hard drive config suggestions

[James Pifer]

> Just for the information, the minimum number of drives for RAID5 is three, so
> you do not have to remove your CD Drive.
> 
> RAID 5 is good in keeping your data safe, it is a good start but it is not
> foolproof.... You're still have the chance to loose your data, so make 
> backups!
> 

Well it is true that RAID5 can run on three drives, but because of the
amount of backup data this is holding, I want at three drives worth of
available space. Should have stated that earlier. So 3 160 gig drives in
a RAID5 would only give 320 Gig (approximately). So I would prefer to
use four drives and get the maximum available space. 

Backups, well, for the most part this machine acted as my online backup
for my other systems. I had just recently added some other software that
now that the machine is down is causing me some grief, but no amount of
backup would really help, except for some type of system image, because
it was a service it was running, not a "data" issue. 

Thanks for all the replies!

James