I'm pissed but its my own fault!!

ok... I'm officially pissed/sad.... I figured while I was sick, I would go through some old pics and edit some and move all of them from my old desktop (which crashed last week) to my new external HD so I can edit them on my laptop and such.

Welp, you prolly guessed it, the HD that ALL 10,000+ pics were on is the one that crashed and I cannot access it, it just clicks like four times then does nothing!! I got an adapter to go from IDE to USB and it works flawless on another drive I have so I know its not that. Soooo... ALL my storm pics, wildlife, people pics etc.. are GONE!! ...

Soo, with that said, What is the best online storage salution? I know I should of started this looong time ago but kept putting it off and now I'm paying for it!!

I dont really want a "free" site as im willing to pay for the security of knowing my images are safe!

Thanks for all the input...
Dave

How about a second external hard drive?
I keep 2 backups of all my pics and only keep the last 4-5 months on my laptop.

There is recovery software available, even for a supposedly dead hard drive. I used it on one of my drives that just clicked a few times then go off. It recovered almost every photo on the drive, though it did take quite awhile to do so.

Yikes man...hate to say it but...what were you thinking?

Its the only thing I backup 3x and store a copy offsite as well in the case my house burns down. I Can replace everything else, but photos cannot be replaced.

Possibly look for a data recovery company and see if they can recover the photos for you?

Sounds like a mechanical failure, recovery software will probably not help. A recovery service might assist, presuming it is not a physical head crash. The most reasonably-priced way to go are external hard drives, three deep backup or so. If you have the coins and wish to have the database online constantly, even available to multiple computers, then go for a NAS RAID system like Drobo or others. Even with a NAS system, you will need backup, preferably offsite.

jemanner wrote in post #15536490
Sounds like a mechanical failure, recovery software will probably not help. A recovery service might assist, presuming it is not a physical head crash. The most reasonably-priced way to go are external hard drives, three deep backup or so. If you have the coins and wish to have the database online constantly, even available to multiple computers, then go for a NAS RAID system like Drobo or others. Even with a NAS system, you will need backup, preferably offsite.

clicking on HDD is typically mechanical. you can recover the photos but you will have to send it a specialized recovery firm and pay lots of $$$

A bad power supply in an external HD can prevent the HD from spinning up properly, clicking multiple times. If you can break into the external enclosure and remove the HD itself, the HD can be inserted into a dock. And it is possible that the HD then starts working once again, and the data is retrievalble. I know, because this happended to me with a Western Digital MyBook which had very few power-on hours! The hardest part was breaking into the WD enclosure, which was not designed for any type of repair work and could not be opened without using a hacksaw on a metal part after the inital assembly was done in the factory.

I have my pics backup to a 2nd internal drive and then I back them up to an external drive that I store at my parents house in their safe. Can never be too safe.

Wow. Sorry to hear it but I am glad it's got you thinking. No Pro should even consider running without a backup solution in place for your files. At the least, get a couple of usb hard drives and use something like "SyncToy" (Free Windows tool) to sync your pictures folder to those drives. Keep one offsite and one at home and swap them out on a regular basis.

you could try sticking it in the freezer for a while and then hooking it back up, it has been known to work on occasion.

digirebelva wrote in post #15537900
you could try sticking it in the freezer for a while and then hooking it back up, it has been known to work on occasion.

This has worked for me after a drive physically failed.

Any good IT guy or computer repair shop should have the ability to retrieve your pictures.

Ronny Geenen wrote in post #15538016
Any good IT guy or computer repair shop should have the ability to retrieve your pictures.

Maybe, but worst case the platters have to be removed and data retrieved. Expensive, and way beyond the capabilities of ordinary repair procedures.

No need to pay for a subscribed service... I have files that I created 20 years ago and have never lost. Just get another external hard drive AND another external hard drive and back up to both. Then RAID your internal storage hard drives and youll be covered all around. And take one of those external backup hard drives to a friend or families house and you have off site storage with no fees.

ben_r_ wrote in post #15538070
No need to pay for a subscribed service... I have files that I created 20 years ago and have never lost. Just get another external hard drive AND another external hard drive and back up to both. Then RAID your internal storage hard drives and youll be covered all around. And take one of those external backup hard drives to a friend or families house and you have off site storage with no fees.

Good advice. Subscribed services, here today, gone tomorrow.