Hey all!
 
I'm installing X2 on my new computer today, and I though this would be a great time to find any information about installation directories!
 
Are there any best practices documented anywhere? I have an empty drive formatted and ready to go where I want to keep samples, etc. 
 
I'm thinking I will just redirect EVERYTHING except for the actual Sonar program to this drive, but wanted to find out what actual best practices are. What to leave on C:\, and what do move to the empty E:\.
 
My project files go to a USB drive - J:
 
Thanks for any advice! I know its late in the day so I'm hoping someone might chime in before I start the install :-)
 
Gavin

I think you have the idea well thought out. There really isn't much to do in installing Sonar. The only thing I am little concerned about is you're using a USB drive for projects. I would use a SATA type drive.
 
 

Thanks John!
 
I've been using a USB drive for quite some time. My projects are embarrassingly small lol.
 
If I do ever have a larger one I'll use the E: drive, or get another SATA drive and then just back up the project to USB.
 
Thanks for the advice!

Your best option is to have 3 internal drives, set up something like this:
 

1. Os & Programs
2. Cakewalk Projects
3. Sample Libraries

Ideally, the OS drive could be an SSD, and depending on the size of your libraries, the sample crive could also be an SSD, but none of this is crucial.
 
What IS crucial is that your drives, if they're of the spinning type, should run at 7200 RPM and NOT be of any sort of "green" drive.
 
Good luck!

Hey Jonesey,
Just out of curiosity why not a green drive?
Does the 'power saving' tend to slow things down or is there other reasons?

I've read that green is not the best choice for audio/video too but never looked into the reasons.
I just stayed away from them because I love being a recourse hog. :-)

Mike

There's nothing wrong with green drives, it's just their rotational speed slows down load times. In practice, it won't affect DAW's all that much, since there really isn't that much of a DISK I/O strain with these applications. Initial loading of instruments might take a fraction longer, but it shouldn't make much of a difference following that.

Green drives will "go to sleep" when they've not been accessed for a while. It takes time to "wake them up" and this delay can cause much frustration.

I'd advise against the use of a USB key too - they often fail. If the goal is to have portability (desktop at home, laptop on the road (or air?)) then why not use DropBox, SkyDrive or one of those? Put your projects in a DropBox folder and it'll auto-sync to the cloud and down to the laptop when you connect when away. Of course, readiness will depend on Internet connection speed, the size of the projects - and specifically how much audio data is involved.
 
KEv