I need help with audio recording programs

[Ecrofirt]

OK, here's the skinny:

I currently record my radio show with Audacity on a Dell Optiplex GX 240. The problem is, that piece of shit computer has no USB 2.0 ports, so at the end of the night, I've got to wait a half hour while the show is transferred to my external hard drive. This is unacceptable. Even more troubling, that PC doesn't have an active internet connection, so I can't even grab the file at work the next day via \\computer\c$

So things are all kinds of fucked up. I'm not quite sure what I can do to make things work smoothly, so I'm looking at my options. I'm concerned with the throughput of USB 1.1 (as well as my 5400RPM hard drive), so I don't know if it's wise to have audacity save its temp files to me external HD and then just save the project there when the show is over. I don't want to run into an issue next week where I try that and then find out that the HD couldn't quite keep up with everything. I mean, technically, I'd only need to be able to write at about 9.2 MB/minute (shows are roughly 2 hours, and the resulting .wav is 1.1GB), but still, I'm just not completely trusting.

I dunno. Maybe I'm babbling. I need some fucking help and suggestions. Someone fucking help.

Does anyone think that I'll run into issues if I just set Audacity's temp file location to my external HD and then just save my project there at the end? If this'll work, it'll save a ton of time at the end, I'd wager.

[Ecrofirt]

If your hardware can't cope, why not reduce the sampling rate?
It's probably safer to write to your internal HDD though... surely you have 1.1GB free on it?

I DO have 1.1 GB free on the internal HD.

What I DON'T really have is a half hour from 11:00 - 11:30PM to transfer files from the internal HD to my external HD via USB 1.1 so I can edit/convert/upload the file at home.

[Ecrofirt]

Again, I'm stuck in a shitty situation. Transferring the files takes forever, and there's also no network connection so I can transfer them more quickly that way.

The ideal solution would be to just record the show with a laptop and not a shitty old computer, but I don't have a laptop and neither does my cohost. So no laptop!

So, I dunno.

Based on USB 1.1 speeds and write speeds for a 5400RPM HD, do any of you more techy guys think saving the show directly to the external HD from the get-go is possible?

[Ecrofirt]

It's highly possible, but based on the modernity of your computer, I wouldn't trust it personally. Give it a couple of test runs perhaps? And if it fails, pucker up for some new hardware.

I can't 'pucker up for new hardware'. I'm using the school's PC that's sitting in the room. And i'm not going to buy a fucking laptop just so I can record a radio show.

[bagofeyes]

It's highly possible, but based on the modernity of your computer, I wouldn't trust it personally. Give it a couple of test runs perhaps? And if it fails, pucker up for some new hardware.

I can't 'pucker up for new hardware'. I'm using the school's PC that's sitting in the room. And i'm not going to buy a fucking laptop just so I can record a radio show.

Well, tough titties as they say

[Ecrofirt]

So basically, you're asking us if you can do something, which you can't verify unless you actually try to just do it. And if you can't do it, then you'll just be stuck with your current method anyway. What have you got to lose?

Dunno, I just like other people to agree with me I guess, lolz.

I mean, perhaps someone with more technical know-how would be able to chime in or something.

USB 1.1 has a rate of 1.5MB/s (thought I don't know if that's reading, writing, or both). I don't quite know what rate I'll get writing to a 5400RPM HD.

And like I said, I know I need to write roughly 9.2 MB/minute for a 1.1GB show over 2 hours.

What I'm concerned with is that I don't want to get screwed next week by finding out at the end of the show that writing right to the external HD didn't work. So I guess someone with more experience/knowledge chiming in and giving me a good idea beforehand is what I was after.