Laptop - I'm running out out of storage

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snowbunny00774

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Again - you won't have to try to hard but imagine you are talking to a neanderthal - please explain in detail if you can help :)


My laptop is running out of room. Mostly because of music I have on here. What is the best way to store it. I bought one of those little usb stick things, but haven't used it yet. If I put music on there is it easily retrievable? If I want to have it available for people to torrent from can they do that if I leave it plugged in? that's the main reason I haven't taken anything off my hard drive yet. I'm really new to this stuff and have no idea what I'm doing.

Also - I have itunes on my desktop, with a lot of music on there too - should I put itunes on my laptop too? Can I share between the two - i.e. access my itunes stuff from either computer?


Should I buy one of those external hard drive things?

I'm completely lost about what to do now and the space thing is getting to be a huge problem...
 
1) yes, you should buy an external hard drive. Sarah got a 500 gig one less than a year ago for around $100 at future shop. I think they're even cheaper now. USB sticks have a much smaller capacity than externals, but they are handy for transferring smaller amounts of files.

2) you can share files between computers if you have a router and set up a network between them. I'm guessing you have this already? Your laptop is wireless?

3) I've never used iTunes. I have an non iPod mp3 player, which I simply use the drag and drop method with, and on both my computers I use either WMP or Winamp. I tried to open iTunes once on my old desktop, and it was frightfully slow, and full of crap I don't need, so I ditched it.
 
there's got to be other stuff that's taking up all the space besides music.

do you have videos, pictures, and other large sized files on there? you can always save those onto CDs and store them on the shelf.

it may help just to do some spring cleaning; go through old folders and delete stuff you don't use anymore. i haven't used a pc in ages, but i think there was a feature where you can remove programs you haven't used in ages. there's also some sort of program already built into your computer (i think it is in accessories or utilities menu)...the icon was a broom over a hard drive, and it helped you clean out unnecessary files.

you can also save loads of mp3 files onto CDs if you save them as mp3 files instead of burning them into audio CDs.
 
there's got to be other stuff that's taking up all the space besides music.

do you have videos, pictures, and other large sized files on there? you can always save those onto CDs and store them on the shelf.

it may help just to do some spring cleaning; go through old folders and delete stuff you don't use anymore. i haven't used a pc in ages, but i think there was a feature where you can remove programs you haven't used in ages. there's also some sort of program already built into your computer (i think it is in accessories or utilities menu)...the icon was a broom over a hard drive, and it helped you clean out unnecessary files.

you can also save loads of mp3 files onto CDs if you save them as mp3 files instead of burning them into audio CDs.

Vista and its updates takes up an incredible amount of space. Much more than app files, usually. My laptop is only 6 months old, my c: drive is nearly full, and I've barely put anything on it. :|
 
Is the external hard drive hard to use and figure out?


yes I have wireless on the laptop, not sure if that's really a network though.


I hate itunes, but I do buy some music with it when i don't feel like heading out to get the full cd. I have a shuffle, but don't even know if it works...I wouldn't mind an ipod, but I tend to listen mostly to the radio on my little useless mp3 (but I love you so don't even think of breaking :heart: :uhoh: ) player that I walk to work with and the track when I go.

I have a lot of stuff on it though that I'd like to listen to on the laptop sometimes, or would it be better to convert all those files (can you do that - Reg tried to talk me through it once I think) and then just keep them on the hard drive.

and this hard drive...would people be able to torrent from it?

would it be worth moving some of the stuff to the usb stick thing now until I can get an external hard drive ($$ is tight for those kinds of extras - it'll be next pay if at all)...
I am having a lot of trouble doing anything on here right now as there is no room and I keep getting the warning...
 
there's got to be other stuff that's taking up all the space besides music.

do you have videos, pictures, and other large sized files on there? you can always save those onto CDs and store them on the shelf.

it may help just to do some spring cleaning; go through old folders and delete stuff you don't use anymore. i haven't used a pc in ages, but i think there was a feature where you can remove programs you haven't used in ages. there's also some sort of program already built into your computer (i think it is in accessories or utilities menu)...the icon was a broom over a hard drive, and it helped you clean out unnecessary files.

you can also save loads of mp3 files onto CDs if you save them as mp3 files instead of burning them into audio CDs.

I have no videos except for the couple I just put on - I've been deleting files for weeks, the option pops up everytime I get the warning plus i've manually deleted a lot too....I'm down to only what I absolutely need right now.
photos there are some but not a whole lot. it's weird, I have way more stuff on my desktop which is really old and i've never had this trouble.

what do you mean about putting mp3 files onto a cd instead of audio files...I'm confused :sad:
 
Vista and its updates takes up an incredible amount of space. Much more than app files, usually. My laptop is only 6 months old, my c: drive is nearly full, and I've barely put anything on it. :|



okay thanks - when mia said that I was racking my brain for anything I might have missed as I've been clearing this thing out like a mofo other than the music...that makes sense then :up:
 
Is the external hard drive hard to use and figure out?


yes I have wireless on the laptop, not sure if that's really a network though.


I hate itunes, but I do buy some music with it when i don't feel like heading out to get the full cd. I have a shuffle, but don't even know if it works...I wouldn't mind an ipod, but I tend to listen mostly to the radio on my little useless mp3 (but I love you so don't even think of breaking :heart: :uhoh: ) player that I walk to work with and the track when I go.

I have a lot of stuff on it though that I'd like to listen to on the laptop sometimes, or would it be better to convert all those files (can you do that - Reg tried to talk me through it once I think) and then just keep them on the hard drive.

and this hard drive...would people be able to torrent from it?

would it be worth moving some of the stuff to the usb stick thing now until I can get an external hard drive ($$ is tight for those kinds of extras - it'll be next pay if at all)...
I am having a lot of trouble doing anything on here right now as there is now room and I keep getting the warning...

How big is your usb stick? They're usually 2 or 4 gigs at least, if they're newer, say, around a year old. So yes, go ahead and move whatever you can onto that, from your music files.

I've never converted files, but I'm sure it's not that hard. If you can send them to me, I'll grab the program that Amy suggested, and do it for you, and send them back to you.

Yes, you definitely should be able to download torrents from your laptop. I used to do it on my old dinosaur desktop, and it was fine. And really, it's not as hard or as intimidating as it seems initially. I didn't start using them till a couple of years after they came out (I still miss the old napster!) but I use them all the time now. However, if you're having space issues, you probably won't be able to do it till you free up a lot more space than you will by using a usb stick - you really do need an external.

Your router is what you set up your network through. Sarah did ours, so I've never done it before, but again, it can't be *that* hard. If there's any way I can help, let me know. How to do it depends on the make and model of your router.
 
what do you mean about putting mp3 files onto a cd instead of audio files...I'm confused :sad:

If you burn cds with songs as mp3 files, as opposed to audio files, you can fit hundreds of songs onto a cd. The thing is, they're not in a format where you can stick them into a cd player and listen to them, they're more like data files. You can put them into a computer and listen to them, though.
 
what do you mean about putting mp3 files onto a cd instead of audio files...I'm confused :sad:

well, originially when you download music they are mp3 files, which can vary from 2-5megabytes in size. however, when you burn CDs, your program automatically converts them to a different filetype so that they can be read on CD players (CD players cannot read mp3 files). this filetype is much larger than mp3s, which is why you can usually only put so many songs onto a CD.

however there is a way to burn it as just a data CD with mp3 files (you'd get a CD-RW type of CD for this). these are typically 700MB in size, thus you can save about 175 mp3 files on it.
 
How big is your usb stick? They're usually 2 or 4 gigs at least, if they're newer, say, around a year old. So yes, go ahead and move whatever you can onto that, from your music files.

I've never converted files, but I'm sure it's not that hard. If you can send them to me, I'll grab the program that Amy suggested, and do it for you, and send them back to you.

Yes, you definitely should be able to download torrents from your laptop. I used to do it on my old dinosaur desktop, and it was fine. And really, it's not as hard or as intimidating as it seems initially. I didn't start using them till a couple of years after they came out (I still miss the old napster!) but I use them all the time now. However, if you're having space issues, you probably won't be able to do it till you free up a lot more space than you will by using a usb stick - you really do need an external.

Your router is what you set up your network through. Sarah did ours, so I've never done it before, but again, it can't be *that* hard. If there's any way I can help, let me know. How to do it depends on the make and model of your router.



the stick is 8 I believe.


Sorry - I must have phrased the torrent thing wrong - I meant can people torrent FROM me? you know when you leave it on so that people can torrent and get things from your files...I'm not that concerned about getting anything right now, least of my worries, but I want people to be able to access.


that's awesome VP - thanks for the offer. I'll see if I can afford the external thing this week and if not then maybe I'll send you some stuff or something to convert.

so if I just plug this stick thing in I can start moving files to it - simple as that? it didn't come with anything...least of all a dude describing step by step how not to fuck it up :angry:



now the network thing...that would allow me to what exactly?
 
well, originially when you download music they are mp3 files, which can vary from 2-5megabytes in size. however, when you burn CDs, your program automatically converts them to a different filetype so that they can be read on CD players (CD players cannot read mp3 files). this filetype is much larger than mp3s, which is why you can usually only put so many songs onto a CD.

however there is a way to burn it as just a data CD with mp3 files (you'd get a CD-RW type of CD for this). these are typically 700MB in size, thus you can save about 175 mp3 files on it.

now I only really burn them so I can listen to them in the cd plalyers, mostly in my car - would there be a point in me doing this if I can't listen to them there (I know it doesn't play mp3 files)


thanks to you both for that exaplanation - it makes sense now.
 
the stick is 8 I believe.


Sorry - I must have phrased the torrent thing wrong - I meant can people torrent FROM me? you know when you leave it one so that people can torrent and get things from your files...I'm not that concerned about getting anything right now, least of my worries, but I want people to be able to access.


that's awesome VP - thanks for the offer. I'll see if I can afford the external thing this week and if not then maybe I'll send you some stuff or something to convert.

so if I just plug this stick thing in I can start moving files to it - simple as that? it didn't come with anything...least of all a dude describing step by step how not to fuck it up :angry:



now the network thing...that would allow me to what exactly?

Usb sticks just use drag and drop. So, what you want to do is to plug it into a usb slot, then see what drive letter is assigned to it (they usually end up being e: or f: or something like that. Then, you need to go into your My Computer, find the place where your music is stored, select the files you want to move, right-click cut, and then paste them into whatever drive your usb has become. It's really easy, providing I've explained it clearly. If I haven't, let me know. :)

Yes, people should be able to torrent from you. I don't know any way of requesting a torrent from a specific person/computer though. I just go to the torrent sites, and then it seems that I just get it from whatever random people have the file I want. Maybe someone else could say if you can torrent to specific people...?

The network thing would allow both computers to use the same printer, and the computers to share music files and documents between them. So, if you were on your laptop and needed a letter stored on your desktop, you could click to get it up on your laptop.
 
Usb sticks just use drag and drop. So, what you want to do is to plug it into a usb slot, then see what drive letter is assigned to it (they usually end up being e: or f: or something like that. Then, you need to go into your My Computer, find the place where your music is stored, select the files you want to move, right-click cut, and then paste them into whatever drive your usb has become. It's really easy, providing I've explained it clearly. If I haven't, let me know. :)

Yes, people should be able to torrent from you. I don't know any way of requesting a torrent from a specific person/computer though. I just go to the torrent sites, and then it seems that I just get it from whatever random people have the file I want. Maybe someone else could say if you can torrent to specific people...?

The network thing would allow both computers to use the same printer, and the computers to share music files and documents between them. So, if you were on your laptop and needed a letter stored on your desktop, you could click to get it up on your laptop.



okay - on the first bit, lovely one, that sounds like childsplay, now provided I can find the fucking thing - I just looked and apparently I moved it to somewhere "safe" :rolleyes: I should be able to manage that, if not one of the neighbours kids'll be busy this afternoon.


I'll look at the rest in a minute when I search some more.
 
found it and also grabbed a drink - it's shaping up to be one of those days :)


the middle bit - it's not any specific, just for anyone so I can have good ratios or something. the guy who gave me the invite said he'd be watching so I'm paranoid to the point where I'd like to have shared lots before I take any :lame:



the last bits sounds like utopia. I want. I will see what I have for the router part in a bit - it's upstairs and I'm not allowing myself back up there till I clean the living room.
 
found it and also grabbed a drink - it's shaping up to be one of those days :)


the middle bit - it's not any specific, just for anyone so I can have good ratios or something. the guy who gave me the invite said he'd be watching so I'm paranoid to the point where I'd like to have shared lots before I take any :lame:



the last bits sounds like utopia. I want. I will see what I have for the router part in a bit - it's upstairs and I'm not allowing myself back up there till I clean the living room.

Ah, yeah, that's no problem then, if you leave your torrent program running, people should be able to grab anything from you.

OH....

if you move files, they won't be able to get what's been moved. Is that what you're asking?
 
Ah, yeah, that's no problem then, if you leave your torrent program running, people should be able to grab anything from you.

OH....

if you move files, they won't be able to get what's been moved. Is that what you're asking?



YES!!!! that's what I meant - thank you for finally seeing the jumble that's inside my head...where's pfan - he normally takes what I say and puts it into english quite nicely...although you're quite good at it too!!!


the moving part - that's my fear - if I put them on an external hardrive how will people be able to get them....:)
 
YES!!!! that's what I meant - thank you for finally seeing the jumble that's inside my head...where's pfan - he normally takes what I say and puts it into english quite nicely...although you're quite good at it too!!!


the moving part - that's my fear - if I put them on an external hardrive how will people be able to get them....:)

As long as you keep the external plugged into your computer, you should be able to set your torrent program to look there for files to share.


(it's not your fault, I'm dense today :happy: eta - just went back and reread the initial post, yes, you did make it quite clear what you wanted to know, it was me - sorry :reject: )
 
I would just get a good external hard drive and not bother with multiple USB drives and/or CDs. I got a nice Western Digital 500GB drive for $80 a few months ago. Yes, if left plugged in people can torrent from it, it's just another mapped drive letter (you may have to change your torrent client config to point to the other drive). Yes, it is very easy to use. Actually, the same as using a USB drive since they ARE USB drives, just larger (plug it in, it will show up as another drive letter in My Computer, you can save to it or drag-and-drop to it).
 
Also - I have itunes on my desktop, with a lot of music on there too - should I put itunes on my laptop too? Can I share between the two - i.e. access my itunes stuff from either computer?
yes you could do this. i've got all my music files on my desktop and just use my laptop to stream off it. just make sure itunes on your desktop is checked to share music with users on your network, and you can access it. all you have to do is leave itunes open on your desktop, and when you open itunes on your laptop there will be an icon on the left hand side where the playlists are usually displayed showing the library.

as for where to find said option, go to options on the itunes on your desktop. go to the "sharing" link. there will be an option called "share my library on my local network." click it and you're good to go!

i do think the external hard drive option is also another good one, but everyone else has commented so i won't bother. :D
 
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