360 Systems Instant Replay DR-552 - Manual (Page 49)

page 44 Instant Replay Owner’s Manual
DEFRAGMENT DISK
As Cuts are recorded and then erased, or overwritten by new recordings of different lengths, disk
space will become fragmented into small blocks of free space separated by blocks of audio.
Eventually, the available space is broken up into too many small blocks. When this happens, the
message “DISK IS FRAGMENTED” can appear when R
ECORD is pressed. Another sign is the
display of MAX LENGTH when going into Record, rather than TIME LEFT. Both of these
symptoms indicate that the drive is too fragmented to allow all the free space on the drive to be
used in a single recording. In addition, a severely fragmented disk can interfere with D-NET file
transfers, causing the display to indicate an overrun error.
The Defragmentation program will restore the continuity of a fragmented disk. It does this by
moving blocks of audio from one position on the disk to another, always seeking to combine the
various parts of a Cut into a single continuous file. When the Defragmentation program is
finished, it leaves each Cut in a single continuous file, and all available disk space is combined
into one contiguous area on the disk.
The Defragmentation program needs free disk space in which to re-arrange the audio blocks, and
it cannot proceed if any Cut is severely fragmented. Lack of disk space, or the presence of a
severely fragmented Cut will produce error messages, and the Defragmentation program will not
continue. If a severely fragmented Cut is present, its Index Number will appear in the error
message. The only cure for this is to reformat the drive and restore from a backup.
Defragmentation should be done occasionally, especially if Cuts are frequently overwritten with
new recordings or if Cuts are often erased. The process can take from a few minutes to over an
hour. The machine should not be turned off while defragmentation is being done. If necessary,
defragmentation can be interrupted by pressing the C
ANCEL key. The process will not stop
immediately, since transfer of a file from one area of the disk to another must first be completed.
Eventually, the program will pause and ask for confirmation that defragmentation should be
canceled. If the response is yes (E
NTER ), the process will stop.
Defragment Disk Command
The Defragment Disk command is accessible from the OPERATIONS menu. It is advisable to
back up the contents of your hard drive using the D-NET File Transfer or the Backup/Restore
procedures detailed elsewhere in this manual before you begin.
Defragment Disk cannot be performed on the External drive.
CAUTION!
DEFRAGMENT DISK WILL TAKE SOME TIME. FOR A HIGHLY FRAGMENTED HARD DISK,
THE OPERATION MAY REQUIRE AS MUCH AS 30 MINUTES TO AN HOUR. DO NOT BEGIN
THE DEFRAGMENT DISK OPERATION UNLESS YOU HAVE ADEQUATE TIME FOR
INSTANT REPLAY TO REMAIN OFF-LINE.
IF AT ANY TIME THE DEFRAGMENTATION PROCESS IS ABORTED, YOU MUST RECYCLE
POWER (TURN THE MACHINE OFF, THEN BACK ON AGAIN) TO ENSURE PROPER
OPERATION.