Running out of disk space

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fritsthegirl

fritsthegirl

Taste of home
I use reaper. Anyone got tips for how I can reduce the amount of files and space all my files produce? Obviously I need to upgrade to a bigger HD - currently working with about 2Gb of space, which is totally ridiculous I know. But until I can afford a new laptop, I want to move what I don't need over to a removable drive so that I can keep editing the same song into different versions without running out of space.

Since I started using envelopes and splitting, I'm using up more and more space. I find if I've used the same directory to store versions of the same song, when I move the older reaper versions to my removable drive parts of my current working file go offline and until I copy all the old stuff back. What's the trick to this, renaming and pushing each version to a different folder do you think?

Thanks in advance.
 
Plug in a usb hard drive and use that. Simple as that.

You should be recording directly to the boot drive anyway. More efficient to record to a separate drive.
 
Wow, you're in a heap of trouble. The best thing I can think of is to keep deleting the older versions of the song. Basically, you'll only be able to work with one version at a time, with your removable handling the rest.

It's going to be a lot of work.
 
Do you reckon if I use the removable drive it won't slow the recording or cause latency issues? It's only USB 02, not sure if that makes a differentio. I had pondered trying to just record to that as I've got ample room there. Will just try and see I guess...
 
I'd be finding general stuff on your 'puter's hard drive that doesn't need to be there right now and archiving THAT onto a separate hard disk. Seriously, you must have all sorts of stuff on there that you can live with out, at least temporarily....
 
There are a number of things you need to think about

1 You are right about your limited storage, but it need not be a handicap. You've got an external hard-drive, so use it. Forget about the 2Gb.

2 Reaper is very good at not losing stuff. That's a blessing and a bane. It means that unless you explicitly delete files, they will just hang around. This includes all the crappy takes and false starts etc during a recording session. Deleting them from the Reaper screen doesn't delete them from the drive, so you can accumulate unwanted files very quickly. Reaper has a file option called 'clean up directory' or something like that, and that's a handy way of getting rid of unwanted files and freeing up space. But it is risky . . . see the next point.

3 It is wise to develop a way of managing your songs. There are many ways of doing this, but one way is as follows:
* first of all, go to your external drive and create a folder called 'my songs' are similar.
* when you want to record, and before you do, load up Reaper, then go to 'save project as' and save the project with the song name into the folder called 'my songs'. Check the box that says 'create sub-directory'. The files for that song and the Reaper Project file will all then be saved in a new folder within 'my songs'. If you have a need to move that song around, you can just grab the whole folder. Or you can delete the whole folder, knowing that you are only deleting the files for that song.
* when you've finished work on that song, you can go to to File/Clean Current Project Directory, and Reaper will get rid of all the stuff not actually used in the song.
* If you get excited and forget to create a directory for a song and just start recording, Reaper will save the files to a default folder (something like Reaper media or similar). That's okay. Just go "Save Project as', specify the location, and check the box that says 'move all media into project directory'. Doing this prevents (a) files being scattered across various folders, and (b) different song files ending up in the same folder.
 
fritsthegirl said:
Do you reckon if I use the removable drive it won't slow the recording or cause latency issues? It's only USB 02, not sure if that makes a differentio. I had pondered trying to just record to that as I've got ample room there. Will just try and see I guess...
Click to expand...

You should be fine. Everything I do in Reaper goes straight to an external drive. It won't slow the recording or create latency.

Armistice said:
I'd be finding general stuff on your 'puter's hard drive that doesn't need to be there right now and archiving THAT onto a separate hard disk. Seriously, you must have all sorts of stuff on there that you can live with out, at least temporarily....
Click to expand...

That's one way of doing it, but I don't really think it is worth it. For Reaper projects, and the amount of space needed to store WAV files, I'd leave all the junk that exists on the 2Gb drive and ignore it, and record direct to external drive.
 
I get you and I generally like to keep things minimal/clean too. I hate useless cr*p on my machine but I am working with an internal HD of 37GB on this thing, and almost of this is installed software that I need to run regularly. I think I'd be able to gain 1-2gb back by really going over things with a fine tooth comb. Of course I am running windows, if I reinstall it with Linux or something I might find the life and space comes back to this thing. By the by, does anyone know if Reaper runs on Linux? My HD is not filled with movies and mp3s or anything, I did a massive clear out the other day and they are all stored externally. What do you guys have size wise (LOL), do you use external drives to record successfully, or am I seriously over using what I have?
 
fritsthegirl said:
I get you and I generally like to keep things minimal/clean too. I hate useless cr*p on my machine but I am working with an internal HD of 37GB on this thing, and almost of this is installed software that I need to run regularly. I think I'd be able to gain 1-2gb back by really going over things with a fine tooth comb. Of course I am running windows, if I reinstall it with Linux or something I might find the life and space comes back to this thing. By the by, does anyone know if Reaper runs on Linux? My HD is not filled with movies and mp3s or anything, I did a massive clear out the other day and they are all stored externally. What do you guys have size wise (LOL), do you use external drives to record successfully, or am I seriously over using what I have?
Click to expand...

gecko gave the same advice I was going to RE: file management. I have a file folder for all my scratch ideas/riffs/pieces/etc but as soon as I come up with an idea for the song title, it gets it's own file folder and all the corresponding files are moved into it and saved there from thatp oint on.

As for HDs...I have 2x1TB HD's. One is purely for audio and Reaper project files, the rest has my OS and softsynths/VSTs. I don't know if this is ideal, but it's worked well so far. I also have an external HD plugged in for song backup.
 
fritsthegirl said:
I get you and I generally like to keep things minimal/clean too. I hate useless cr*p on my machine but I am working with an internal HD of 37GB on this thing, and almost of this is installed software that I need to run regularly. I think I'd be able to gain 1-2gb back by really going over things with a fine tooth comb. Of course I am running windows, if I reinstall it with Linux or something I might find the life and space comes back to this thing. By the by, does anyone know if Reaper runs on Linux? My HD is not filled with movies and mp3s or anything, I did a massive clear out the other day and they are all stored externally. What do you guys have size wise (LOL), do you use external drives to record successfully, or am I seriously over using what I have?
Click to expand...

Going over stuff with a fine tooth comb to get 1-2gb back is not really worth it.

Nor is switching over to Linux.

Larger capacity hard drives are comparatively cheap and are a better investment of your time and money. I use a 1 Terrabyte external drive.
 
Yo TB! I don't even compute that sort of capacity...totally old school here, sounds bliss though, but if recording to HD poses no problems and the laptop seems to keep up with recording, then I should maybe just invest in a honking HD. Probably cheaper than getting a new laptop.
 
gecko zzed said:
Going over stuff with a fine tooth comb to get 1-2gb back is not really worth it.

Nor is switching over to Linux.

Larger capacity hard drives are comparatively cheap and are a better investment of your time and money. I use a 1 Terrabyte external drive.
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly, but seriously appreciate the tips on file saving.
 
There's a function in Reaper - can't remember what it's called but it's under File menu - to get rid of stuff not currently being used in the project.

A PC with internal harddrive of 37GB? Take the long view and start saving for a new PC is my advice... if it's that small then I'd assume the chip and RAM are correspondingly slow/small and you'll run into problems soon enough. PCs are cheap, really.

Sell a kidney. I know buyers... :eek::D
 
Armistice said:
There's a function in Reaper - can't remember what it's called but it's under File menu - to get rid of stuff not currently being used in the project.

A PC with internal harddrive of 37GB? Take the long view and start saving for a new PC is my advice... if it's that small then I'd assume the chip and RAM are correspondingly slow/small and you'll run into problems soon enough. PCs are cheap, really.

Sell a kidney. I know buyers... :eek::D
Click to expand...

I'll have a look at that function, and I may use it in the short term, ta. You are right that a new machine is in the pipeline but in the meantime maybe a bigger HD will suffice. It's a laptop I'm using, but 37Gb as a HD these days is like trying to record to a floppy. Ah...anyone else remember those bad old days with no fondness at all? I wasn't kidding when I said I (and it) was old school. :D
 
Armistice said:
There's a function in Reaper - can't remember what it's called but it's under File menu - to get rid of stuff not currently being used in the project.
Click to expand...

File/Clear Current Project Directory

Effective, but dangerous unless you have songs in their own directories.
 
Never recorded to a floppy, but used to use 100MB "Zip" disks in an old Roland machine.... ah Zip disks.... there was a format! Bet no-one know even remembers they existed.... I still have them... useless now of course as I don't have the machine!

You didn't sound "old school" in your MP3 clinic track BTW... you have a youngish voice.

BTW, not sure if you got the "levels" thing sorted out in that thread... the general advice is to record at 24 bit with peaks at about -12 to give yourself plenty of headroom to crush the life out of it in the mastering process later... or something like that.

OK, that's not quite true but the -12 thing is.;)

See ya round..
 
Thanks Armistice. I actually did still need those exact numbers. I'm not that old school (37), but am kind of forced into old school status when it comes to computer kit. Yeh I remember those zip disks too, my BF at the time had a box full of them but I only ever saw him use about 2. He would say, yeh I got a real cool sound and then I would sit around for a day (slight exaggeration) for him to actually find it on the right disk and play it.

Catch ya later.
 
A terabyte external drive is wicked cheap here in the states.
 
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