Internal/External Hard Drive Questions

[analyst44]

Hi:

I've searched around the forum for answers to this and cannot seem to find exactly what I am looking for.

Background:

I am currently using a Dell D610 Latitude Laptop with an internal Hitachi 60 GB 7200 RPM HD, 1.86 Pentium M processor and 512 MB RAM. I use it to rip/decrypt/burn DVDs but am finding that if I don't turn around and burn them quickly, they take up so much space (especially dual layer rips at 8+ GB).

Rather than use all of my HD space for this, I am thinking about investing in another HD (probably an internal HD with an external case over a traditional external HD which would be more expensive.

My questions:

Are there any problems/hiccups in decrypting/ripping straight to a USB 2.0 connected HD? On a separate note, but while I have you, is decrypting/ripping the same as burning in terms of not doing anything else while the computer is performing that action or is it ok to work in other programs while you rip/decrypt since it's just a copy?

Are there any problems/hiccups burning straight from a USB 2.0 HD to my internal NEC DVD Burner?

Finally, I am under the impression that these types of hard drives can now be connected via router to a network so they don't have to be connected straight to a computer. Under any circumstances for the two questions above would it be acceptable to either decrypt/rip or burn from the network (assuming that it does plug in) to the DVD burner or am I just asking for headaches?

Thanks!!
Mike

[UncasMS]

i personally wouldnt go for an usb2 based harddrive; firewire would be my choice when it comes to external drives

[analyst44]

can you elaborate as to why?? i don't believe it came with a firewire port, though i am not sure.

what about the other questions? are there problems with that?
-

[UncasMS]

i don't believe it came with a firewire port, though i am not sure.

i thought you were THINKING about a new external drive
this statement of yours implies you already have one?

if that's the case, i dont fully understant your question

Are there any problems/hiccups in decrypting/ripping straight to a USB 2.0 connected HD?

this could very well be the case - usb2 speed may be ok, buit i'd rather not rely on it

firewire or ethernet, however, is something i trust

On a separate note, but while I have you, is decrypting/ripping the same as burning in terms of not doing anything else while the computer is performing that action or is it ok to work in other programs while you rip/decrypt since it's just a copy?

ripping is usually the process of transferring the data from dvd to harddrive
this process can be demanding for your hardware but there is no need to stay *away from keyboard* ^_~

when converting (i.e. reducing the data to fit on a dvd5) your data you can use your pc as well - of course the conversion will take up resources and thus other highly demanding processes can be slowed down considerably

but no need NOT to use your pc when ripping, converting or burning

[analyst44]

I meant that I don't think my computer came with a fire-wire port. I'll have to check it to make sure, but I don't think it does. I have not bought the HD yet.

Re: The other stuff. I thought for burning it was always best not to run anything on the PC at all. Am I mistaken on that? I wasn't sure on the Ripping/Decrypting/Processing side (thanks for clearing that up) but I did think I read on here in more than one place to only run the burning software when it's going to avoid problems with the burn. So, I am a little confused about that.

Will keep all that other stuff in mind. Unfortunately, USB 2.0 might be my only choice if the laptop doesn't have firewire. I thought 2.0 and firewire were essentially the same in terms of speed -- or at least only marginally off (?).

Thanks for your help.

[UncasMS]

not being a laptop user, i have never stopped multitasling my pc when burning

maybe you should test your machine a little using a rewritable
and keep in mind not to use to fast burn speeds anyway

being able to burn my ricoh media 16x i stick to 4x for better quality