Hard drive inventory software
A drive inventory answers three questions: what is on this drive, where is it, and who has it. Here is how Vault Buddy answers each one.
1. Catalogue every drive
Each drive gets one record: capacity, brand, serial number, the project or client it belongs to, and its home location. If you already keep a spreadsheet, import it and map your existing columns. Vault Buddy auto-detects common column names and flags duplicate serial numbers before anything is created.
2. Snapshot the contents
A snapshot records the full file tree of a drive. Once it is captured you can browse and search that drive with it sitting on a shelf, unplugged and powered down. Snapshot the same drive again later and Vault Buddy compares the two automatically, showing what was added, what went missing, and what changed.
That comparison is what turns an inventory into an audit trail. A file that quietly disappeared between two jobs shows up as a difference instead of a surprise.
3. Label the drive
Every drive gets a QR label that resolves to a public page for that drive. Anyone who finds it can scan it and see whose it is and how to return it, without an account and without exposing your file list. Labels print to standard thermal label stock.
4. Track custody
When a drive leaves your hands, log the handoff. The person receiving it gets a record on their side too, so both parties see the same history. Set a due date and overdue drives surface on their own instead of waiting for someone to remember.
What this replaces
| The old way | What breaks | With Vault Buddy |
|---|---|---|
| A spreadsheet of drive names | Nobody updates it after a drive moves | Custody updates when the handoff is logged |
| Masking tape and a Sharpie | Illegible after one job, and useless if the drive is found by a stranger | A QR label that resolves to a return page |
| Plugging in drives to see what is on them | Hours of mounting drives to find one file | Search a snapshot with the drive unplugged |
| A text message saying "I gave it to Sam" | No record once the thread scrolls away | A timestamped custody entry both sides can see |