Need Help: Sharing the same hard drives between two computers, plus...

B

Brett Erskine

Member
Does anyone know how to safely let two computers hook up to the same set of external firewire drives?

Heres what I'm trying to do:

In a attempt to keep my editing system virus free and as reliable as possible I dont have it hooked up to the internet. Instead a second computer is used for internet access via a cable modem. Yet at the same time not having direct access to files sent to me over the internet for my editing is a real pain. I have to put media files that I get over the internet on one external firewire hard drive and then plug it into my other NLE computer to work with the files. I just want two computers with their own internal drives for all program files and a set of large external firewire drives for my media files that both computers can share.

I also want to simplify my workspace and have some type of switch that allow the two computers to share the same monitor, keyboard and mouse. Whats the smartest way to do this?

Thank you
 
If you're running Windows XP, just plug a firewire cable between your two computers. You'll get a 400mbps network for blazing fast file transfers. Forget using the external hard disk as a swapping system, just plug it into one of the systems and make it "shared" on your local network, and then the other computer can see it and access it as if it's a local disk.
 
Brett Erskine said:
I also want to simplify my workspace and have some type of switch that allow the two computers to share the same monitor, keyboard and mouse. Whats the smartest way to do this?

Thank you
Click to expand...
Well, you can use a KVM device (Keyboard, Video, Mouse) but I don't have any recommendations on a GOOD one. I tried two, and both ended up making the monitor look just soft enough to bug my eyes after a few hours, so I ditched it.
 
Thanks Barry. I'll do some research on KVM's and if the one I buy works well I'll post my findings. As always your a great help. You can find everything in the Dictionbarry
 
Barry - great suggestion that could be of use to me as I need this solution also.

Does this require additional firewire hardware ( cards) and how easy are they to install. Eg I have a firewire port on my Matrox RTX card and on my SB Audigy. The Matrox one is used , connected to the DV VCR, the Audigy one is spare. CAn I use the AUdigy port as one of these connections ?

My other computer currently has no Firewire so would need a standalone firewire card if they are even available.

Just checking that this is all viable (and simple) before I go investing in the hardware.
 
Shooter - Yes you can use the firewire port on the soundcard. I do all the time. Also, you can pick up cheap firewire cards at any electronics stores like BestBuy, CompUSA, etc... Here's some
You just need to make sure you have a PCI slot available. VERY easy to install.
 
Thanx - so I assume once installed a Network is needed to be established. Any guides/ tips or will the comps automatically see each other via the firewire.

I am hoping the latter is the case.
 
Well actually networking two or more computers can be very easy or very hard depending on what you really need.


Windows 2000 and XP have an automatic ip adressing functionality so when you connect two computers they both aquire an ip adressing scheme of: 169.x.x.x. This functionality has it's flaws and I always suggest using fixed ip adresses
in the form of 192.168.1.x with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 (Class C).

The other issue is network security. Just because you connected two machines succesfully doesn't mean they will "see" each other properly. Workgroup name must be the same (some people leave the default) on both machines, the "Use simple file sharing" on folder options must be disabled and user names and passwords must be EXACTLY the same on all machines, otherwise again you wont be able to access anything other than the default shares.


Firewall (if enabled) must be configured properly whether it's the windows integrated one or a hardware\software based firewall.

You can also use the other computer as proxy server and have only 80 port (http) outbound requests pass through the network


Let me know if you want more detail.
 
Thanx jazzx.

Very good info and enough to convince me that I "should" get my friendly IT guy to sort it out.

For now it is good to know it will work and it is a solution to me constantly "bouncing" files between computers via an external drive or a USB Ram device.
 
first of all.....u shouldnt panic..... im running 3 edting pcs and all are on the internet....jsut make sure if its your editing pc thats all u do, no surfing for porn, no internet no email not dumb ****..... yes if u need a file...have it sent or transfer from other pc..u'll be fine. There are no extra steps that u need to protect yourself...youre over reacting! hope that helps....

..relax a bit its only the internet
 
Well I picked up a KVM switch that seemed to have some good specs and I didnt notice any softness in the image. It supports video resolutions up to 2048 x 1536 but I;ve only tested up to 1600 X 1200. The company offers a huge array of switchers but this seemed to be perfect for my needs: 2 ports, audio support, high resolution, extremely small and affordable. In fact its so small they didnt even put a switch on it because they dont expect you to keep it laying on top of your work station (after all its purpose is to minimize the clutter). Instead it hangs somewhere behind your desk and you switch between computers by simply pushing the keyboards "scroll lock" button twice. Worked for me. Heres the link:

http://www.iogear.com/main.php?loc=product&Item=GCS612A

As far as the other issue of firewire networking two computers - I'm still having trouble getting both to always see the same drive. They seem to lose it once in a while and I need to restart. I'll keep working at it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top