and an occasional movie. She kept getting a message: YOur startup disk is nearly full. After a consult at the Mac Store, she tried moving over 900 items to the Trash and emptied it. This emptying took quite a few hours. BUT, after all that it says that she has only 12 gb out of the 250 or so gb free on the hard drive. Should this have freed up many more gb? Any suggestions? gerbeck
 
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