Will this work?
- Thread starter Robert65d
- Start date
JackDownUnder
Well-known member
Should be ok as long as you point the game to it. I have a SSD for my Macbook.
It does work but you are putting all your eggs in one basket. Loose or corrupt the drive and you loose the lot. I run Trainz on three different machines and at the end of each tinkering session export the route and associated sessions as a combined .cdp file to a network drive which can be imported into the other machines when required. It does take longer and you need the discipline to do it but I do have multiple copies of my work in the event of an accident. Because the resulting .cdp transfer/backup file is relatively small you could also use free cloud storage instead of your own. Peter
I agree with Wilts747. If you have a home network setup then use the free cloud storage provided by Microsoft (One Drive) to transfer .cdp files between different computers. I have Trainz Plus on different computers on a home network. When I take a break from route/session development desktop I export the latest work as .cdp files to One Drive and then later, once a day or every few days, import it from One Drive to the laptop installs.
Also at least once each day I copy the files to 2 external USB drives attached to my desktop and to a network attached storage drive for backup. It takes a bit of discipline, a little bit of time but the added security of having multiple copies as backups is worth it. I learned long ago not to trust portable drives to transfer data between computers - the constant unplugging and plugging of the cable will eventually cause issues.
Also at least once each day I copy the files to 2 external USB drives attached to my desktop and to a network attached storage drive for backup. It takes a bit of discipline, a little bit of time but the added security of having multiple copies as backups is worth it. I learned long ago not to trust portable drives to transfer data between computers - the constant unplugging and plugging of the cable will eventually cause issues.
Last edited:
I agree with what is said.
USB drives are okay, and I have used them myself when traveling but that's it and not for daily use between two machines. The other reason besides the possibility of losing the drive and corruption is the USB port is a bit on the slower side, even though they're a bit faster according to the specs due to how the port is managed by the computer. Due to space constrains within my new computer I can't fit all my hard drives inside the case without them cooking due to poor airflow thanks to DELL's new design. With the number of hard drives, I invested in Oyen USB C multi-drive enclosure. This works quite well for regular data, such as Outlook data-files, music files, but it does not work for Trainz. The USB port doesn't like sustained writes for long periods, and I sometimes received timeouts and disconnects which led to a corrupted database. This could also be a stupid Windows power management issue as well, but I couldn't solve it and gave up. I was able to fit one drive okay and you know which one I chose.
Once that drive was placed internally, the speed came back and there are no longer any timeouts. My conclusion is Trainz really pushes that data around unlike anything else we use.
For the small drives, the other issue depends upon the USB drive enclosure. If this drive uses the USB port for power, this will draw more current while the drive is being used. For regular data copying and backups with occasional access this is okay, but with Trainz we're constantly accessing, reading, and writing data which draws more current. I actually saw this occur with one of those cheap USB hard drives. I had a 1TB drive I used for Trainz for a very short time. While using the drive, my USB port and the drive cable got quite hot, and so did the drive.
The other kind of hard drive, such as the Seagate Backup Hub, for instance has its own power supply and a power brick to go with it. This might be inconvenient, but there's no current draw on the USB port. When I do go on the road, well downstairs and on to the back deck these days in the warmer weather, I take my replicated data on my external hard drive and use Trainz and set myself up with a power strip connected to the outdoor outlet and laptop plugged into that. Sometimes, I'm lazy and I will use Microsoft's remote desktop and access my desktop computer from my laptop over the network. This works quite well but the mouse sometimes goes crazy, and I have yet to figure that part out but for overall it works quite nicely from my comfy seat on the deck.
USB drives are okay, and I have used them myself when traveling but that's it and not for daily use between two machines. The other reason besides the possibility of losing the drive and corruption is the USB port is a bit on the slower side, even though they're a bit faster according to the specs due to how the port is managed by the computer. Due to space constrains within my new computer I can't fit all my hard drives inside the case without them cooking due to poor airflow thanks to DELL's new design. With the number of hard drives, I invested in Oyen USB C multi-drive enclosure. This works quite well for regular data, such as Outlook data-files, music files, but it does not work for Trainz. The USB port doesn't like sustained writes for long periods, and I sometimes received timeouts and disconnects which led to a corrupted database. This could also be a stupid Windows power management issue as well, but I couldn't solve it and gave up. I was able to fit one drive okay and you know which one I chose.
Once that drive was placed internally, the speed came back and there are no longer any timeouts. My conclusion is Trainz really pushes that data around unlike anything else we use.For the small drives, the other issue depends upon the USB drive enclosure. If this drive uses the USB port for power, this will draw more current while the drive is being used. For regular data copying and backups with occasional access this is okay, but with Trainz we're constantly accessing, reading, and writing data which draws more current. I actually saw this occur with one of those cheap USB hard drives. I had a 1TB drive I used for Trainz for a very short time. While using the drive, my USB port and the drive cable got quite hot, and so did the drive.
The other kind of hard drive, such as the Seagate Backup Hub, for instance has its own power supply and a power brick to go with it. This might be inconvenient, but there's no current draw on the USB port. When I do go on the road, well downstairs and on to the back deck these days in the warmer weather, I take my replicated data on my external hard drive and use Trainz and set myself up with a power strip connected to the outdoor outlet and laptop plugged into that. Sometimes, I'm lazy and I will use Microsoft's remote desktop and access my desktop computer from my laptop over the network. This works quite well but the mouse sometimes goes crazy, and I have yet to figure that part out but for overall it works quite nicely from my comfy seat on the deck.
You might want to look at something like the Seagate Backup Plus Hub. I got an 8TB drive for about $150 USD. The smaller sizes of course cost less. This comes was an external power supply (a power brick), so it doesn't draw current through the USB port. There's also the Backup Plus without the hub and that too uses a regular hard drive instead of an SSD and is even less expensive. The hub-model comes with extra USB ports which are great because you don't lose the USB port to the drive.
Thanks Guys, your input is always useful, its great to be able to chat about this stuff with you all. learning all the time. I was reading a string by Footplate Phil, his Weddin V5 is amazing and I was gob smacked to learn he's been at it for 20yrs. I'll be lucky to see another 20yrs haha.
Cheers,
alpha1
Cheers,
alpha1