Storage Question - Can this be done?

[ckurt25]

I'm running out of HD space on my MB (only 120 GB). I currently have a 40 GB TV and love it. What I've been doing to save space on my MB was syncing movies with the TV then find the files with Finder and delete them. The info stays in iTunes and as long as I don't ever need to watch the movie anywhere but on my TV it works. Well I'm now finding more and more files that I don't want to delete and my HD is about full.

What I'm thinking / hoping I can do is purchase something like a 1 TB WesternDigital My Book World Edition, partition it, connect it to my wireless router, move my entire iTunes library to one partition (say 1/2 of the drive size) and then use another partition for Time Machine back ups.

If I do this, I should be able to access the WD drive wirelessly, right? Are there any drives that I should consider besides a Time Capsule? From what I've been reading, the TCs have a reliability problem. Is it something I should stay away from if there is a fairly high failure rate? I would also plan on using another external hard drive put into an enclosure as a once a month or so back up just in case everything fails. If I am using this as a redundant back up, would the risk of using a Time Capsule be negated by the other back up and ease of use of it?

Thanks in advance for the help.
Chris

 

[spice weasel]

Yes, you can do this. But it's probably better to keep your media and your time machine backups on separate drives. Also, if you have data you really want to keep safe, you should consider off-site backup as well.

I'm a bit confused as to the first part of your post, though. So you deleted the original files from your computer? Or were these copies of files left over after you imported them into iTunes (if you left the "Copy files to iTunes..." box checked in iTunes advanced prefs)? If they were the original files, then you're going to have to hack your ATV and SSH into it or pull the drive in order to get your content back. Once it's off the computer, it's not going to be on the ATV after you sync it again.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I'm running out of HD space on my MB (only 120 GB). I currently have a 40 GB TV and love it. What I've been doing to save space on my MB was syncing movies with the TV then find the files with Finder and delete them. The info stays in iTunes and as long as I don't ever need to watch the movie anywhere but on my TV it works. Well I'm now finding more and more files that I don't want to delete and my HD is about full.

What I'm thinking / hoping I can do is purchase something like a 1 TB WesternDigital My Book World Edition, partition it, connect it to my wireless router, move my entire iTunes library to one partition (say 1/2 of the drive size) and then use another partition for Time Machine back ups.

If I do this, I should be able to access the WD drive wirelessly, right? Are there any drives that I should consider besides a Time Capsule? From what I've been reading, the TCs have a reliability problem. Is it something I should stay away from if there is a fairly high failure rate? I would also plan on using another external hard drive put into an enclosure as a once a month or so back up just in case everything fails. If I am using this as a redundant back up, would the risk of using a Time Capsule be negated by the other back up and ease of use of it?

Thanks in advance for the help.
Chris

Unless money is really tight, you might just buy 2 hard drives and use one for Time Capsule and the other for your iTunes media.

While you can move your entire iTunes media library, I suggest storing just the big files (the movies & TV shows) on the new (external) hard drive. That will keep the small stuff with you when you travel (and you can always transfer a few movies to the laptop that you would like to take with you too).

Storing some files on other hard drives is no trouble at all. Just go into iTunes (menu), preferences and choose "advanced", and uncheck "copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library". This means that stuff you add to iTunes with that unchecked will not be moved from their existing location to your Macbook hard drive, but they will still be added to your iTunes library like normal (and still stream just fine to your TV). Using this method, you could add many Terabytes of files to iTunes spread over many external hard drives.

Note: the key is remembering when you want to add iTunes content to your MacBook drive (so going back in and checking that box) and when you want such content to be left behind at home on those network or external hard drives.

 

[mstrze]

+1 on having two drives. Otherwise, you will have no backup of your iTunes library should your external drive die. Do NOT PARTITION and share the drive between iTunes and TM...you will only be playing Russian Roulette with your iTunes data!

I'm also confused on your deleting files. Be careful, you may lose these files forever if they are only hosted on ATV. An errant sync will erase everything. And that sync can and will occur if there is a disconnect

I have 3 externals: One is a Time Machine backup, second is iTunes Library only (backed up on TM)...and last is an external I am backing up my MiniDV videotapes onto.

Your USB connection on the wireless router should allow you to add a hub and add as many USB devices as you can afford. And these days, you can get some 500GB USB drives for prices approaching $50! Buuy.com often has excellent deals.

 

[ckurt25]

I'm a bit confused as to the first part of your post, though. So you deleted the original files from your computer? Or were these copies of files left over after you imported them into iTunes (if you left the "Copy files to iTunes..." box checked in iTunes advanced prefs)? If they were the original files, then you're going to have to hack your ATV and SSH into it or pull the drive in order to get your content back. Once it's off the computer, it's not going to be on the ATV after you sync it again.

Yes, they were the original files and for movies I know I won't want to sync to my iPhone or watch on my MB or anything else, I'll delete them to save space on my Macbooks HD. No need to hack anything and yes, I can sync over and over again and they stay on the TV. In iTunes, the name of the movie is still there. Start from Library in iTunes, just right click on any file you have there, select show in Finder, then from there delete it. The name / title stays in iTunes. The risky part is making sure once I delete it to not uncheck it from the TV in iTunes for syncing.

 

[ckurt25]

The more I think about it now the more I'm thinking of going a different route. If I spend around $60 I can get a 320 GB WesternDigital hard drive to replace the 120 GB one in my Macbook then spend about $30 or so on a hard drive enclosure for the extra 3 1/2" drive I have now for Time Machine back ups.

It would save me money and I think it makes more sense.

 

[SeeMeRock]

Yes, they were the original files and for movies I know I won't want to sync to my iPhone or watch on my MB or anything else, I'll delete them to save space on my Macbooks HD. No need to hack anything and yes, I can sync over and over again and they stay on the TV. In iTunes, the name of the movie is still there. Start from Library in iTunes, just right click on any file you have there, select show in Finder, then from there delete it. The name / title stays in iTunes. The risky part is making sure once I delete it to not uncheck it from the TV in iTunes for syncing.

How will you ever retrieve the files from the tv, if you ever planned to watch the movie on your MB. Seems like they'll be stuck on your tv.

 

[jcesl2]

The more I think about it now the more I'm thinking of going a different route. If I spend around $60 I can get a 320 GB WesternDigital hard drive to replace the 120 GB one in my Macbook then spend about $30 or so on a hard drive enclosure for the extra 3 1/2" drive I have now for Time Machine back ups.

It would save me money and I think it makes more sense.

That's what I did. I bought a 500gb drive to replace the one in my MacBook. Seemed a lot easier than moving my library somewhere else. Until I fill up the new one anyway.

 

[ftaok]

The more I think about it now the more I'm thinking of going a different route. If I spend around $60 I can get a 320 GB WesternDigital hard drive to replace the 120 GB one in my Macbook then spend about $30 or so on a hard drive enclosure for the extra 3 1/2" drive I have now for Time Machine back ups.

It would save me money and I think it makes more sense.

Just to clarify, the extra 3-1/2" HDD you're talking about isn't the original 120GB? Is it? I ask because the MB's 120GB HDD is 2.5" and I don't want you to buy the wrong 320GB and enclosure.

Otherwise, you're golden.

 

[ckurt25]

I wouldn't ever want to retrieve one of the movies off the ATV. Let's stay I download Couples Retreat from a source other than iTunes. I'm not going to want to watch that over and over and over again. Once is enough. I get it into iTunes, sync it to the ATV, delete it off my Macbook HD and it stays on the ATV. After I watch it, maybe a day or month later, I uncheck it from the movies to sync in iTunes and/or just right click and delete it from the library in iTunes.

Someone asked a question about the 3 1/2" drive and making sure I wasn't confusing it with the original 2 1/2" 120 gb drive in my Macbook. No, the 3 1/2" 320 gb one is an extra drive I had in a Dell desktop (sorry) that I don't use that much anymore.

I used superduper to copy the original HD to the new 320 gb drive I picked up along with a docking station that holds both 2 1/2" and 3 1/2" drives. Once that was complete it took maybe 3-5 mins to pull the battery, the bracket, swap the drives and boot the Macbook back up. Works like a charm.

 

[TheStork]

How will you ever retrieve the files from the tv, if you ever planned to watch the movie on your MB. Seems like they'll be stuck on your tv.

See this method:

http://dynaflashtech.net/atvcloner/atvcloner-user-guide/