is 160gb too much??????????

[robin801]

i have 2 80 gb hdd.

i want to be able to put some movies that i have on vhs tapes to cdr.

would i need to use both of these hdd ?

if i only need 1 hdd, what would be the best way to partition?

if i need both hdd, what would be the best way to partition these 2 hdd?

wd 80gb special edition
maxtor 80gb

i have win2k pro


system specs

biostar m7vif mobo
athlon xp 1800+
512mb pc2700
32x cdrw
16x dvd
aiw 7500
sound blaster live

if necessary to use i have a promise controller card.

[Mntsnow]

The HD's will be fine :)

I personally like to make about a 10gig "C" partition and then around 20 gigs for an "Apps" partition and then whatever I feel like for storage

If you plan on storing Movies I will suggest using both HD's and just create like 2 more partitions on the 2nd drive for movie storage

[fosin]

I'd say one 80gb would work for ya. But, one for video and one for boot as he mentioned would be the best IMO. Video eats up a lot of room, but part of an 80 should be plenty. Prob format it as NTFS, I believe it has a larger file size max (4gb?). That is, if you are recording them as avi and converting them to mpeg later after editing. Otherwise, straight to mpeg should hold a tape under the 2gb limit.

If you want one huge drive, you can use Win2k's dynamic disks to make a software raid setup for a 120gb drive and more speed (or mirror them). But, don't use dynamic disks on a boot drive. I only mention it because I know most of us around here like to tinker around :).

[smokin]

I rip a lot of DVD's and they generally take up 8 gigs or so during the process..so you have lots of options. I generally go with a setup similar to what Mnt suggested, except I keep the C drive much smaller. It all comes down to personal preference. But definitely keep both drives.
:)

[Pshawn5]

8 gigs really? wow.

how do they get it down to say those 700 mb files? major compression?

[Mntsnow]

Yes major compression and "very lossy" at that.

[robin801]

ok what is dynamic disks and where/how do i install it?

i've never tried software raid before.

don't the hdd have to be the same make/model?

[fosin]

Same place you manage partitions.

Start->admintools->computer management.
They have lots of info about it in the help files.

"To create a striped volume

Open Disk Management.
Right-click unallocated space on one of the dynamic disks where you want to create the striped volume, and then click Create Volume.
In the Create Volume wizard, click Next, click Striped volume, and then follow the instructions on your screen. "

Note that in DM, right-clicking on the gray area brings up different options (like convert to dynamic) than on the partition.

"You need at least two dynamic disks to create a striped volume. You can create a striped volume onto a maximum of 32 disks. "

[robin801]

right now my box is down. i messed up my win2k partition.

i am going to go with the one 80gb hdd with these partitions:

6gb for os
24gb for program/mp3
50gb for movie

all formatted NTFS.

will this setup be enough for ripping DVD and putting my VHS tapes on cdr?

i am going to put my other 80gb hdd in my soon to be newly built dually.

[robin801]

smokin--can u recommend a program that i can use to rip DVD's?

[smokin]

Sure
:)
explore this site
http://www.vcdhelp.com
:)

[robin801]

smokin---thanks for the site.

[Axel]

http://www.nonags.com/

you might browse the freeware here for some DVD utilities as well -

[Shyguy]

If you already have a DVD player on your PC why do you need a DVD ripping utilty, unless, are planning on ripping a friends DVD's, if you are, are you gonna store them on HD's, CDR's, or what?