Backup strategy

It backs up and restores both.

best

David

The most obvious solution would be to get a duplicate drive, same size, make, etc and just replicate everything. If the drive should fail, just swap out the full drive

I don't think this is the obvious solution!

It would difficult to remember to keep them in step with each other.

The Core has a built-in back up and restore capability. It's incremental, so you only backup new files and you can automate it if you want to, so it backs up to a NAS for example. If you get a disc failure, then you can put in any suitable drive, including that larger faster drives are likely to be available for less money then and just restore from the backup.

best

David

I know it’s OTT but I do keep a duplicate drive for my Core up to date as well as a USB HDD. Where it has been very useful is I have been and will be doing a few dealer demos for preamp and the new streamers. I just take the duplicate hard drive along to the demo, load onto dealer Core unit, listen to my music files.

I also need to start backing up my Core and was thinking of the USB portable drive route.

I'm unsure as to which one to purchase e.g. Toshiba, WD or Seagate.

Does it really matter? Any recommendations?

Many thanks,

Mike

As Naim recommend Seagate for the hard drive I purchased a Seagate external usb hard drive, but any should be fine.

Cheers Gazza.

I will pull the trigger and get on with it.

Gazza posted:

I know it’s OTT but I do keep a duplicate drive for my Core up to date as well as a USB HDD. Where it has been very useful is I have been and will be doing a few dealer demos for preamp and the new streamers. I just take the duplicate hard drive along to the demo, load onto dealer Core unit, listen to my music files.

Forgot to mention the hard drive sled that the hard drive sits in,  is an orderable spare part complete with a set of hard drive fixing screws from your dealer, cost about £18.

Maybe I've gone over the top, but I have backup to both NAS and portable drive. NAS of course also backs up the families devices, phones, laptop's, photos etc. Also double backed up some of the more irreplaceable files as well. Something else to consider with back up hardware location is fire or flood damage. Rich 

Rich, that’s a great point, don,t keep everything in the same location. Just adjusted my spare drive location, thanks.

Gazza posted:

I know it’s OTT but I do keep a duplicate drive for my Core up to date as well as a USB HDD. Where it has been very useful is I have been and will be doing a few dealer demos for preamp and the new streamers. I just take the duplicate hard drive along to the demo, load onto dealer Core unit, listen to my music files.

I do the same thing as you Gazza,I try to keep things as simple (to me) as possible,as I have no idea how to set the Core to back up.All my music was on a western digital external hard drive before I bought my Core,I had it plugged into my laptop,and used J River before the Core.When I got the Core,I just bought a 3TB western digital external hard drive,formatted it to the Core,and simply copied the old ones contents to the new one using my laptop.The 3TB drive stays plugged into the Core,and the other one sits in a closet if I ever need it.The only downside to this (besides fire),is I do not have back up for the CDs I ripped to the SSD drive inside the Core,other than the physical CDs that are stored in boxes.

No quarter posted:

Gazza posted:

I know it’s OTT but I do keep a duplicate drive for my Core up to date as well as a USB HDD. Where it has been very useful is I have been and will be doing a few dealer demos for preamp and the new streamers. I just take the duplicate hard drive along to the demo, load onto dealer Core unit, listen to my music files.

I do the same thing as you Gazza,I try to keep things as simple (to me) as possible,as I have no idea how to set the Core to back up.All my music was on a western digital external hard drive before I bought my Core,I had it plugged into my laptop,and used J River before the Core.When I got the Core,I just bought a 3TB western digital external hard drive,formatted it to the Core,and simply copied the old ones contents to the new one using my laptop.The 3TB drive stays plugged into the Core,and the other one sits in a closet if I ever need it.The only downside to this (besides fire),is I do not have back up for the CDs I ripped to the SSD drive inside the Core,other than the physical CDs that are stored in boxes.

It is very easy to make a backup of the files on the internal drive. You can do it with a USB hard drive. Plug it into one of the USB ports on the Core. Go to the setup menu in the Core part of the Naim app, tap "Manage Music" then "Backup Music", follow the instructions and the backup will start. You can just leave it to complete, which takes a if you have lots of files, and when it finishes you get "Success" in the backup monitor. It backs up differentially, so on the second backup, it only backs up those you have added since the last backup.

You will want a new backup drive that isn't used for anything else and that can be kept somewhere else so it doesn't get burnt/stolen/whatever at the same time as the Core.

best

David

Thanks everyone !

David Hendon posted:

No quarter posted:

Gazza posted:

I know it’s OTT but I do keep a duplicate drive for my Core up to date as well as a USB HDD. Where it has been very useful is I have been and will be doing a few dealer demos for preamp and the new streamers. I just take the duplicate hard drive along to the demo, load onto dealer Core unit, listen to my music files.

I do the same thing as you Gazza,I try to keep things as simple (to me) as possible,as I have no idea how to set the Core to back up.All my music was on a western digital external hard drive before I bought my Core,I had it plugged into my laptop,and used J River before the Core.When I got the Core,I just bought a 3TB western digital external hard drive,formatted it to the Core,and simply copied the old ones contents to the new one using my laptop.The 3TB drive stays plugged into the Core,and the other one sits in a closet if I ever need it.The only downside to this (besides fire),is I do not have back up for the CDs I ripped to the SSD drive inside the Core,other than the physical CDs that are stored in boxes.

It is very easy to make a backup of the files on the internal drive. You can do it with a USB hard drive. Plug it into one of the USB ports on the Core. Go to the setup menu in the Core part of the Naim app, tap "Manage Music" then "Backup Music", follow the instructions and the backup will start. You can just leave it to complete, which takes a if you have lots of files, and when it finishes you get "Success" in the backup monitor. It backs up differentially, so on the second backup, it only backs up those you have added since the last backup.

You will want a new backup drive that isn't used for anything else and that can be kept somewhere else so it doesn't get burnt/stolen/whatever at the same time as the Core.

best

David

David,thanks for the info...so can I just do that backup with the USB drive that I now have plugged in,which is already formatted...there is plenty of room on it? Then I could unplug the USB drive,transfer the backed up files to the copy USB drive that I keep in a closet,using my laptop I hope?

I think you have to have a new drive as it will be formatted by the Core before the backup starts (if I remember correctly). USB drives cost little and you can hide it away somewhere safe

best

David

Ok thanks David,I probably have a separate hard drive I can use for that,I don’t want to risk losing all the music on the one I have plugged in right now.I have another question for you...I recently downloaded some music on my laptop that I want to transfer to my Core external USB drive.The thing is,my laptop recently died,so I had to get a new hard drive installed,and since then,I can’t remember how to find the Downloads folder.Is it just as easy to remove the USB drive from the Core,stick it in the laptop,transfer the files,then stick it back in...or should I try and find the downloads folder again,and transfer it that way?Or if you can,could you remind me what I have to do in order to see the downloads folder on the Laptop.By the way,it is a Windows 7 on my laptop.

thanks

I assume from the question that you are using the external USB drive as the Music Store? (A Music Store is where the Core stores its own rips,)  So you aren't using an internal HDD or SSD as the Music Store?

if that is the case then the downloads folder will be on your external USB drive, so you could plug it into the USB port on your PC and copy your new files into the downloads folder. Then when you plug it back into the Core, the Core should scan it and find the new music within a minute or so.

But if you do have an internal drive or for some other reason you want to navigate to the downloads folder from your PC without unplugging anything from the Core, there are a couple of ways to do it.

The way that Naim describe in the online support wizard is to find out the IP address of the Core, e.g. By looking in about in the Core page of the app and then type \\192.168.1.2 (or whatever your Core IP address is) into Windows explorer. Your PC should find the Core and you can navigate to the downloads folder like with any folder.

You should be able to use the Core name in the same way. The name is something like Uniticore123456 where 123456 is whatever serial number yours is, which you can also get from about in the Core page of the Naim app. So type \\Uniticore123456 into Windows Explorer. Similarly you should be able to map the Core downloads folder in windows using the same Core name. I say "should" because this hasn't always worked for me although it did with the current release Core firmware and a windows 7 PC.

I hope that isn't all too confusing!

best

David

David

If I go into configure music stores on the Naim App>View local drives>I see the internal SSD,and USB rear panel.So it looks like somehow I have 2 stores?When I go into configure music shares there are no drives visible,it just shows 2 options,share settings,and share scanning.Also,when I type in Uniti Core 413972 in the explorer (I assume you mean at the top of the page,the little magnifying glass) under computer it opens up the windows media player,and I can see all of the albums on the Core there?I seem to remember before I got the new computer drive,I had a yellow folder that said downloads,nothing to do with the media player?Should I try dragging the new files into the windows media player?

I have heard before that you can (but shouldn't!) define two music stores in which case I assume the Core chooses the most recent to save its rips to (which is therefore the current Music Store). If both have downloads folders then both will be treated as a share and both will be scanned.

Re windows explorer, I'm not talking about your browser that may be Internet Explorer. I'm talking about the screen you get if you go to "Start Menu" and then "my computer". Type \\192.168.1.2 or whatever into the bar at the top and press return.

If you are in Windows media player then you are in the wrong place and no, don't drag your files there!

Edit: note the backwards \\ 

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David

Yes I am not in internet explorer,I am under computer,when I type that number in now a black screen pops up,it says Naim at the very top,but nothing is in it.The Core is showing up under >Network >media devices>I see,Nac 272-CD01,Owner-PC owner,Uniti Core 413972,Viera ST50...which is my Television.So under media devices is where I am seeing the Core,and it has somehow combined with the windows media player.This is the reason I have not added any new music since getting the Core,I did not want to disturb what appears to be working.As you can see,I am a bit lost when it comes to computer stuff.God only knows the frustrations I will have if I ever try to edit metadata.Maybe the simplest thing to do is disconnect the drive from the Core,and transfer it on the laptop?Do I need to power the Core down before I disconnect the drive?

I can see that it’s tempting to go for the cheapest, simplest solution and just back up to a USB drive. My suggestion, though, it to get a basic single drive Synology or QNAP NAS, which isn’t that much more expensive. Put a server on the NAS, and you then have a fully functioning setup that can take over from the Core immediately if it fails. That gives you protection against any issue with the Core, not just hard drive failure. 

No quarter posted:

Yes I am not in internet explorer,I am under computer,when I type that number in now a black screen pops up,it says Naim at the very top,but nothing is in it.The Core is showing up under >Network >media devices>I see,Nac 272-CD01,Owner-PC owner,Uniti Core 413972,Viera ST50...which is my Television.So under media devices is where I am seeing the Core,and it has somehow combined with the windows media player.This is the reason I have not added any new music since getting the Core,I did not want to disturb what appears to be working.As you can see,I am a bit lost when it comes to computer stuff.God only knows the frustrations I will have if I ever try to edit metadata.Maybe the simplest thing to do is disconnect the drive from the Core,and transfer it on the laptop?Do I need to power the Core down before I disconnect the drive?

Did you try using the IP address in windows explorer?

Dont forget its \\192.168.1.2 or whatever. The \\ is important. // is no good!

it always works if you use the IP address.

But no you don't need to turn off the Core if you want to unplug the USB drive, assuming it's not currently saving a new rip to it.

best

David

David

i did have the slash the wrong way I think,when I did it the right way a window popped up that said...troubleshooting couldn’t identify the problemI.

i hit explore additional options..it says...problem found

The remote device or resource won’t accept the connection      Detected,then there is a triangle yellow sign with an exclamation mark inside. When I hit explore additional options,it says >get help from a friend,recovery,or online support.At this point,I think I will unplug the USB drive,and try that,thanks for the help.When I type in Uniti Core 413972,again it said it could not access it,I hit diagnose,and this time it said your DNS server is unavailable.

So the "device won't accept the connection" is what it says when it doesn't work! Naim are working on improving this functionality currently, but as a beta tester I have already said too much!

Have you tried the IP address way of doing it? If not you should because that always works for me.

Also UnitiCore413972 is all one word with no spaces. Yes?

But plugging it straight into your PC should be fine too.

best

David

Yes that is what it says,and yes I tried the IP address too,same message.I wonder if it has something to do with the latest firmware,because I had it working before the new hard drive,last time I added new music.I have to go out now,but I will try unplugging the USB drive,and doing it that way later on.