Ok, so I have my main DAW machine with a couple of 500GB SSDs in it. Most of my other data it on random external hard drives.

I have an older PC with a Q6600 quad core CPU, 8GB RAM and a motherboard that has 8 SATA connectors. It's all in a HAF case that can hold 10 3.5" drives and a couple of 2.5" drives.

Is there any way I can easily ditch the external enclosures and house the hard drives in my HAF case and connect with my DAW PC?

The other complication is that the hard drives I have a mostly filled with data that I would ideally not want to lose, i.e. not reformat them.

Any ideas or suggestions???

 

Last edited: Nov 14, 2019

I have a (somewhat) similar setup. Share the folders and network that bitch. I do it over FireWire 800. Even though my Ethernet is capable of 1GB/s the FireWire still transmits and receives faster.

 

Last edited: Nov 14, 2019

Are you trying to do this on a limited budget?

Some suggestions:
If the external drives are 3.5" & internal 3.5" drives bays are empty, just move them to the internal locations.
Get some 2.5" to 3.5" adapters if needed. Can be bought in groups of two or more.

You could also by a larger SATA based SSD or 7200 RPM HD & transfer all the files from the external drives.

 

Yeah, I am trying to do it for as little cost as possible. However, my DAW machine is in a small form factor case and so no room for the drives in there.

Ideally it would be great to put the drives in the second spare machine and run them as JBOD without having to wipe and format them, and somehow connect it to my main DAW machine.

This is totally new territory for me and I have zero experience of networking etc though!

 

Create yourself a poor-man's NAS. See if this set of instructions will interest you :

How to Turn an Old PC Into a File Server

https://www.howtogeek.com/190835/how-to-turn-an-old-pc-into-a-home-file-server/

 

Utilizing the second comp is the best idea imho. You need no experience of networking for this task. First make sure both of your machines have at least one Gigabit Ethernet Port. After that, all you need is an inexpensive network switch like a TP-LINK TL-SG1005D and a couple of cat5 Ethernet cables. Add a third cable if you wanna route your internet modem/router to the switch so both machines get internet access without having to rely on wireless cards. The switch i mentioned (and many similar too) has 5 gbit ports so even with your modem+comps connected on the switch you will have 2 ports available. Total cost of a switch like the TP-LINK and 3 cat5 cables = 15-20 euros (depending on how long cables you may need). The switch i mentioned is about 12 euros.
Note here, that some internet modem/routers have also switching capabilities built in. In fact if you haven't messed with networking before, network switches and internet router/modems may look indistinguishable, but they 're not the same. So before buying anything new, check if your Internet router/modem has at least 2 Gigabit ports in the back and check the manual if you can use it as a network switch too.
At this point and after you have chosen what you 'll use to create your lan, you need to set your comps to be able to share files between them. File and user permissions and drive sharing among the comps in your lan is very easy to do. Pm me if you need guidance, although the web is totally full of how to step by step guides.
Cheers