[slosvt]

I am approaching the end of my contract with DirecTV and I think I will move to a network tuner setup (via cable card).


My current HTPC server has a 3TB and a 2TB HDD (both of which are approaching max capacity). They are currently configured as independent drives (G: and H.


I would like to add another HDD (3 TB minimum), but I would also like to pool my current drives and any future drive(s) together to keep my media management a little easier. Is this possible? If so, what do I need to do to accomplish this? The OS I use is Windows 8.1.



Also, do an extender (360) that is playing back recorded TV take up a tuner? What about another PC?



Thank you,

 

[trans_lux]

I'd strongly recommend moving to a NAS with even basic raid 1 redundancy.

I really like Synology.
http://www.synology.com/en-us/products/overview/DS213j

It's right around $200 bucks.

Throw a couple of Seagate 4tb drives in configure for raid 1 and your ready to go.

Or if you like to live dangerously you can double your capacity with raid 0-but no redundancy, one of the drives goes south everything is lost.

 

[Mfusick]

Sounds like it's time to upgrade to a dedicated media server. The NAS thing is good for basic storage but they are expensive and you are somewhat limited in the things you can do with them, and in future expansion of your storage.


A media server can be cheaper, it can also be more expensive, but it can do a lot more and your can even grow as you go. When I started my media server project my budget was $300. Today I have 45TB full in a hot swap case. I had the ability to add a little over time, including hard drives which are the biggest cost up front.


Since you already have some hard drives you could build a media server for $300-$400 and use the drives you already have. Add in a couple new hard drives for more storage or for software RAID based parity back up and you should be very happy. Not an excessive investment to start, but you also have the ability to add more and upgrade as you need it. You also get recovery of a failed drive without data loss, which is important.

 

[Joshua B]

I love only having to run one machine 24/7. So my HTPC is also my media server.


Stable Bit Drive Pool is reliable software that pools the drives of your choice and handles file duplication. This functionality make it similar to features I enjoyed when I used to run Windows Home Server V1 on a machine in my basement.


So I'm suggesting you can simply add the large drive you wrote about and try Stable Bit Drive Pool to create that large array in your current machine.

 

[wiley165]

OP, Have you considered FlexRaid?

 

[Mfusick]



Quote:
Originally Posted by wiley165  /t/1521602/need-more-hdd-space-suggestions/0_100#post_24463822


OP, Have you considered FlexRaid?

Stop it. Just stop. I am getting excited.