Its pretty much the title I'm just genuinely wondering how you guys are keeping track of all of your legally sourced files. I'm pretty much just relying on a spreadsheet but is that really the best way? Especially for the less technically inclined individuals such as myself

Edit: I apologize thought it was obvious but looking back I could've been more specific. I was referring to movies, TV shows, YouTube videos, books, audiobooks, etc. I haven't taken the leap to self host anything yet just growing my library for now on a couple of encrypted drives until the time comes. You don't really need to provide tailored answers towards my situation I just want to know what's out there in terms of keeping track of stuff. Thank you in advance since this account is a burner and I check it like once a day

Edit #2: appreciate all of your feedback. Seems the majority rely on jellyfin and other software to automatically check what you have stored which I didn't even know it could do that's interesting.

God I hope this isn't a stupid question to ask but how exactly do I send out cash? Do i need to add a return address and won't that defeat the purpose? I really just want to try the service for 2-3 months after that I'll probably switch over to the amazon vouchers since I don't want to deal with monero. I think I sent out an actual physical letter maybe twice in my life and all the research I done was for sending it out internationally ~~even though there's a us based address AFAIK~~ so I'm really a noob here and I appreciate any help you can provide.

Edit: Just want to apologize if this is really stupid to ask I feel like an absolute idiot right now, haha

Edit #2: Thank you all for your help think I got an understanding on what to do now

Copy & paste since I don't know how to crosspost on my client. Hope this is alright

Well I went with your guy's advice and got me a drive that still has a year of manufacturer warranty on top of the eBay 1 year warranty, but a bit of a sketch seller ngl. The drive itself seems legit visually with matching serial numbers (if you know another way, I'm all ears), but womp womp it doesn't work. At least it fails to initalize, data error (cyclic redundancy check) on windows and some kinda fsync error iirc using "Disks" on Linux, both errors are relating to hardware. I used both a tested enclosure and connected it via sata cables on different machines and the same problems continue, hehe. I'm just wondering how the limited warranty with WD (the manufacture of my drive) works and what you're experiences are getting a replacement from them? I keep reading horror stories that they won't help since it was brought from an unauthorized reseller, etc... Also is it worth even sending it in? I read the replacement is another refurb with no warranty afterwards. The alternative would be going the eBay route and getting a replacement that's also used but will retain the warranty from the seller. Which is the better option? BTW don't worry about data loss still practicing the 3,2,1 method this is purely about the best bang for my buck.

Goddamn wall of text, I'm sorry...

TLDR: Wants to know about the warranty and replacement process of WD and concerned about receiving assistance from WD if the drive was purchased from an unauthorized reseller. Also considering whether it is worth sending the drive to the manufacturer which means receiving a refurb drive with no warranty or if getting a used replacement from eBay seller, which comes with a warranty, is a better option?

Edit: Decided on sending it back to the seller and getting a refund

Well I went with your guy's advice and got me a drive that still has a year of manufacturer warranty on top of the eBay 1 year warranty, but a bit of a sketch seller ngl. The drive itself seems legit visually with matching serial numbers, but womp womp it doesn't work. At least it fails to initalize, data error (cyclic redundancy check) on windows and some kinda fsync error iirc using "Disk" on Linux, both errors are relating to hardware. I used both a tested enclosure and connected it via sata cables on different machines and the same problems, hehe. I'm just wondering how the limited warranty with WD (the manufacture of my drive) works and what you're experiences are getting a replacement from them? I keep reading horror stories that they won't help since it was brought from an unauthorized reseller, etc... Also is it worth even sending it in? I read the replacement is another refurb with no warranty afterwards. The alternative would be going the eBay route and getting a replacement that's also used but will retain the warranty from the seller. Which is the better option? BTW don't worry about data loss still practicing the 3,2,1 method this is purely about the best bang for my buck.

Goddamn wall of text, I'm sorry...

TLDR: Wants to know about the warranty and replacement process of WD and concerned about receiving assistance from WD if the drive was purchased from an unauthorized reseller. Also considering whether it is worth sending the drive to the manufacturer which means receiving a refurb drive with no warranty or if getting a used replacement from eBay seller, which comes with a warranty, is a better option?

Did decide to go the used drive route just saving up and waiting for the right deal from a good seller. I did notice on eBay specifically that some sellers have tested drives for a great price per tb with a shit seller's warranty (30 days to 1 year) but offer insurance for a significantly longer length of time for a few more bucks. I'm wondering if that's a good alternative to having a long seller's warranty? Just assume I will back everything up properly so drive failure won't be a massive concern I just want the option of returning it or getting a replacement if need be.

Hi, I seek your help once again. I'm in the need of upgrading my storage now and I found what I consider to be a good deal via Amazon on an older gen enterprise WD drive that supposedly hasn't been used, but I'll let the power on hours tell me the truth. The price is about 16usd/TB and I'm wondering if this is a bad idea due to the age of the drive? I'm guessing the drive would be about 10 years old maybe. The plan would be to buy 2: 1 for my cold media backups and the other would be a backup for the cold media backup.

I know the majority opinion is not to do it for various reasons, but basically I started to backup the majority of my dvd collection that I created over the years since I have the time and they were just collecting dust. Turns out though I guess I'm doing it "wrong" or at least not in the original quality since I used handbrake instead of makemkv. I'm already 160 dvds in and about 40 more to go, is it worth, quality wise, going back and actually ripping? Is there a way to compare them? To clairify, I'll be using makemkv from now on for the rest.