External HDs

Yesterday my computer stopped recognizing my external HD. It had been working just fine and all of a sudden it stopped. I plugged it into another computer and that computer did not recognize it either. Needless to say I was ticked. I am wondering if anyone can tell me if it would be worth the trouble to see if the ext HD can be repaired and also if the files on the drive can be retrieved and would it be expensive. I seem to recall hearing that once an Ext HD quits you might as well replace it but I don't really know if that is accurate. I would appreciate any ideas or advice on this problem.

I also wonder what kinds of backup other photographers use. Is there any alternative to external HDs or is there any ext HD that is foolproof (probably not), does anyone use online storage, are there any other alternatives? Before the ext stopped working I was using two external HDs and also had most of my best raw files saved on disk and of course my regular HD so I still have all of the files. I also have many of my best files saved on my old computer HD but it is almost full now.

I guess I would like to hear other opinions on what is the absolute best way to back up files. The drive that has apparently failed is a Seagate and it is the second ext HD I have had that has failed but I don't remember the brand of the other one.

I will also add that in computer expertise on a scale of 1 to 10 I am probably about a 5.

Thanks,

Robert Bunch

Robert, sorry to hear about your problem, any hard drive failure creates huge headaches and almost always comes with significant loss of files. In this case, the first thing to check is the power supply. If the supply has died, it can be replaced and you won't have lost any files. If the disk has crashed, you can buy disk recovery software and try to salvage files. I've gone that route a couple of times and found the recovery process to be quite slow and painstaking. In addition, you only recover a fraction of the files. (If you've got important files, if may well be worth the cost to send it to a disk recovery specialist.)

With respect to price/performance, you can't beat an external drive for backup. Of course, the hardcore backup folks say that you should always have two backup drives with everything duplicated and you should keep on of the drives in a different physical locations. I think that's overboard for most of us.

I've also had several external hard drives fail (but had duplicates of all important data, so I just junked the drives) and it seems like those occurred when the drive got to be 4 - 5 years old. At this point and given how much more can be stored on a new drive, I tend to replace my external drives about every 3 years. I'm now using a 4 TB external drive from Western Digital, that has 2, 2TB disks and each disks is replaceable.

I've had this happen a couple of times. no loss of data because of backups, but it is aggravating. Drives fail. I had raid systems fail, but the RAID did what it was intended to do - no loss of data. Drives fail -That is the nature of hard drives. A good backup procedure is important. In my most recent computer (Puget Systems) I have a solid state drive for the root drive, supposedly more reliable than a spinning drive, but it's relatively small so I don't use it for much data storage.

I have used RAID drives. Right now my only RAID drives is an external used for backup. I use Retrospect backup software. I like it because it backs up only new or changed files, it lets me choose between a back-up or a duplicate (I prefer duplicates), and it lets me set the automatic backup schedule. I also use CrashPlan, to back up from one computer to another. Crash plan also has cloud backup available. I put my best stuff on DVDs (when I remember to do it, which isn't often enough) and store them away from home.

Robert,

If you have a router that supports Network Attached Storage (NAS), here's a nice unit from Synology. It takes two SATA HD's (2X4GB Max). Drives not included. B&H has it for $199.99. Synology products are receiving very good reviews. They also 4 and 8 bay units.

If you are looking for a solid external back-up, grab a Nextar-3 and put in a Western Digital Caviar Black HDD. These are USB3, but will work on a USB2 port.. Puget Systems has a 3TB model for $228 w/ WD HD. Note: This drive will not work on Windows XP.

Over the years I've used IBM, Seagate, and Western Digital drives, and I've found the Western Digital HD's to be the most reliable. If you do decide on Western Digital, get either the Caviar Blue, or Caviar Black.

Added: My Backup system is as follows...

All image files and non-image files are backed up on two WD Blue 500GB SATA internal drives. My boot drive (Intel 240GB SSD) with my OS, applications and user files, as well as the files on the two internal HD's are backed up to a 1 TB SATA WD external drive.

Since I shoot 4x5, I don't have a huge number of images, so the 1 TB external meets my needs, at present. If I ever need more storage, I'll likely go with a Synology NAS with two 4GB drives.

--P

I just lost a potable drive three weeks ago with my Scotland shots and some Maine shots on it. Not sure why it happened since the rive suffered no severe trama. It was only 2 and 1/2 years old.... Seagate GoFlex 3.0 USB. Luckily I had 3 other backups for my digital files. I only lost a few of my recent scans from a few weeks prior. Fortunately, with film, you can rescan though it is a pain in the neck. Digital it is not so. Also a few years back, I did have my computer and several drives stolen from my car when we were moving from MA to NH that Dec. That was heartbreaking since I did lose images from Oct and Nov taken in NH, ME, and MA. Can't be replaced except for the images I had posted on my website. I always try and have at least three backup copies now. I also recently purchased some non-portable drive to re-backup my older files. Once you loose files you become diligent to make sure your don't loose anymore. Although in the case of my lose a few weeks back, not diligent enough.

I use a double back up system with the current 2 years files on the HD in the tower and a backup of files older than that on external drives. I then back that up on additional backup drives and bring them to work. Relatively inexpensive compared to losing a lot of images or paying a lot of $$ to try to recover from a disaster.

Thank you Mark, Buck, Preston, Eva and Ed for your replies. I really appreciate all the help. As well as posting on NPN I did a little research online on the subject of backing up files. From that research I gathered that the best way to back up your files is the LOCKSS system (Lots Of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe). The info I found reccommended multiple ext HDs, CDs and DVDs, online storage and also reccommended that whatever method you use you should store some of it offsite at a friend or relatives house as well as in safe deposit boxes in case of fire, tornado or tsunami etc. and apparently there are ways to back up your files with other computers where your files are stored on a friend or relatives computer and theirs are backed up on your computer. There are also apparently various different types of hard drives to choose from. It seems the golden rule is that nothing is completely safe and you should have as many backups from as many different options as possible in as many different locations as possible. It was also reccommended that you continue to back up on new media every three or four years so you won't run into problems with changing technology.

I went to Frys' and talked to the repair guys and they told me they would check out my malfunctioning drive for $69.99 and tell me if it was repairable or not. I looked at the drives for sale there and for about 30-40 bucks more I could get a new drive. That seemed like a better deal so I bought a Western Digital 2 terrabyte hard drive and took it home.

My programmer brother offered to come over and look at my computer and see if he could figure out what went wrong. First he did a restart but the computer stilll didn't recognize the drive, then he turned the computer off and started it up again, nothing changed the computer still didn't recognize the drive. He tried a different USB slot, still no help and then he plugged it into my old computer and it still didn't work. The last thing he did was to unplug the external drive then plug it back in again and amazingly it started working. That was all it took! I will keep the new drive so now I have three externals.

Thanks again for all of your replies.

Robert Bunch

One thing I'm not sure anyone mentioned is that it's better to use internal drives in an external enclosure with a fan, rather than the portable fully enclosed external drives. Heat is a pretty common cause of drive failure over time, so keeping it cool helps.

I have one of these enclosures that has a fan and uses regular hard drives that can be swapped/upgraded in the same enclosure. So if I need to go bigger, it's a bit cheaper too.

I'm not sure which you got, and usually the portable ones work fine... but I like the enclosure option.

One last note - if you have a drive fail, depending on what the particular fail is, wrapping it well in plastic bags and sticking it in the freezer may make it work temporarily just to try getting data off of it. If you have your data backed up, it's no problem. But if you don't, it's worth a shot.

The last thing he did was to unplug the external drive then plug it back in again and amazingly it started working. That was all it took!

If I have a device that's not being recognized, I always suspect the connection first. I shut down the computer, disconnect the cable from the device and the computer, reconnect it and then reboot. If that doesn't work, I try another port. If that doesn't work, I try a new cable. Most of the time, the physical connection or the cable is the problem. If it's not, I dig deeper.

Backing up to DVD discs or the cloud is not a good solution for me since most of my master files approach a gigabyte in size. Also, DVD discs do degrade over time, and may not be readable on later technologies. As for the cloud: I am not at the point where I am comfortable having my files on a server over which I had no control, even if I had a fast enough upload connection (which I don't).

At the moment, I don't have the option for off-site storage of an external drive, but this does seem like a very good idea. I will offer one caution: Standard HD's are mechanical devices and should be handled with great care: a drive that hits the pavement may be damaged beyond repair. Also, since the data is written to magnetic media, you need to store the drive in a place that is not subject to strong electric or magnetic fields. Wrapping the drive in an anti-static bag will help.

One thing I'm not sure anyone mentioned is that it's better to use internal drives in an external enclosure with a fan, rather than the portable fully enclosed external drives. Heat is a pretty common cause of drive failure over time, so keeping it cool helps

Excellent point, David. Cooling can be a major issue, especially in hot/humid climates. A drive enclosure with a fan will really help. My external SATA HD has it's own power switch, so I fire it up about once per week and do my backup. The NextStar enclosed case has a built-in heat sink that conducts the heat from the drive to the outside surface of the case. For USB drive cases, where the USB connection provides the power for the drive, such as the one for my laptop, I only connect it when I back up to that drive.

--P

Thanks for your reply David and thanks again Preston.

Robert