External Hard Drive Question

[lap]

Is recording to a usb external hard drive a bad idea? I've read the compatibility info and know that digi/avid does not support this type of drive. It seems firewire is the way to go, but I'm trying to avoid having to buy more hardware.

I'm currently recording via usb to a calvery 1Tb external, but everything freezes up for about a minute when I try to record, then normal operation resumes. This "hiccup" happens every time I arm a track and record. This never happened last year when I was recording to the same usb external hard drive via a windows machine.

I really just want this to work, so if buying a firewire interfaced external is the answer, then I'll go get one.

Any advice is greatly appreciated:)
Andy

[Craig F]

Let's just say it's not a good idea.
USB lacks a dedicated controller and has to depend on the system's CPU for it's data flow control.

A few have had success running USB drives, most have not

[Paul Cavins]

You should go with an external FW drive and avoid the worries. Other World Computing sells drives that are highly recommended and affordable.

You can then use the USB drive for a backup.

PC