laptop for music storage

[Dude#1279435]

Is ebay an option in buying? Refurbed, maybe 2-3 years old? Otherwise it looks to me like Best Buy or the manufacturer.

 

[Eppie]

By my quick glance, it looks like a Foobar2000 software glitch starting way back in Windows 7. I've tried many media players over the years (anyone remember WinAmp?) but must of missed Foobar2000.

Yup, used WinAmp long time ago, like early MP3.com and Napster days, I think. Great program. From XP on Windows Media Player worked very well. It's still good for creating play lists because you can drag and drop songs into the right pane and easily create M3U files that are recognized by most software.

 

[-Jim-]

Is ebay an option in buying? Refurbed, maybe 2-3 years old? Otherwise it looks to me like Best Buy or the manufacturer.

Of course eBay is an option, as is refurbed, it all depends on your risk profile. Personally, I'd never buy a Laptop off eBay as I find that too risky, but if I could get what I wanted refurbished with a warranty, I'd consider it. You can get almost new units for sale that are refurbished with decent warranties at substantially reduced prices. I wouldn't bother with one 2-3 years old. If all that you are doing is playing /ripping Tunes, surfing the web, emails, Office stuff, etc., you don't need a high end machine. If you want to be a Gamer, or do Video Editing, then you'll need something with some processing & GPU power.

Check them out. However, you may find a sweet deal on a new one soon as Black Friday approaches.

 

[panteragstk]

Well from my understanding it (the windows mixer) degrades certain audio functions, one reason there was a plugin on foobar2000 to avoid such. I was hoping you could fill me in

That's just for playback. Doesn't affect ripping.

 

[panteragstk]

Geeze, you guys overcomplicate this.

What you really should do is build a full on server with many many drives that hold tons of data. I'm around 90TB at this point, but have plenty of room for expansion. I just got server parts off ebay, found a NAS type OS that would do everything I wanted and went to town. Sure, there are issues now and then I have to fix. I've only had one catastrophic failure that lost me data, but because I keep good records and backups, getting the data back wasn't an issue.

Granted, I've worked in IT for a few decades so this stuff is fun to me.

If I were someone wanting to rip a current collection for use on multiple devices, I'd go for an all in one NAS and keep my desktop/laptop doing it's job. Storing on a desktop or laptop is fine, but it's nice to have a separate appliance do the storage part for you. Laptops die a lot more often than a NAS would.

Synology is nice, but can have a learning curve. You can get something really simple like an external drive that does automatic mirroring, but even that is a pain.

If it were me, I'd opt for a cloud backup of some kind. Cloud storage is getting to be very cheap now so that might be a good option.

There are tons of options, and many will work for someone that doesn't really know much. Depends on the level of difficulty and access you want as to how much effort this can be.

 

[-Jim-]

"Geeze, you guys overcomplicate this." => Huh?

Dude has no posts suggesting interest in building a NAS, and originally wanted a low cost simple solution to Rip CDs. He thought a Laptop was his solution, but he already had a Dell Tower that was more than capable. Simple storage via portable USB drives was suggested with one of them as backup. He doesn't need a Laptop now, but seems to just want one, regardless.

Cloud storage while getting cheaper, it still a pay as you go and not always 100% available.

 

[panteragstk]

"Geeze, you guys overcomplicate this." => Huh?

Dude has no posts suggesting interest in building a NAS, and originally wanted a low cost simple solution to Rip CDs. He thought a Laptop was his solution, but he already had a Dell Tower that was more than capable. Simple storage via portable USB drives was suggested with one of them as backup. He doesn't need a Laptop now, but seems to just want one, regardless.

Cloud storage while getting cheaper, it still a pay as you go and not always 100% available.

Bad joke on my part. I said that, then proceeded to suggest something complex. Guess it didn't land. Won't be the last time.

Anyway, I do agree on cloud storage. I was suggesting that as a backup. Or a backup of a backup. Never can be too careful. Especially if stuff is difficult to replace.

I would just keep using the desktop, but a storage solution outside the desktop would be preferable.

 

[Dude#1279435]

Anyone familiar with 3.2 usb? Looks like a standard a vs c input. Not sure though. Does the 3.0 and 3.2 have different inputs or are they the same?

 

[-Jim-]

Hi Dude,

USB 3.2 is just the latest in the evolution of USB. The standard USB Type-A Female connector is typically used in Laptops for USB, USB 2, and USB 3 (sometimes referred to as USB 3.2 Genx. The concept was to use Blue plastic in the construction of USB 3 generation connectors but it hasn't been universally accepted. ). Newer Laptops may also have a USB C Female connector.

The USB 3.2 specification absorbed all prior 3.x specifications. USB 3.2 identifies three transfer rates, USB 3.2 Gen 1 at 5Gbps, USB 3.2 Gen 2 at 10Gbps and USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 at 20Gbps. It is important that vendors clearly communicate the performance signaling that a product delivers in the product’s packaging, advertising content, and any other marketing materials.

Both USB Type-A and USB Type-C connectors are used to facilitate USB 3.2 Gen 1 and Gen 2 connections, and USB C is also used to facilitate the USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 connection. So it's really the internal electronics supplied that determine transfer the potential transfer speed. I like USB C because it has no "up-side down" when plugging it in and is usually the fastest USB transfer speed.

If you new Laptop / Device has USB C great, but it's not a game breaker IMHO.

 

[lovinthehd]

Just was looking into the Frame Work laptop, wish I'd seen that before I bought another HP. Seems a decent alternative to the usual laptop disposability. https://frame.work/

Learned of it thru LTT videos, who someone else here linked another of his videos (about hdmi cables). LTT is also an investor. Here's the video https://linustechtips.com/topic/1373531-i’m-legally-obligated-to-disclose-this/

 

[Eppie]

Just was looking into the Frame Work laptop, wish I'd seen that before I bought another HP. Seems a decent alternative to the usual laptop disposability. https://frame.work/

Learned of it thru LTT videos, who someone else here linked another of his videos (about hdmi cables). LTT is also an investor. Here's the video https://linustechtips.com/topic/1373531-i’m-legally-obligated-to-disclose-this/

Wow, a laptop with maintenance considerations built in to the design. Nice.

 

[-Jim-]

Just was looking into the Frame Work laptop, wish I'd seen that before I bought another HP. Seems a decent alternative to the usual laptop disposability. https://frame.work/

Learned of it thru LTT videos, who someone else here linked another of his videos (about hdmi cables). LTT is also an investor. Here's the video https://linustechtips.com/topic/1373531-i’m-legally-obligated-to-disclose-this/

I too caught the LTT video on these Laptops. I like the concept, but in a world typically driven by what's the cheapest to a certain spec, I don't know if it will flourish. I hope so because tossing the whole laptop in the recycle bin seems wasteful.

As for Linus Tech Tips, I've been a fan since he was at NCIX (a local computer store here that became a small chain before going under in 2017.) doing short product videos on their Website.

Read about him here:
Linus Sebastian

I don't subscribe to his channel as it often goes into "Gamerville" or other technical areas of silliness I have no interest in. But once in a while I see something of interest.

 

[panteragstk]

Just was looking into the Frame Work laptop, wish I'd seen that before I bought another HP. Seems a decent alternative to the usual laptop disposability. https://frame.work/

Learned of it thru LTT videos, who someone else here linked another of his videos (about hdmi cables). LTT is also an investor. Here's the video https://linustechtips.com/topic/1373531-i’m-legally-obligated-to-disclose-this/

I wish modular designs like this would catch on for a number of things. We've been promised it in the past in A/V, but it never seems to pan out. Eventually, modules stop getting released or never do.

 

[Bucknekked]

Geeze, you guys overcomplicate this.

What you really should do is build a full on server with many many drives that hold tons of data. I'm around 90TB at this point, but have plenty of room for expansion. I just got server parts off ebay, found a NAS type OS that would do everything I wanted and went to town. Sure, there are issues now and then I have to fix. I've only had one catastrophic failure that lost me data, but because I keep good records and backups, getting the data back wasn't an issue.
Synology is nice, but can have a learning curve. You can get something really simple like an external drive that does automatic mirroring, but even that is a pain.

@panteragstk
You definitely made me laugh. You said don't over complicate it and then you absolutely positively did. Made me laugh. I knew what you were suggesting and I know your heart was in the right place. I saw the humor in it.

We have built similar solutions (at least in concept) around a computer, NAS, cloud and multiple backups. Exactly how we have done it may differ in the particulars but the big pieces are all there. I know from the comments of others that the OP wanted S-I-M-P-L-E and what we have done for the average bear is not simple to put together.
Like you, I have spent my whole adult life in IT so this stuff was fun for me and enjoyable to put together.

For a non computer dude who is just starting, the simplest thing going would be a laptop with USB ports and hopefully an external drive for storage. You can check all the boxes for a beginning solution. You also don't lose anything if you want to get more complex: you just build on what you started.

I love my music system and the computer system that supplies it. Absolutely love what it does and how it does it. I will show it off to anyone I can get to sit down and listen.

 

[panteragstk]

@panteragstk
You definitely made me laugh. You said don't over complicate it and then you absolutely positively did. Made me laugh. I knew what you were suggesting and I know your heart was in the right place. I saw the humor in it.

We have built similar solutions (at least in concept) around a computer, NAS, cloud and multiple backups. Exactly how we have done it may differ in the particulars but the big pieces are all there. I know from the comments of others that the OP wanted S-I-M-P-L-E and what we have done for the average bear is not simple to put together.
Like you, I have spent my whole adult life in IT so this stuff was fun for me and enjoyable to put together.

For a non computer dude who is just starting, the simplest thing going would be a laptop with USB ports and hopefully an external drive for storage. You can check all the boxes for a beginning solution. You also don't lose anything if you want to get more complex: you just build on what you started.

I love my music system and the computer system that supplies it. Absolutely love what it does and how it does it. I will show it off to anyone I can get to sit down and listen.

Yeah, I wasn't trying to come off in any way other than a massive joke. I guess it worked, but wasn't that funny unless you understood how complex what I was suggesting is.

I think a lot of folks try to go down this path without realizing it can be pretty complicated depending what people want to accomplish.

For someone that really doesn't know anything, nor has the desire for maintenance, then a laptop with a simple external drive is 100% the ticket. Not what I'd ever do, but we're all different, and have different goals.

 

[MaxInValrico]

Yeah, I wasn't trying to come off in any way other than a massive joke. I guess it worked, but wasn't that funny unless you understood how complex what I was suggesting is.

I think a lot of folks try to go down this path without realizing it can be pretty complicated depending what people want to accomplish.

For someone that really doesn't know anything, nor has the desire for maintenance, then a laptop with a simple external drive is 100% the ticket. Not what I'd ever do, but we're all different, and have different goals.

Simple is what plug and play was made for.

 

[panteragstk]

Simple is what plug and play was made for.

Very much so. Sadly, hosting your own music collection isn't all that plug and play. Roon and others are trying to make it easier, but there is still a learning curve to all this.

Honestly, that's what CDs and a player are for. No guesswork in that, but that takes more effort than just picking a song in an app.

 

[cpp]

Honestly, that's what CDs and a player are for. No guesswork in that, but that takes more effort than just picking a song in an app.

And I still do that today

 

[Bucknekked]

th

Very much so. Sadly, hosting your own music collection isn't all that plug and play. Roon and others are trying to make it easier, but there is still a learning curve to all this.

Honestly, that's what CDs and a player are for. No guesswork in that, but that takes more effort than just picking a song in an app.

the easier, or simpler, one makes a solution look to a noninvolved user the more complex the solution tends to actually be. I have a wife. Love her completely. But she is not a technical person nor does she pretend to be. To make our TV watching situation work I have involved a LOT of complexity to make it so all she has to do is pick up the Harmony Remote and push the "WATCH TV" icon, or, "WATCH CABLE" icon. It works smashingly for her, right up until it doesn't. When it doesn't work she calls me and tells me "its broken".

 

[panteragstk]

the easier, or simpler, one makes a solution look to a noninvolved user the more complex the solution tends to actually be. I have a wife. Love her completely. But she is not a technical person nor does she pretend to be. To make our TV watching situation work I have involved a LOT of complexity to make it so all she has to do is pick up the Harmony Remote and push the "WATCH TV" icon, or, "WATCH CABLE" icon. It works smashingly for her, right up until it doesn't. When it doesn't work she calls me and tells me "its broken".

Exactly. My wife and kids can use everything no problem, but also have no idea how much time and energy went into making it all work. Lucky for me things don't really ever break, but when they do, you can be sure it's when I'm not home to fix it.

Now if I can just get them to use all the home automation stuff correctly, then I'd be set.