Digital disaster (nearly)

[Spirits High]

2nd weekend out the the denon kit and loving it :)

But this weekend well last night I thought it would be a good idea to drop the external hard drive about an hour before I was due tostart :eek: It was one of those slow motion jobs where you just can't grab it in time and you screaming out "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" as it bounces on the floor.

Of course I'm thinking the worse that it's fubar'd, anyway after stopping my heart from breaking out of my body I plug it in to Mr Denon and hope for the best:o "Thank :Censored: for that" as it fires up recognises the drive etc....now to try a few tunes but this happens:eek:

Scissor sisters - Don't feel like dancing is actually Ghetto gospel :eek:

Tried a few others and while some were ok the majority were just not being what they should be:eek:

As the band were still playing for about another 15mins I thought shut down re boot jobs a good 'un......er Nope still being a :Censored:

Ok, plan B will the hd work off the lappy? Thankfully yes, so the files on the hd are ok it's just the Denon being a biff.

Anyway I'm starting to ramble on now so to cut a long story short I played through Pcdj blue all night through one channel of the mixer as I didn't have the pcdj headphones with me I couldn't cue anything it was just a case of go for it.:D

The main thing was the punters knew no different still got their requests and booked me for their Xmas ball ;)

Haven't got to the bottom of the problem yet as it was a late one (got home just after 5am) so will look at it in tomorrow. With a bit of luck it'll just be a case of creating a new database and it'll be fine.

Drama , drama , drama :D :D

[501damian501]

what you need to do mate is make one of the little beauties ive made and just making for my mate, its an amp rack hard drive, all you need is

1u server case with 5.25/3.5inch internal bays (depending on which size hard drive) or even an old amp case would do the trick, just weld afew brackets inside.

an usb 2.0 to sata/ide cable kit

4 pin molex splitter

and a couple of fans. OH YES FANS !

the reason for this, external harddrives will fry, they get so hot inside their little enclosers, hence make this rackmountable verison and surprized a company havent started to build them yet, no worrys of ever dropping it again, reguards damian

[OllieJames]

what you need to do mate is make one of the little beauties ive made and just making for my mate, its an amp rack hard drive, all you need is

1u server case with 5.25/3.5inch internal bays (depending on which size hard drive) or even an old amp case would do the trick, just weld afew brackets inside.

an usb 2.0 to sata/ide cable kit

4 pin molex splitter

and a couple of fans. OH YES FANS !

the reason for this, external harddrives will fry, they get so hot inside their little enclosers, hence make this rackmountable verison and surprized a company havent started to build them yet, no worrys of ever dropping it again, reguards damian

Good idea Damian!

[501damian501]

am not being big headed but am i full of good ideas or sumthing, am suprized no one has fought of this on here already, oh yeh another thing if any of you lot try it, remember to set the jumper on the hard drive to the correct setting, I would say it would be the Master pins the jumper should be on, but if not try the cable select, one will work lol, different settings different hard drives. reguards damian

[Penfold42]

But this weekend well last night I thought it would be a good idea to drop the external hard drive about an hour before I was due tostart :eek: It was one of those slow motion jobs where you just can't grab it in time and you screaming out "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" as it bounces on the floor.


Welcome to the DDT gang (Dave's Drop Test).....to actually be a member...:rolleyes: ....could you clarify from what height it was dropped.....:D

Just wipe and start again.....:)

[Spirits High]

Welcome to the DDT gang (Dave's Drop Test).....to actually be a member...:rolleyes: ....could you clarify from what height it was dropped.....:D

Just wipe and start again.....:)



Wow! another secret part of the forum :D

slid off the top of my deckstand, managed to grab the lappy but not the HD:eek:

Wipe and start again :eek: :eek:

Oh great can see what this weeks going to be spent doing then :D

[leighinstoke]

Your dropping it has obviously jumbled all the files and their names up.

Get the screwdriver out, take the lid of the drive off and put everything back where it should be.

Should be fine then.

:clown:

Sorry - probably not the best reply today. Think the heat is getting to me. :p

[Spirits High]

Your dropping it has obviously jumbled all the files and their names up.

Get the screwdriver out, take the lid of the drive off and put everything back where it should be.

Should be fine then.

:clown:

Sorry - probably not the best reply today. Think the heat is getting to me. :p

You know what that just might work......ah that's the Bulmers talking!! Back to the garden it is then:D

[ppentertainments]

Did you not take a backup HD. External hard drives are good but can be very tempremental. I think a backup HD is as important - if not more improtant - than most other pieces of kit.

[Dragonfly]

So is this another "my denon isnt doing what it's supposed to" thread :D :D :D :D

Paul I applaud you for firstly your quick thinking and getting through unscathed and secondly implimenting the DDT on your equipment a scientifically recognised test . However I recommend you doing it pre-gig next time :D :D :D :D

and i'm loving using the word fubar'd now I know what it means (i googled it lol)

[Excalibur]

Did you not take a backup HD. External hard drives are good but can be very tempremental. I think a backup HD is as important - if not more improtant - than most other pieces of kit.

At the risk of sounding holier than thou, I will have one HD for the Cortex, another one for lappy, and a master at home. Smug mode enabled. ;) :D

[Penfold42]

At the risk of sounding holier than thou, I will have one HD for the Cortex, another one for lappy, and a master at home. Smug mode enabled. ;) :D

Why leave it at home?....:)
Best to take it just in case......i would have thought...IMHO...:)

[Excalibur]

Why leave it at home?....:)
Best to take it just in case......i would have thought...IMHO...:)

The flippant answer is:- Bog off! :p
The serious one is that unless the tragedy was quite major, I could move the lappy HD onto the Cortex, and accept the loss of one playout source.

[Penfold42]

The flippant answer is:- Bog off! :p
The serious one is that unless the tragedy was quite major, I could move the lappy HD onto the Cortex, and accept the loss of one playout source.

:handbag:............fine but while your doing ALL that....."Here's another just under the table"....plug in and off you go again......:)

[Dragonfly]

:handbag:............fine but while your doing ALL that....."Here's another just under the table"....plug in and off you go again......:)

as long as it's formatted correctly :D :D :D :D :D :D and your amp is plugged in :D :D :D :D :D :D :beer1: :beer1: :beer1:

[Spirits High]

Did you not take a backup HD. External hard drives are good but can be very tempremental. I think a backup HD is as important - if not more improtant - than most other pieces of kit.


Luckily the majority of my tunes is on the lappy anyway, plugging in the HD just gave me the extra ones. I do carry a back up hd..........from tomorrow :D


So is this another "my denon isnt doing what it's supposed to" thread :D :D :D :D

Paul I applaud you for firstly your quick thinking and getting through unscathed and secondly implimenting the DDT on your equipment a scientifically recognised test . However I recommend you doing it pre-gig next time :D :D :D :D

and i'm loving using the word fubar'd now I know what it means (i googled it lol)

I don't plan on doing it again ,ever.

Glad you're liking Fubar'd aswell:D

[Excalibur]

:handbag:............fine but while your doing ALL that....."Here's another just under the table"....plug in and off you go again......:)

All that? Moving a USB cable from one socket to another would actually be faster than getting one from cold.:confused:

[Penfold42]

All that? Moving a USB cable from one socket to another would actually be faster than getting one from cold.:confused:

But would not the cables already be there.......no searching for sockets...??
As the Cortex has only two usb's (one on top) i'll assume you use that for the key board (one underneath) for the HD......i'll also assume you have it racked......IMO...that's a lot of faffing about in the heat of battle.....:)

That's all i'm thinking of....:)

[CRAZY K]

Paul, all you need is an extra back up HD.

£60 MAPLINS.

Sounds like you will have one by next gig,

regards

CRAZY K

[Excalibur]

But would not the cables already be there.......no searching for sockets...??
As the Cortex has only two usb's (one on top) i'll assume you use that for the key board (one underneath) for the HD......i'll also assume you have it racked......IMO...that's a lot of faffing about in the heat of battle.....:)

That's all i'm thinking of....:)

Hub, Sir, Hub!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There would be sockets available and waiting ready for such eventualities. ;) :D It will be in a readily accessible area of the Excalibur designed case, Keyboard will be into hub, as will HD, leaving front socket for Flash drives to use for pre ordained sets, eg Background, and the like.

[Penfold42]

Hub, Sir, Hub!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There would be sockets available and waiting ready for such eventualities. ;) :D It will be in a readily accessible area of the Excalibur designed case, Keyboard will be into hub, as will HD, leaving front socket for Flash drives to use for pre ordained sets, eg Background, and the like.

:bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: ....never thought of that....

Something to think about .......:)

[Danno13]

what you need to do mate is make one of the little beauties ive made and just making for my mate, its an amp rack hard drive, all you need is...

Would it not just be easier to use a rackmount PC with internal drives in the first place? Rather than a laptop and then still needing rack space for a hard drive?

[BeerFunk]

Would it not just be easier to use a rackmount PC with internal drives in the first place? Rather than a laptop and then still needing rack space for a hard drive?Exactly. If I were to go down the PC route again, that is how I'd do it. I'm amazed that so many DJs go for the option of a laptop instead. No-one in the pro music industry uses laptops, apart from mobile DJs - is it the portability factor alone?

[501damian501]

why would you need a pc when you can buy mixers which can take usb and diffferent players with usb functions on them, each to their own thou, I have a 4u server case, just waiting on some parts then it shall be up and running, might just mount it in a case and use it as backup or sumthing, many thanks damian

[rob1963]

This story highlights the need for back up, or in this case back up hard drives.

I'll be using an ipod when I go digital with my D2, but I already have a second identical ipod, and I'm even considering getting a THIRD one too...

...and thats despite carrying two CD players and a small box of CDs, in case anything goes wrong with the D2 itself (on top of which I could also plug an ipod into my mixer direct).

[CRAZY K]

The flippant answer is:- Bog off! :p
The serious one is that unless the tragedy was quite major, I could move the lappy HD onto the Cortex, and accept the loss of one playout source.

Is that instant Peter?

If the Cortex goes down ( unlikely ) will the Laptop be an instant replacement using same HD?

I remember that I couldnt do that without it being complicated--so I assigned a separate HD to the laptop and would have that as playout with PCDJ red if Cortex failed.

CRAZY K

[CRAZY K]

:bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: ....never thought of that....

Something to think about .......:)

Just be prepared for hub failure--:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

I just had a powered USB hub put on my PC---that screwed up my PC working properly---so I scrapped it :eek: :eek: :eek:

Probably coming off the Cortex is less likely to be an issue. :cool:

I had a router on my PC --simlar sort of idea---after the third one broke down in 2 yrs I went off the idea---I must be unlucky or the build
quality is rubbish,

CRAZY K

[Vectis]

OK, after a bit of rejigging the last couple of weeks here's what I do.

My main playout is a d2 with TWO external HDDs - one containing EVERYTHING I own sorted alpha by artist, bolted into the flightcase and updated annually (500GB 3.5"). The other (160GB 2.5" Toughdrive) contains about 10k tracks and is sorted by "convenience" eg. "80s", "Slowies" etc. I call this my "Master Playlist".

My secondary playout is a laptop with OTS. This I use for background sequences and occasional use during the night if I need an extra deck (eg. music cued pending an event such as "happy birthday" for when someone walks in with a cake). This has a clone of the "Master Playlist" on an external HDD plus a subset of it on the Internal HDD.

With me so far? Good!

I also carry a third clone of the "Master Playlist" which can be plugged into either the laptop, the d2 OR my video control laptop where I have a second copy of OTS installed and licenced. This laptop has a decent internal soundcard and therefore a lead directly from the lappy to the amp rack in case I need to bypass the mixer in case of failure.

Then, in the van, I always carry a copy of the main library HDD.

Finally, I have two 4GB USB sticks on which I carry the latest downloads and any unusual but specific requests for upcoming gigs. These sticks are "synced" with the Master Playlist every few weeks so are only ever temporary.

My "worst case scenario" is a preloaded cheapie 2GB MP3 player with a 30-minute mix of popular disco tunes on it.

Sounds like a lot of duplication? Maybe, but I've been doing this digital thing a lot longer than most and remember the time I turned up to do a wedding with just two HDDs but one of them was corrupt :eek: Had to play the whole night from 2 decks only with NO backup.

At home I have a NAS system with a set of RAID-5 disks which is the master repository for all my music, videos, pictures, films etc. so "syncing up" the various HDDs isn't difficult once I got it all organised.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

My external HD is gaffer taped in the back of the flightcase containing the Denon and it can't move about. The USB Hub is stuck in there with velcro as is the keyboard. The reason I did all of this is because I don't want to drop the HD like you have or forget it altogeather. It works for me.

[rob1963]

My main playout is a d2 with TWO external HDDs .

That's interesting.

Not being very technical, I wasn't aware that you could have TWO hard drives connected to the D2 at the same time.

Sorry for being thick, but how do you switch between the two?

Presumably it would make sense to have BOTH my ipods connected at the same time, so if one packs up the other can quickly be brought into use. Is this the case?

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

No-one in the pro music industry uses laptops, apart from mobile DJs

Where did you find that info from out of interest?

[Excalibur]

Just be prepared for hub failure--:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

I just had a powered USB hub put on my PC---that screwed up my PC working properly---so I scrapped it :eek: :eek: :eek:

Probably coming off the Cortex is less likely to be an issue. :cool:

I had a router on my PC --simlar sort of idea---after the third one broke down in 2 yrs I went off the idea---I must be unlucky or the build
quality is rubbish,

CRAZY K
I started with the faulty hub. :eek: Naff all worked. :bang:
In case I didn't make it clear, both the Cortex and the lappy have their own external HD, which would swap and work if needed.


OK, after a bit of rejigging the last couple of weeks here's what I do.


With me so far? Good!

.

You lost me after " Here's what I do! " :confused: :confused: :confused:
( Actually I did understand some of it. ;) :D Belt and braces man, aren't you? :D I thought I was being cautious, but you win by a mile. )


My external HD is gaffer taped in the back of the flightcase containing the Denon and it can't move about. The USB Hub is stuck in there with velcro as is the keyboard. The reason I did all of this is because I don't want to drop the HD like you have or forget it altogeather. It works for me.
Roughly my plan. :)


That's interesting.

Not being very technical, I wasn't aware that you could have TWO hard drives connected to the D2 at the same time.

Sorry for being thick, but how do you switch between the two?

Presumably it would make sense to have BOTH my ipods connected at the same time, so if one packs up the other can quickly be brought into use. Is this the case?
If the D2 is anything like the Cortex, you can have THREE HD's connected ( and one keyboard. Or four HD's and no keyboard ) I plan to have a memory stick with specific music on it, plus the main HD.
On the Cortex, at start up, it first asks you to insert device, then select device ( from the one or more plugged in ) and you can go to " change device" at any time later by pressing the right buttons. Surely the D2 has a similar capability?


As far as plugging both Ipod's/HD's in at once I have no idea whether that's a good or bad way to do it. If a problem took out one Ipod, would it be better to have another one out of the loop so as not to suffer the same fate?

[CRAZY K]

I started with the faulty hub. :eek: Naff all worked. :bang:
In case I didn't make it clear, both the Cortex and the lappy have their own external HD, which would swap and work if needed.



You lost me after " Here's what I do! " :confused: :confused: :confused:
( Actually I did understand some of it. ;) :D Belt and braces man, aren't you? :D I thought I was being cautious, but you win by a mile. )


Roughly my plan. :)


If the D2 is anything like the Cortex, you can have THREE HD's connected ( and one keyboard. Or four HD's and no keyboard ) I plan to have a memory stick with specific music on it, plus the main HD.
On the Cortex, at start up, it first asks you to insert device, then select device ( from the one or more plugged in ) and you can go to " change device" at any time later by pressing the right buttons. Surely the D2 has a similar capability?


As far as plugging both Ipod's/HD's in at once I have no idea whether that's a good or bad way to do it. If a problem took out one Ipod, would it be better to have another one out of the loop so as not to suffer the same fate?

Peter, will you keep your HDs in the house or shed, garage etc.

I NEVER keep any important electrical kit anywhere except in the house.

I have some very long lasting items which have responded well to that treatment--no doubt someone else leaves all their stuff in a damp garden shed and it works perfectly for 30 years:D

CRAZY K

[Excalibur]

Peter, will you keep your HDs in the house or shed, garage etc.

I NEVER keep any important electrical kit anywhere except in the house.

I have some very long lasting items which have responded well to that treatment--no doubt someone else leaves all their stuff in a damp garden shed and it works perfectly for 30 years:D

CRAZY K

Resists urge for flippant answer. ;) Until now, all my kit has lived in the trailer, with no apparent ill effects. Logic suggests that the Cortex box, and the one which will act as housing for lappy HD and Minidisc player, and support for lappy would be happier living in the house when not in use, or about to be in use. This will also allow me to add tracks/correctly tag
MP3's.;) :D Fortunately, She Who Must Be Obeyed has already expressed concern for the welfare of costly gear, so I think this is likely. Now where, well that will be the $64,000 question. :D ( Propeller, as you well know, that's a lift from an American quiz show, so not guilty of a faux pas I feel. :D )

[Shakermaker Promotions]

All of my amps and everything else are in a lockup and are all covered even if they are in their flightcases. The only piece of equipment that I keep in the house with me is the Denon and HD's etc that are flightcased. One reason is because I transfer and rip my music everyday and the other is because I am not sure if it would like it if it were in a really hot or really cold lockup.

[CRAZY K]

All of my amps and everything else are in a lockup and are all covered even if they are in their flightcases. The only piece of equipment that I keep in the house with me is the Denon and HD's etc that are flightcased. One reason is because I transfer and rip my music everyday and the other is because I am not sure if it would like it if it were in a really hot or really cold lockup.

Good idea to always keep your music safe--everything else can be replaced easily

CRAZY K

[BeerFunk]

Where did you find that info from out of interest?That's not a real question is it, it's a 'Rob style' reply, as you and I both know that I don't have any facts or statistics to back the statement up!

Music production is a relatively new hobby of mine, so I've learnt a fair amount about computers within the industry, and laptops in studios, or even in club or band setups are just not the norm. This for a very good reason too - there is no benefit from using a laptop as it is not upgradeable, and you have to plug USB drives, hubs and sound cards into it anyway - hence defeating the point.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

That's not a real question is it

It was actually. I like to know where people get their info from when making statements like that. I'm not absolutley sure that having an interest in music production qualifies that answer really.

But if that's what you think, fair enough.

[BeerFunk]

It was actually. I like to know where people get their info from when making statements like that. I'm not absolutley sure that having an interest in music production qualifies that answer really.

But if that's what you think, fair enough.OK, but some things just are, and don't need publications or surveys to back them up. Most mobile DJs use CDs at this moment in time - correct? How do you know that? From your experience of seeing other mobile DJs in action, talking to retailers, meeting and talking to other mobile DJs in person or on the internet, and so on. It is not particularly documented info - apart from possibly the recorded sales of DJ CD decks, which even then is only an indication.


But if that's what you think, fair enough.I don't think anything, I know it to be true.

For some reason, you seem to be defending the use of laptops in mobile disco environments. There is nothing wrong with it, but you must accept that they are not the best tool for the job, and are selected by DJs only because of their 'mobility' - which if course is important for a mobile disco.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

OK, but some things just are, and don't need publications or surveys to back them up. Most mobile DJs use CDs at this moment in time - correct? How do you know that? From your experience of seeing other mobile DJs in action, talking to retailers, meeting and talking to other mobile DJs in person or on the internet, and so on. It is not particularly documented info - apart from possibly the recorded sales of DJ CD decks, which even then is only an indication.

I don't think anything, I know it to be true.

For some reason, you seem to be defending the use of laptops in mobile disco environments. There is nothing wrong with it, but you must accept that they are not the best tool for the job, and are selected by DJs only because of their 'mobility' - which if course is important for a mobile disco.

And that's why I use one, but I'm not defending anything Callum.

I think we should do a little poll on the main playout system for DJs on here and see if as many use CDs as you think.

[rob1963]

That's not a real question is it, it's a 'Rob style' reply, as you and I both know that I don't have any facts or statistics to back the statement up!

I'd love to know the difference (in your opinion) between a "real question" and a "Rob style" reply.

:confused:

You are clearly suggesting something derogatory about my replies to posts.

[Excalibur]

And that's why I use one, but I'm not defending anything Callum.

I think we should do a little poll on the main playout system for DJs on here and see if as many use CDs as you think.
I hope there will be a box for those of us who presently " go both ways" :eek: :D :D



I'd love to know the difference (in your opinion) between a "real question" and a "Rob style" reply.

:confused:

A real question makes sense. :D

[BeerFunk]

And that's why I use one, but I'm not defending anything Callum.

I think we should do a little poll on the main playout system for DJs on here and see if as many use CDs as you think.I don't think that would reflect the ratio across the whole mobile disco industry though, as anyone posting on these forums is likely to have an enhanced interest; and consequently are more likely to have upgraded to digital. I reckon if some members here had never signed up here, they wouldn't have found the help and encouragement they needed to make that step away from CDs (a testament to the site :))


I'd love to know the difference (in your opinion) between a "real question" and a "Rob style" reply.

:confused:I think you know, and have therefore just posted a perfect example to illustrate that ;)

[Spirits High]

Just as an update to my woes :D

I installed the latest software update (1300, thanks Tone/ Daz ;) ) created a new database for the HD in DDJMM and all apears to be working fine.

Today I purchased a 160gb back up hd which is about to be loaded with a copy of the normal "in use HD" and i've also copied that onto my 500gb "master" hd..........and put more tunes into the hd of the lappy and i'm also going to put some more tunes into the internal HD of the 2500 Denon :o

So hopefully now if I do decide to carryout another DDT i've got enough back up to cope :D

[adilowes]

Just read through this post and a couple of things came to mind.
Firstly the Denon has a built in hard drive (HD 2500 I presume), I know as I use one. OK it is only 80gB but you can get a lot of music on that as a back up. I have some on my built in drive and carry 2 external drives. I don't carry a laptop or a CD player anymore (Brave I hear you say).

A few people have mentioned the Cortex. Have they got that piece of kit working properly without faults. I bought one and had no end of problems to the point I couldn't trust it.

Just bought a D2 for one of the DJ's who works for me. He loves it but can't get any audio when searching back and forth for cueing. Anyone know if there is something turned off somewhere as I can't find anything.

I was nervious about going digital but the same could be said when I went from Vinyl to CD all those years ago.

[Shaun]

Firstly the Denon has a built in hard drive (HD 2500 I presume), I know as I use one. OK it is only 80gB but you can get a lot of music on that as a back up.

The HD2500 only comes with a 40gb internal HDD as standard.

[adilowes]

The HD2500 only comes with a 40gb internal HDD as standard.

Couldn't remember I only have a couple of hundred tracks on the internal drive to give me an escape if my external drive goes down while I swap it over.