New PC - Where to install Cubase/Sound Libraries/Vsts/

[zoobooboozoo]

Hello There.

 

Just Installed Windows 7 on a system with this set of drives:

 

HD 1 : (the better, faster HD)

C: With the windows 7 OS on it.

E: a partition with some files on it.

 

HD :

D: another partition with some files, also have my Cubase projects ATM.

 

I have Cubase 5, Komplete 6, and some other freebies vsts:

Now where should I install Cubase/Vsts/Sound Libraries etc.

should I make the HD1 with only one partition or leave it with the current 2 partitions etc. ?

 

Thanks in advance

 

[edit:reopened in windows forum, so...]

[WRGKMC]

The program must be installed on the operating system drive. The VST's must be set up in the Steinberg program plugin folder for best operation and speed, and so the program can easily find them. I believe the Virtual instruments will reside there too.

 

For recording you can save the wave files to an independant drive, but you cannot write wave files to a partition of the OS drive. Its either the OSdrive or second independant drive. The second drive can be partitioned and you can write to one of those partitions but it may begin to bog down once you get some big projects on there so keeping the independant drive unpartitioned is usually best.

 

You can keep backup programs, Vst's or store files on any drive you want.

[zoobooboozoo]

So should I place the sound libraries i.e.-samples of the VST's in the OS partition too?

[Phil O'Keefe]

I normally do the following:

 

C Drive: OS, DAW application, plugins.

 

Secondary Drive: Dedicated to DAW sessions / audio files.

 

Tertiary Drive: Large sample libraries that I may want to access without impacting the audio recording / playback performance of the secondary (dedicated audio) drive.

 

If you are using virtual instruments with smaller sample / sound libraries, such as the ones that come bundled with many DAW applications (basic pianos, organs, drum kits, etc.) you can probably stick them on the C drive without issues... but if you're running one of the larger sample libraries - basically anything that has a huge (+1GB, etc.) library - whenever possible, I'd recommend getting at least the library on to a drive dedicated for that purpose.

 

Same with your DAW's session / song / project and audio files. I advise against recording to your system or "C" drive. That should be reserved for programs IMO.

 

What if you only have two drives? Then I'd put the programs on the system drive, DAW sessions / audio files on the secondary. Sample libraries on the secondary as well. If your songs use a relatively moderate amount of tracks and samples (disk access), this will probably work fine.

 

FWIW, I never partition any of the drives on my systems. IMO, there is really no benefit to doing so; at least not in terms of system performance with DAW applications.

 

One other thing - don't forget your backups! For that, I recommend external drives. USB or Firewire - either works fine. ESATA (external SATA) drives can work too, but they're less common and not as many computers support them.

[TimOBrien]

Audio processing streams a LOT of data. Drives need to give you quick, uninterrupted access. Separate dedicated drives help a lot to let you stream more tracks with less problems. The goal is SMOOTH UNINTERRUPTED THROUGHPUT of data so you wont get clicks, pops or worse, dropouts. Your sample libraries and audio projects should be on separate drives so they can stream without interruption.

 

Here's how you want your system set up:

 

C: (Boot) OS, apps and vsts - your applications and vsts are generally only loaded once and don't hit the disk thereafter HOWEVER your OS will need to do occasional housekeeping work and you don't want this activity to step on the recording/playback stream.

(order of secondary drives doesn't matter)

Most systems reserve the D: drive for DVD/CDs.

E: Sample libraries

F: thru Z: Music projects and misc data

[zoobooboozoo]

Thanks Tim, yet you still answered as if I had 3 Drives.

 

I have just two:

one with the OS on it (0.5T=500G)

and a older/slower one(150G) which currently have my projects on.

 

so whould I put the sound libraries/samples on the 1st drive Drive(the on with OS on it) or the one with the projects/audio files?

 

p.s. we're livin' double lives Tim!

[WRGKMC]

Read Phils answer again. He told you exactly what works best. Programs on C: operating system drive and Wave files and samples on the second recording drive. You seem to want to load your Program on the faster drive by your hedging. This will not work. The DAW program must be loaded with the operating sustem, so should your VST's to function right.

[zoobooboozoo]

Yeah, I guess I missed what he meant 1st I read his answer, not I got it.

 

Aother question: is there any sense to switching the drives?

I mean:

put the OS and proggies etc. on the slower/older drive which is also smaller(150G)

 

and put my projects and libraries on the newer one(500G).

 

cause I'm not sure I won't run out of space if I use the 150G for the audio and libraries. yet, is it smart to put the OS+proggies on a lower drive?

 

thanks for your patiance & help guys.

[Phil O'Keefe]

Any way you can swing the cost of another drive? Better yet - of two? That would be the ideal, and considering how inexpensive a fairly speedy modern drive with tons of storage is these days (~$65 for 500GB internals at Best Buy), it's the solution to your problem that makes the most sense IMO.

 

You can try getting by with a 150GB C drive, but you'll probably find yourself running out of space pretty fast if you have a lot of big V.I. sound / sample libraries... and if you do, they may not perform so well anyway due to the slow speed of the drive and the additional demands placed on it by the OS itself.

 

But it depends on how "slow" that drive actually is. I'd want a 7,200 RPM drive for my OS. If you're running a 150GB drive, and it's spinning at 7,200 RPM with a average seek time in the ~10 ms or lower range, give it a try as the C drive. As long as you don't start filling it up with tons of sample libraries (they'll probably work better on the D / second HDD anyway), you may be OK... and ideally, you really do want a larger, faster audio drive - that's pretty critical, in terms of both storage and system performance. And if you can get those large VI sample libraries loaded onto a third disk, it will open things up even further for you.

 

Again, ideally, you should consider getting at least one new drive for your system. Especially if you want it to perform hassle-free. DEFINITELY if you are going to be placing high demands on it with multiple samples you're going to stream simultaneously with a high number of audio tracks....

[WRGKMC]

If I were loading from scratch I'd likely use the 150G for the OS and 500G for the wave files. If you already have it set up with the OS on the 500G I'd just leave it and eventually get another 500G for the wave files. The speed of the two likely wont make that huge of difference, if it does, just buy another 500G. The cost is down to $32 when I bough my last one. thats chump change in comparison to what 1g drives were when they first came out. Think I even paid like $150 for a 1G when they first came out.

 

 

1 Terabyte drives are under $100 now and I wouldnt be surprised to see hundred terabytes drives dirt cheap eventually

 

 

In my case, I dont save alot of my multitracks recorded at high sample rates that take up alot of space. They have to be real special for that. What I do is mix till I get the mix right, then save the mixdowns. I master them on another computer, and save the masters on there as well.

 

Your mixdowns, or your completed multitracks could be saved on a partition of your main drive. I do this on my C drive as a safety precaution. I split my C drive and save my completed projects there. You could save multitrack projects there as well.

 

When I say Store I mean Store them there, not try to Track run or mix from the main drive partition. If its stored there and you want to pull it up and work with it again, then you would pull it over to your recording drive.

 

You dont have to have any drives split but It has saved my ass a few times. If you have your backups on a partition as I mentioned and you crash the operating system, you can usually reload the OS and have your backups unaffected.

 

Presently Run my OS on one drive, Recording wave files to another and have a third for all the hundreds of, mixdowns, Plugins, Programs, and any other stuff I may need including lyrics to songs etc. i also store my mixdowns there as well as one a few other drives. Some of the drives are in working computers, some of the drives are in storage disconnected.

 

In the beginning I would work off the C drive and backup to another drive, over time those drives would get full so I'd buy bigger drives as the cost came down. Over the past 25 years, I've made it a point to back up all that material to CD and drives bacause a crash can take it all out.

 

I also get my OS running great and Ghost the drive, creating a perfectly working copy with all the programs functioning. I then disconnect the drive and leave it in the computer velcroed down if need be.

 

If The system ever crashes, I can connect the backup and be back up and running in a few minuites. This is far better than having to load everything back up again. In my case, doing it that way can take me up to a week to get functional again with all the programs and plugs I have.

 

You'll learn this over time. Drives can have data crashes, and mechanical crashes. If its a data crash and you're backed up to a partition, you can recover that data. If its a mechanical crash, You may be able to retrive stuff if its a slow crash.

 

Recording works your drives very, very hard. Streaming data being written and read will wear them out. This is why I try to get at least one new drive a year and if the older ones are still functioning, I'll load them with backup data, bag and tag them and stoor them in a cool dry location. If my computer has a complete meltdown, I'll still have backups and be able to recover all but my current projects.

[zoobooboozoo]

*BUMP*

 

I have an additional question: I intend to buy a 3rd HD now, which would a 1TB(meaning larger) and a bit newer of course so also faster, is it best to use it for the audio + sound libraries since they probebly need the fastest processing or should it be the other way around and I should use it for the OS and programs, cubase etc ?