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[benn600]

Unfortunately, I started using MC last year after I formatted our household computers for the summer.  This year, I will be able to get lots of ideas from the community.

But I still have that BIG issue, if you know what I mean.  I would really like to get my data offloaded temporarily.  There are a few methods, I guess:
1. Just format my server and hope it doesn't mess up the RAID 5 stuff.
2. Unplug the RAID 5 drives until I get Windows installed and the hack added.
3. Offload my data so I can be safer when formatting--however, with added concern for the TEMP device.
a. Then I can recreate the array and copy the data again.  This is a good "feeling" knowing that if there were any data errors they should be worked out in this process.
b. I can also buy more drives to increase the array's size.

Now the actual question...I really do need to know if anyone knows of a computer equipment rental service?  I know they'll rent out cameras, blah, blah.  However, I need a lot of storage space.  Now I have a lot of this backed up to my 1 TB backup array but I'd basically like everything stored so I have two copies, just in case.

At this moment, I am seeing 2.90 TB used space.

The vast majority of this is video files, most of which are from DVDs that I actually own and I could basically re-rip them, but when you're talking about 300 DVDs, that's a multiple week process--NOT FUN.
I just learned that 2.30 TB of it is video (wow...most is right).

[newsposter]

Now you start to see the folly of having your Big Storage 'integrated' (and I use that term loosly) with your boot devices and server(s).

[benn600]

We've had plenty of angry conversations.  How about some actual ideas on where to get some big time equipment for a short period of time?  lol.

Even if everything was separate, there would be worse problems.  Maybe I should just take some paper and write down all the 1's and 0's for 3 TB.  Then I can just type them in again.

[johnnyboy]

no angry conversations here but I have to agree with him.
You've lined yourself up in a situation whereby:

1. You dont even trust the server and doing things to the OS on it and are paranoid you might loose it all
2. Adding extra storage is a huge amount of work and not an easy task.
3. Your stuck in a corner with no way out as I've never heard of hard drive storage in my life and if there is such a thing, for that capacity it'll be designed for Corporate which = $$$$$$.

Another point is, with a server you definitely shouldn't be having to re-install it ever, especially not after a year. A server just sits there and does whatever job its meant to do without ever being upgraded, re-installed, etc.

You spend the time setting it up and then its just meant to keep going and going, thats why all the *nix flavour servers are so much better - you'll have a year between reboots and you basically never re-install the OS, the hardware goes way before the OS does.

Your having this problem now - think about it in a couple of years when you've added another 2Tb or so - how big a problem are you going to be in for then.

I've loved your journey and the way you've overcome and done a TON of work to try get exactly what you want, how you want but at some point your just going to have to give in and accept its not the right way to do it and go for a 'proper' solution that allows for easy upgrade, replace and stability and you pretty much dont have any of that right now.

With a *nix file system you mount drives whereever you want and so adding a new drive wouldn't be an issue - it could just appear as a sub folder of any of your folders - you dont even need to raid it.

Only helpful suggestion I can make that'll help you this time would be to buy the drives from a big store somewhere with a great returns policy (walmart or somewhere) and just use them then return them.

Either way though I think you really need to step back a bit and think seriously about what you are going to do when you add more capacity to this, when its twice as big, when you want to do..... etc to the system - your current solution doesn't really let you do anything at all to it.

[benn600]

I'm not reinstalling cause I have to.  It's completely because I just do every year.  It's nice to freshen up the software versions and I plan on moving some hardware around, which means other changes.  Problem without RAID5 is that I have no redundancy.  I can't afford double my storage space.  If someone can give me a good way to help protect 4.5 TB against drive failure, I'd like to hear it.  Yes, there's a lot higher chance for failure this way (with so many drives) but it still seems less likely to fail than the one drive solution.  And in that case, I would lose a whole drive and it could be the worst drive to go.  It's very complicated, I know.  And I'm not as concerned with adding more storage space at this point.  I also don't think anything bad would happen to the array with a fresh OS, but I want to be extra cautious.

Returning drives is a good idea and I already thought about that.  I just feel strange doing it...Best Buy has 1 TB drives (RAID 0 )  So three of those would handle everything...but if one failed, Nlol.