E-Mu ESI-32 Operation Manual page 22

Tip: The ESI-32 can only load floppy
disks which were created on the ESI-32. It
can load hard disk data created on the EIII,
EIIIX, Emax II or the Akai S1000/S1100.
Tip: Use the "Mount Drives" utility
whenever an external SCSI device does not
appear in the list of available devices.
Tip: Recommended CD-ROM drives
include Sony CDU8003A, CDU-6211-10 and
the Toshiba XM-3101BME. Currently none
of the NEC drives are compatible with the
ESI-32. A good rule of thumb is, "Try Before
You Buy".
14
ESI-32 Operation Manual
External Drives
The ESI-32 has a SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) connector on
the rear panel. This interface is commonly used in the computer indus-
try, so many devices made to work with computers—particularly mass
storage devices—will also work with the ESI-32. Here are some of the
types of mass storage devices that can plug into the ESI-32' s SCSI
connector.
• Hard Disk Drive: A hard disk provides the advantages of much
higher memory capacity and far faster access time. Transferring data
to and from the ESI-32 is quite straightforward. However, you
cannot remove a hard disk and replace it with another one—the
disk is a permanent part of the drive. There are three main cautions
involved with hard disks:
1. Hard disks are sensitive to extreme mechanical shocks. If your hard
disk falls off a keyboard stand, chances are the hard disk will be
damaged.
2. Make sure power is not interrupted when you write data to the hard
disk.
3. Hard disks have reached a very high level of reliability. However,
they can fail from time to time (as can any part of a computer), so
any data should be backed up periodically and regularly on some
other medium.
• Removable-media Hard Disk Drives: These are similar to normal
hard disk drives except that the disk itself can be removed and
replaced with another disk. Disk densities can range from 44 Mbytes
to over 270 Mbytes per platter. Removable-media hard disk drives
allow you to build a sound library of unlimited size and are quite
handy for transferring sounds between machines. They're also
perfect for backups. The ESI-32 is available with an internal 270 MB
Syquest removable hard disk drive.
• CD-ROM Drive: A CD-ROM is a playback-only (data cannot be
written to it) mass storage memory device whose capacity is
approximately 660 Megabytes. Many high-quality and low cost
CD-ROM libraries are available from several companies (E-mu
Systems, Inc., Northstar, Sound Ideas, Q-Up Arts). These can be
loaded into the bank as easily as you would load from a hard disk.
• Magneto-Optical Drive: Basically a read/writable CD, these high
speed, high density storage devices are currently the hottest thing
around for storing large amounts of sound data. Typically a
magneto-optical drive can hold upwards of 300 Mb per side and the
removable cartridges can be used over and over. Disk access time is
comparable to a normal hard disk, and is sometimes even faster!
Advantages: High-speed, high-density, reliable, removable.
Disadvantage: High cost (although prices are dropping fast).