Desktop app to create offline volume catalogs?

[mikejaz2]

I'm doing a major backup of my personal media RAIDset...about 8 TB of home videos, movies, and stuff I want to keep forever.

Ultimately, the backup drives will be taken over to a video house and dumped to LTO tape. Each tape comfortably holds about 1.75 TB, so I'm splitting the 8TB from the RAID across 5 2TB drives.

Here's the problem...I can't mount all 5 backup drives at once, and so I'd like to find some sort of app which can take a snapshot of the volume catalog..basically, I'd like to have the finder window for each volume available, even when the drive isn't mounted. This way, I could see what files I've copied to what drive, without having to mount and unmount drives constantly, just to check what's on each.

Any chance there's something that does this? Anything like this around? The closest I can get currently is a utility called WhatSize, which creates a column view of a volume, which I can then screen grab. However, I'd like something that behaves like a folder window, with the files and folders available interactively (eg, I can click on a disclosure triangle and see the files/folders within).

 

[bobtomay]

Could be one, but am not aware of a file manager that will take snapshots and save them for interactive offline viewing.

 

[cradom]

You could possibly use a disk cataloger. This particular one, once you make a catalog, anything you add to the disk is automatically added to the catalog.
It can be searched and browsed like Finder.
Catalog all your data on Disks, DVDs, and CDs with NeoFinder!

 

[bobtomay]

That looks pretty slick - wasn't too sure based on the videos whether it would maintain the catalog for off line items until he mentioned you could use 'Quick Look' to preview a file "if it is currently online".

 

[mikejaz2]

Thank you. I'm downloading NeoFinder now and will report on its suitability.

 

[cradom]

I used to use it when it was CD-Finder and I had an extensive collection of burned cd's.
If I needed something I would just search the database on my drive and it would tell me which cd it was on.
If I couldn't remember the filename I could browse the database just like it was the Finder.