@Joe, "One problem I haven't solved, is how to back up my music collection, which is constantly expanding. I'd rather not use backup utilities, which generally seem to save everything in compressed files. What I'd like is an exact copy of my MP3 partition. Is there a "synchronize" function that will add just new MP3s to my backup drive?"


I use a Maxtor external USB drive that comes with a utility that synchronizes whatever folders you select. Default is to sync My Documents, but you can change that. It will keep an exact copy of your selected folders, and if you edit the tags to add lyrics or update artist info, the changes are reflected in the sync copy almost immediately. I actually used this external drive to migrate my collection from my XP computer to my Win7 computer.

Many drives have a version of the sync software. It's better than backups (IMHO) because it's real-time and no interaction required.

Hope this helps,

JimB