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  #1  
Old May 5th, 2005, 11:47 PM
mtchurch mtchurch is offline
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Question Newbie question concerning Hoster Backup

Hello Everyone,

I've got Hoster on a laptop with a 40G hardrive. I've got about 3/4 of the hardrive filled. I've purchased a 120G external hard drive and would like to backup Hoster to the external hard drive and maybe remove some songs out of the laptops database to free up some of it's hard drive space.

My question is..... what is the easiest way to do this? I've searched the forums and came up with a few posts but I'm still a little foggy on this. Any help would be much appreciated.

mtchurch
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  #2  
Old May 6th, 2005, 02:51 AM
DJYale DJYale is offline
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Re: Newbie question concerning Hoster Backup

By the way it's phrased I assume you are talking about running the show from the USB drive.

Easiest thing to do (and what I did when still using a laptop), Make a folder on the USB drive (in my case was e:\Hoster KMA).

Copy all your KMA files to this folder.

Point Hoster to the new folder then rebuild the songs database.
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  #3  
Old May 6th, 2005, 03:08 AM
nreel nreel is offline
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Re: Newbie question concerning Hoster Backup

Well, I'm confused.

You stated two things:
1. Backup to an External Hard Drive
2. Remove Songs out of the Laptop DATABASE to Free-up your Laptop Hard Drive

So, are you wanting to COPY your KMA files to the External Drive for permanent BACKUP?

Or, are you wanting to MOVE some of the KMA files off your Laptop Hard Drive to the External Drive so that you free-up space on your Laptop HD?

The Laptop Database is not the same as the KMA files. Moving Songs out of the Laptop database will not free-up HD space. To free-up HD space you will need to MOVE KMA files off the HD.

Now, if you MOVE SOME of your KMAs to the external HD, you will need to have your External HD hooked up to your Laptop, add a PATH in the Build Songs Database Menu to point to the External HD, and Rebuild the Database when you run Hoster. How else is Hoster going to know where the rest of the KMAs are?

Basically, Laptop Hard Drives are not big enough to store an appreciable amout of KMAs. Most people, who use Laptops, do not store their KMAs on the Laptop HD. They use an External HD exclusively.

So, to accomplish your two tasks, you will need TWO External Hard Drives.

One External HD that you will use when running Hoster, in which, you will MOVE all your KMAs to and One External Drive to BACKUP your KMAs.

The External Drive that you use for BACKUP should never be used for anything other than BACKUP.

MOVE means to copy all KMA files to the NEW External HD and then DELETE the files from the Laptop HD. Some FILE UTILITY programs can do this all at once, which is called MOVE.

If you choose to do this, I would attach one External HD, make a FOLDER called SONGS, COPY all KMAs to it (D:\SONGS where D is your External Drive designation), remove that External HD, attach the NEXT External HD, make a FOLDER called SONGS, and Copy all KMAs to it (D:\SONGS where D is your External Drive designation).

Now, while the LAST External HD is still connected:
1. Open Hoster
2. Click on TOOLS
3. Click on BUILD SONGS DATABASE
4. Click on the FOLDER that is listed in the SONGS SOURCE FOLDERS
5. Click DELETE to remove it
6. Click SELECT FOLDER
7. Click the Drop Down Arrow in the LOOK IN: section
8. Click DRIVE D or whatever Drive LETTER that Windows has assigned for
....your External HD.
9. Click the Folder SONGS
10. Click SELECT...Note that the Songs Source Folder now has d:\Songs in it.
11. Click BUILD SONGS DATABASE.

When the Database is done rebuilding, Hoster will be able to find ALL THE SONGS, which are now located on you External HD.

Test Hoster by PLAYING some songs. When you are confident that the files have transferred OK, and, that Hoster works correctly...you won't be able to test all the songs...then, and only then, would I DELETE the KMAs on the LAPTOP HD.

If it was me, I would disconnect the External HD that the BUILD SONGS DATABASE was run on, connect the OTHER External HD, and TEST Hoster by Playing some Songs. You will not have to REBUILD the database for the Alternate External HD because all the KMAs should be in the EXACT location as the other External HD.

Then, I would DELETE all the KMAs on the LAPTOP HD.

Done.

Hope this helps,
Norm
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  #4  
Old May 6th, 2005, 10:12 AM
mtchurch mtchurch is offline
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Question Re: Newbie question concerning Hoster Backup

Thanks guys for your response.

To answer one question, yes the External Hard Drive will be USB.

My wife is doing a one person show with the laptop. She really doesn't need to have all of her downloaded songs on her laptop, just the ones she wants to sing. BUT, she wants the option to have these songs available in case someone else wants to sing.

So I was thinking that we should probably just move or copy all the songs from the laptop and put them on a external hard drive and keep a copy of only the songs that she wants to sing on her laptop. That would keep her from having to hook up the extrenal hard drive at every show but still give her the option of having a large database of songs in case she needed them stored away in her suitcase.

I probably should have purchased a external hard drive when I was initally uploading the laptop with all the Karaoke CD's and put all of the KMA files on the external hard drive but you live and learn.

Norm, your suggestion makes sense and no I really don't want to buy another hard drive. Norm, with that being said, should I just go by your instructions and move all of the KMA files over to the external hard drive? And in doing this, Hoster (that is running from the laptop) can find the KMA files on the external hard drive.

Thanks a million guys. I never know how much I am behind in computer tech until I post one of these questions!!!

mtchurch
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  #5  
Old May 6th, 2005, 11:25 AM
lmcmains lmcmains is offline
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Re: Newbie question concerning Hoster Backup

Once you put them on your external drive you will have to do a build songs database. You will have to point Hoster to the drive letter of your external drive where your kma's are stored. Then when you import more kma files you will have to change that to the external drive also
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  #6  
Old May 6th, 2005, 02:27 PM
nreel nreel is offline
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Re: Newbie question concerning Hoster Backup

OK...move all the Songs except your wife's songs to the External HD.

Open the BUILD SONGS DATABASE window.
Leave the CURRENT Path that is listed alone.
Add a second Path that will point to the External HD.

REBUILD THE DATABASE

When that is done, your wife will have access to all HER songs without hooking-up the External HD and, when the External HD is hooked-up, not only will your Wife, still, have access to her Songs, but everyone else will have access to all other songs.

Keep in mind that, when the External HD is NOT hooked-up, your Wife won't have access to any other Song that she may decide to Sing.

Norm

P.S. There are other ways with which to handle this situation, but are more complicated.

For instance, you could move all the KMAs to the External HD, Open the BUILD SONGS DATBASE Window, delete the Folder pointing to the LAPTOP HD, add the FOLDER pointing to the EXTERNAL HD, rebuild the DB, and move SONGS.MDB to a TEMP-EXTERNAL HD Folder.

Then, copy back to the LAPTOP HD your Wife's Songs, unplug the External HD, Open the BUILD SONGS DATBASE Window, delete the Folder pointing to the EXTERNAL HD, add the FOLDER pointing to the LAPTOP HD, rebuild the DB, and COPY the SONGS.MDB to a TEMP-LAPTOP HD Folder, and rebuild the database.

Now, you have two separate SONGS.MDBs that you would copy, only ONE, to the MTU/Database Folder depending on your usage.

This would allow you to have your Wife's Songs DUPLICATED on BOTH, the LAPTOP HD and, the EXTERNAL HD without causing a conflict of duplicated KMAs, which would be the case if you put TWO Folder KMA locations in the BUILD SONGS DATABASE/Song Source Folders Window and had the same KMAs in both Folders.

Seems easier just to put all the KMAs on the External Drive and hook it up each time you wanted to use Hoster.

Norm

P.S.S.
This is exactly the reason why I do not use a LAPTOP. Laptops are supposed to be for convenience. What convenience? You have to bring an External Drive, an External Mouse, unless you like the Mouse Pad, which I don't, and, an External Keyboard, unless you like to use the Laptops Numbers across the Top, which I don't because I like the Keypad on a Full Size Keyboard.

With all this hooking-up, may as well have a Desktop, which I do and is easier to work on and costs less. Also, you can have SEVERAL Hard Drives in a Desktop, which may serve as BACKUP Drives for your KMAs.

Last edited by nreel; May 6th, 2005 at 02:34 PM.
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