I Lost Everything! [Archive] - Elements Village

kimi_boo

January 21st, 2008, 02:58 PM

My external drive decided to quit. http://www.photoshopcreativeelements.com/images/smilies/icon_cry.gif Nothing but a clicking sound. I had everything on it. All of my pictures, my scrap stuff, my PSD creations. Absolutely everything I own. Gone!!

Anyone know of a good data recovery company?

Ellen

January 21st, 2008, 03:52 PM

Sorry to hear that Kimi, I can't offer anything but sympathy- I know that data recovery is expensive. Did you save to cd or dvd too?

NMarti

January 21st, 2008, 03:54 PM

Kimi

Here is who we used at work when our backup crashed. They recoverd 95% of our data, but it is expensive.
www.datarecovery.net (http://www.datarecovery.net)

efarnstrom

January 21st, 2008, 03:54 PM

What a pity! I worry about that happening one day, so I try to back up, back up...but there are times that I am not that prompt. I would cry buckets!:eek:

TonyW

January 21st, 2008, 04:04 PM

Bad news but the data should be recoverable but no idea how much it would cost. You can give these guys a call and they'll give you an idea of what can be done and how much. Haven't used them but I'm told they're good.

http://www.ontrackdatarecovery.com/

Tony

kimi_boo

January 21st, 2008, 04:20 PM

I did call a couple of places. The head is faulty... I am looking anywhere from $1000 to $2400 on prices. (sigh....)

I just can't spend that. Maybe I could push the $1000. but once they get it there is no guarantee on the cost. Which brings to mind the question?
How much is our work really worth???

Hubby wants to buy another one and tear it apart for the parts. :p

Thanks for the company's. I will add them to my list.

Juergen D

January 21st, 2008, 04:40 PM

Hubby wants to buy another one and tear it apart for the parts. :p
Kimi,
Not so fast! Hold on to the drive and try it again after a while. Turn it upside down or sideways or something. These things sometimes have a second wind, completely unexpectedly. Be sure you have another drive handy, so you can copy if you get such a lucky moment.

Juergen

neelmcc

January 21st, 2008, 04:44 PM

Kim, you might want to try davemason.com he is a local computer guru (Tucson). He is quite good and his prices might be high but I believe he is quite competitive if not even lower than some of the big recovery companies.

Neel

kimi_boo

January 21st, 2008, 05:06 PM

Thanks Neel.

Juergen, we did try it every which way. :p
Right now it is in a zip lock bag, spending the night in the freezer.
Something I found on the Internet. I figure it can't hurt.
I am going to give it another try in the morning.

The sad part is... Hubby had installed some extra internal drives, so I had the space. If it even gives me a glimpse of life I have somewhere to move things to.

The more I realize what I am loosing the more I feel like I am going to have to pay the money.

Wendy

January 21st, 2008, 07:05 PM

Oh Kimi ...

I am so sorry to hear the news ...

I'll keep my fingers crossed that the freezer trick works ... do let us know how you go on.

Wendy :)

nkeevers

January 21st, 2008, 07:48 PM

Gosh, that's awful! I'll keep my fingers crossed also that the "freezer" thingy works! Now I'm going to worry about my external hard drive!

photoshopsusieq

January 21st, 2008, 07:55 PM

Oh no! I feeling your pain, Kimi! This is a reminder to everyone to BACK IT UP! Good luck with the recovery.

msbrad

January 21st, 2008, 08:05 PM

I'm jumping to the final post...have not read anything else as yet! Yikes almighty...praying for you and that all will be ok soon.
If after I read this thread and I have any "helpful" advice...I promise to let you know.
As of now...crossing fingers
m

douglas m scott

January 21st, 2008, 08:34 PM

Kimi,

I know how sick you feel, you probably won't sleep well this evening.
I had two internal drives, one as a back-up, they both crashed at the same time. I then bought an external that I only turn on as needed. After your experience, this coming weekend I am going to put all the pictures on DVDs.
I do feel your Pain.

doug

Diana

January 21st, 2008, 08:35 PM

Oh no, so sorry to hear that, Kimi! Hope you can get it working again. All that beautiful work lost would be a shame. Good luck.

Diana

troush

January 21st, 2008, 09:55 PM

Oh Kimi... This is a bummer. Hopefully something will work.

-Trish

Inspeqtor

January 21st, 2008, 10:30 PM

kimi,

I am so sorry to hear of this crash.... I have no help to give you. I wish I was a computer guru to help you out. Good luck in your recovery efforts!

mrod

January 22nd, 2008, 12:18 AM

Oh, that's awful, Kimi. So sorry to hear about that. I do hope you're able to recover things as cheaply as possible (hope that freezer thing works!).

Mike

Byron Gale

January 22nd, 2008, 01:21 AM

Kimi,

What a heart-breaking event! So sorry....

Byron

NickLewis

January 22nd, 2008, 02:13 AM

Kimi,

Oh no! I'm sorry.... Best of luck.

Nick

lsweeney

January 22nd, 2008, 05:07 AM

Kimi, I'm so sorry to hear this--I've had similar problems in the past. As someone else mentioned in the thread, sometimes the things will suddenly have a brief resurrection and you may yet be able to recover your files.

Out of curiosity, which make and model of external drive were you using and had you had it long? I ask because I am getting ready to replace one which has begun occasionally misbehaving, leaving me to believe that doom is imminent. The thing is just now a year old and nowhere near capacity. I'm trying to decide if I should rule out certain manufacturer labels. My current problem child is one of Western Digital's larger models.

lsweeney

January 22nd, 2008, 05:11 AM

Kimi, I just had another thought--forgive me if someone already suggested this as I didn't go back through the thread to check--I have sometimes had some luck with disconnecting the offending external drive and completely moving it's location on my computer.

Try plugging it into a different USB port. It may be simply the movement that kicks starts things or it may be a communication glitch between computer and external drive. Who knows. But it's an easy try and free.

Best of luck!

kimi_boo

January 22nd, 2008, 07:32 AM

Thanks for the good wishes everyone. :)

Lorrie... It is a Western Digital. Less than 1 year old. :mad:

It had one bump last week. The computer didn't show it and I disconnected and reconnected. That was the only warning I had. And of course, I had NO idea that was a warning!

I do hope everyone looks at this as a warning. You never know.... :o

Jancy

January 22nd, 2008, 07:46 AM

Oh my I feel so bad-Here you are being a good girl and backing up and this is what happens!! You made me go and do some more backing up yesterday!
I guess the thing is -is to have 2 backups in case one fails. My first back up is full but my newest one is 500 gigs now I feel as though I may need another to have 2 complete backups.
So sorry this happened to you.
If I have anything that you need don't hesitate to ask. I'd be more than happy to send it to you.

NMarti

January 22nd, 2008, 08:18 AM

mrod

January 22nd, 2008, 08:52 AM

Jancy
That is what I do. The external harddrives were on sale really cheap at Christmas so I bought a second one. I back up my photos and kits to both so if one fails, I have two backups. My kits and really important photos (wedding, birth, proms, etc) I burn to a DVD and have them stored in my desk at work in case of fire or other disaster. Overkill - well - the alternative is not appealing as Kimi can attest to.:(

I don't think it's overkill at all, Nancy. In a perfect world, that's what I would like to do. Biggest mistake I made was letting someone talk me out of getting an internal DVD burner in my laptop. They said external would serve me better. So, I got one, and it went belly-up, and I haven't wanted to spend the bucks to replace it. So, my only backup is a Western Digital 500 GB. I've had it for going on a couple years now, with no problems (although now I'm nervous). Fortunately, I've never had a crash, so I've never needed it.

My laptop is about ready to be replaced, though, so whatever I get next will definitely have an dvd burner.

I'm a big proponent of 2 backups, with one being a hard copy stored somewhere else.

Mike

Bayla

January 22nd, 2008, 09:06 AM

Kimi,

I left you a message over at PCEC but couldn't work out how to give you a hug there.....so I'm sending you one here instead......

1828

Sorry I can't offer any practical advice. My heart really goes out to you.

Bayla

msbrad

January 22nd, 2008, 09:38 AM

Kimi- I sent this thread to Bill. He had one other suggestion for you and that is to check with some of the local computer 'fix it' places. We have one here that has helped him at work before. And they are less expensive
than the big ones.

I do that double backing up stuff too.
Pictures and scrapbook kits in addition to the EHD, are on CD's.My kits I've purchased are by designer name. Need to buy more CD's, as I've bought more kits:o

Bill brings the business back ups home etc.
sure hoping something works out for you.
m

kimi_boo

January 22nd, 2008, 01:51 PM

Thanks Bayla... That Hug was just what I needed!

I feel sooooooo stupid! I know I had no way of knowing that the drive was going to fail but I knew I should be backing up those files.

I promise if I ever get past this. I am going to have at least 2!

lsweeney

January 22nd, 2008, 02:51 PM

Mike, be vigilant for that "click" of death sound in your WD external drive! It signals impending doom.

Kimi, I really wouldn't toss the thing until the contents were recovered. Seriously, I would just plug it into an empty USB port and let it sit. My old one suddenly came back to life that way long after I was certain it was gone. Since it's a USB driven device it might slow your computer down to look for it endlessly, but I don't think it can harm the computer in some way.

I think the things are overheating for some reason. hmmm...it may be a commentary on my oversight in the dusting area!

kImages

January 22nd, 2008, 04:07 PM

Oh Kimi. So sorry about your drive. I hope that you can get some of your beautiful work restored.

I lost one computer and luckily the Geek Squad was able to recover the data for me. Now I'm a believer in Nancy's triple backup method.

Aussie Nan

January 23rd, 2008, 10:05 AM

Hi Kimi

So very sorry. I lost most of my stuff 10 days ago.....and I am still getting over it. But my stuff is small fry compared to yours. I got some of my files recovered, but not much. And silly me thought when they said recovered it would mean back in their neat little boxes with names and all.
No way! They just come up as nameless files, thousands of them, and most are corrupt or something similar. Well, I shouldn't say most, because I have only looked at a fraction of them.

Hope you have better luck at recovery than I did.

kimi_boo

January 23rd, 2008, 10:56 AM

oh Toni... we can cry together. :o

Isn't it horrible? I keep thinking of things that are now gone. :(

I'm still in la la land. Hubby wants to tear it apart and try to move the disk to a new one himself. He tore apart one last night to see if he could manage. Now that scares me to death!
:eek:

Inspeqtor

January 23rd, 2008, 11:10 AM

dsfisher421

January 23rd, 2008, 04:33 PM

I just am so sorry that you have lost everything, I'm really hoping you can recover your stuff. But OMG, I think my heart would stop if my DH tried to move the actual disk.
I am pretty paranoid about losing everything. I started with just sending CDs with photos to my daughter who lives out of state. And I now have an external back up drive and I upload to xdrive in case of disaster here.
I do hope you can recover the drive.

Robyn

January 23rd, 2008, 04:38 PM

Oh Kimi............

I'm so sorry, I feel your pain. I can only imagine how dreadful it must feel to lose everything. Here's hoping a miracle can be achieved and you can get it all back.

kellyLynne

January 23rd, 2008, 10:25 PM

this happened to me, twice in one month, 2 computers, dead, with all my clients pics on it.

lsweeney

January 24th, 2008, 04:33 AM

Do any of you use online storage for at least your edited photos or scrap pages? I don't myself (since my back-up and storage are hit and miss events at best) but I've heard from some people who do.

I don't know that you can save layered files that way but certainly your finished jpg files can be stored online.

I don't think I would want to make that my primary storage plan but it might be nice as an extra in the event of a total storage meltdown.

NickLewis

January 24th, 2008, 05:41 AM

kimi,

I am no computer guru, but I have seen the surface area of a hard drive. It is like a mirror finish. I have been told that a finger print on the surface of a hard drive would be like a mountain. I would think that alone would destroy any data. I hope your DH knows for sure what he is doing. I have no idea if what he is attempting is really possible.Well, I'd hate to say anything's impossible, but I believe the head of a drive is about 20 nanometres above the disc surface while the disc is operating. That's one fifty thousandth of a millimetre! It is a very high precision device!

Nick

Inspeqtor

January 24th, 2008, 09:09 AM

Well, I'd hate to say anything's impossible, but I believe the head of a drive is about 20 nanometres above the disc surface while the disc is operating. That's one fifty thousandth of a millimetre! It is a very high precision device!

Nick

As my username kinda implies, I am an inspector in the tool & die field. I work in thousands and ten-thousands of an inch plus I work in millimeters.
nanometres is a whole new ballgame! I know (but can't measure) that a micron is 1/1000 of a millimeter. 50/1000 of a millimeter is still tiny!

kimh

January 24th, 2008, 09:18 AM

Wow Kimi:eek: I'm praying you get your stuff back!! I'm off to back up some more:o
kimh

kimi_boo

January 24th, 2008, 12:31 PM

Well.. It looks like I am going to send it here.
http://www.acsdata.com/

I am looking at up to $1,600, plus the cost of a new external so I have somewhere to put the files. This is a lot of money for me and I have struggled with what to do. But I can't just let every thing go....

Here is my BIG question of the day?:o

My Organizer images were on that drive. If I get a new drive and name it the same letter and place the same file system, is there a chance it will reconnect???

Not4wood

January 24th, 2008, 12:47 PM

Kimi,

Good luck, I've heard of there name around but I can't remember from where.

After I purchased my external Western Dgital drive I've been hearing of WD failing, mine hasn't yet :rolleyes:. What brand are you considering??

kimi_boo

January 24th, 2008, 01:18 PM

Mark... if there is a shot that I can reformat the new one to look like the old one and have the organizer recognize it, I am getting the same thing.

A Western Digital 500 GB.

with that said... I am also going to get something else to back up the back up. Talk about learning my lesson the hard way! Maybe a Seagate?
:(

NickLewis

January 24th, 2008, 04:18 PM

Here is my BIG question of the day?:o

My Organizer images were on that drive. If I get a new drive and name it the same letter and place the same file system, is there a chance it will reconnect???Kimi,

If you're on PSE5 or earlier, then yes, it will (should.... :)) carry on as though nothing had happened - if you get the same files with the same names back in the same folders. If not, you'll have a reconnection exercise to go through.

If you're on PSE6, then no, it won't, as far as I can tell. PSE6 apparently uses logical drive serial numbers not drive letters to identify file paths, and the serial number of your new drive will be different from your old one. So the files will have to be reconnected. I'd expect that reconnection to go quite easily though if you replicate the file structure.

On the other issue you raise - Seagate have a very good name. A hardware forum I frequent occasionally, which is very much focused on reliability not performance, stopped recommending WD drives a while back because of concerns over reliability. They now only recommend Seagate. I know a lot of people here mention LaCie, but I don't know who actually makes the drives themselves that are in LaCie boxes. I don't believe LaCie do it themselves, as I'm not aware they sell bare drives. But all manufacturers' drives fail.....

Nick

kimi_boo

January 24th, 2008, 04:23 PM

oh Nick... that is such GOOD news!! :D

yes, I have 5.

ok, that has to be my plan. Replace all info in the exact same order on the exact same drive. Rename and pray.

I am going to get a Seagate as my other back up. That is what all the technical people I am talking to are recommending. I also have some extra internal drives that hubby put in that I should have been utilizing. I am going to be the back up queen if I can get my stuff back.

Chuck S.

January 24th, 2008, 04:29 PM

I use Seagate, Western Digital, and, more recently, SimpleTech interchangeably. I'm not going to jinx myself by talking about their relative reliabilities but they've all been acceptable....so far....:eek:

jazzfisher

January 24th, 2008, 04:43 PM

I have a 1TB Western Digital, An 500 iomega & a 250 Simple Tech---now I'm just holding my breath--that's a lot to move to dvds!:eek:

Chuck S.

January 24th, 2008, 06:15 PM

I have a 1TB Western Digital, An 500 iomega & a 250 Simple Tech---now I'm just holding my breath--that's a lot to move to dvds!:eek:

Sherry, have you looked into online storage options? I don't know much about them, but when you reach a certain volume of images it may be worth evaluating.

jazzfisher

January 24th, 2008, 07:08 PM

Chuck,
I was just thinking that--I was wondering how you find an affordable & safe one. I'm in the middle of setting up my new computer as I type, it has a 650 on it, but I don't really keep any photos (unless they are copies) on my main hard drive. I am going to have to look into to it I can't do thousands of dvds or plug in main more hards drives..............

GaryK

January 24th, 2008, 07:42 PM

Sherry

I know this is sort of the same.. well... it is the same :D.
But have you thought about a network storage drive configuration?

I have been seeing these devices around lately some hold 4 1TB drives, can be raid configured (for backup) and all hook up via ethernet.

You are starting to get into the realm of PRO so maybe you could ask one or two what they do.:)

Not4wood

January 24th, 2008, 08:07 PM

Since this has turned over to brands on and off the net.

I've been also seeing "Sata" drives lately. What is a Sata Drive and can you explain how there otherwise different from other drives like my new WD 320 Gig USB External Drive??

jazzfisher

January 24th, 2008, 09:02 PM

Gary,
I don't know much about that--would like to know more

sarch99

January 24th, 2008, 09:08 PM

Mark, I got this from Wikipedia:

Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA, IPA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Pronunciation): /ˈseɪtə/ or /ˈsætə/) is a computer bus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_bus) primarily designed for transfer of data between a computer and storage devices (like hard disk drives (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_disk_drive) or optical drives (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_drive)).
The main benefits are faster transfers, ability to remove or add devices while operating (hot swapping (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_swapping)), thinner cables that let air cooling work more efficiently, and more reliable operation with tighter data integrity checks than the older Parallel ATA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT_Attachment#Parallel_ATA_interface) interface.
It was designed as a successor to the legacy Advanced Technology Attachment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT_Attachment) standard (ATA), and is expected to eventually replace the older technology (retroactively renamed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retronym) Parallel ATA or PATA). Serial ATA adapters and devices communicate over a high-speed serial (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_communications) cable.

NickLewis

January 25th, 2008, 02:13 AM

Mark,

SATA is the new interface standard for connecting drives to motherboards. As far as the physical drive is concerned, there's no difference.

For external use, eSATA (external SATA) drives are appearing alongside USB and Firewire. In most applications, the USB/Firewire interface, not the drive itself, is the limiting factor on data transfer speed from external drives. eSATA removes that limit, so an external drive can function as fast as an equivalent internal one.

To use an eSATA drive, you obviously need an eSATA port on your PC. You can fit an expansion card, or they are now appearing on new motherboards.

Nick

NickLewis

January 25th, 2008, 02:32 AM

oh Nick... that is such GOOD news!! :D

yes, I have 5.

ok, that has to be my plan. Replace all info in the exact same order on the exact same drive. Rename and pray.
Hi Kimi, You should be OK then. To reconnect a file automatically, Elements looks at filename, location and whether it has been modified. As long as only one of those things has changed, it'll reconnect automatically. I've no experience with data recovery, so I don't how your data will reappear - but I wouldn't be surprised if the file modification date changes, which will be OK, as long as you get things back in the same place with the same name.

But in all honesty, even if doesn't reconnect automatically, all that'll you'll have to do is sit down and work your way through the list. Very tedious, I agree, but a price worth paying!

(I'm assuming, by the way, that your catalog isn't affected by the disaster. Is that still in the default location, on your C: drive?)

Nick

Not4wood

January 25th, 2008, 05:35 AM

Interesting about the speed of the E SATA Drives. I just copied some of my pics yesterday, and the Alaska Folders copied over extremely fast on my USB 2.0 connected external drive. I was impressed considering there were over 900 shots.

kimi_boo

January 25th, 2008, 07:19 AM

(I'm assuming, by the way, that your catalog isn't affected by the disaster. Is that still in the default location, on your C: drive?)

Nick
Yes Nick... everthing is fine.
I am sure I will be back with lots of questions in a couple of weeks.

Thanks so much for all of your help! :)

jazzfisher

January 29th, 2008, 12:34 PM

Kimmie, I hope things are getting better for you.
I just wanted to mention that I just got a new computer--my experience moving "my catalog"--(from a Vista home premium to Vista home premium). All my photos are on 3 external hard drives--so I wasn't sure how the photos would connect back up correctly since the drive would ave different letters. (Version 6.0) But I restored from a back up & everything seems to be there (I made sure before that every single photo was saved with tag/info). ANd it seems that the photos are now assigned with their new drive location. I will report back any other info when I get to play more tonight. So far so good!!!:):):)