Two external hard drives unreadable in one fell swoop

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I suspect as I tried to plug them into an old mac using a firewire to usb adapter, but I'm not certain

I don't think they are deed, no harsh clicking noises. Don't think I've lost anything important, but all the same

It's probably going to finally make me use the cloud :eek:
 


So presumably 3.5 inc SATA drives inside them both.
I have an external dock for those (would mean taking them out of their existing cases) which could show whether or not the drives themselves are history. Could possibly call in at your "office" sometime when I am up that way if you are prepared to wait.
 
So presumably 3.5 inc SATA drives inside them both.
I have an external dock for those (would mean taking them out of their existing cases) which could show whether or not the drives themselves are history. Could possibly call in at your "office" sometime when I am up that way if you are prepared to wait.
Cheers Rog, I noticed at least one is still with warranty, but prolly best to hang on to them. The my passport whirrs like normal, but doesn't show up anywhere, the toshiba seems to have no power at all

I discovered a suspicious gap in my files I was backing up this morning for 4 months at the start of 2013, but still no evidence yet that i've actually lost files. I think I did have a long fallow period around that time...
 
Trouble with warranty is they will probably give you a nice shiny new drive - but not your data back
 
I have trashed several USB drives down the years, and never rely on a single device.

You should consider a NAS (Network Attached Storage) box, ideally four disks configured as a RAID 5 array, or two disks in a RAID 1, backed up onto a high capacity drive or into the cloud.
 
Trouble with warranty is they will probably give you a nice shiny new drive - but not your data back
yep

I have trashed several USB drives down the years, and never rely on a single device.

You should consider a NAS (Network Attached Storage) box, ideally four disks configured as a RAID 5 array, or two disks in a RAID 1, backed up onto a high capacity drive or into the cloud.
You just assume you'll be fairly safe with 3 backups, then find it's far from foolproof when 2 fail at once. I'm going to the cloud, mediafire I thinks
 
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My google account backs up my photos as soon as I transfer them from the memory card to my laptop. Possibly worth a shout. Never used mediafire so can't comment on them.
 
My google account backs up my photos as soon as I transfer them from the memory card to my laptop. Possibly worth a shout. Never used mediafire so can't comment on them.
cheap as chips

It seems they are a provider for other cloud services so should be ok
 
My mate (designer) swears by this: https://www.backblaze.com/ - unlimited storage for $5 a month.

My worry is with all of these cloud storage systems is if they go bust (as with some high profile one a few years back), and your data goes missing forever. Obviously you'd hopefully have the originals on HD or something but always crosses my mind.
 
My mate (designer) swears by this: https://www.backblaze.com/ - unlimited storage for $5 a month.

My worry is with all of these cloud storage systems is if they go bust (as with some high profile one a few years back), and your data goes missing forever. Obviously you'd hopefully have the originals on HD or something but always crosses my mind.
True of course, but then I was just discussing this with a client and came to the conclusion which is more likely to go pop, your shabbily construction mass produced hd, or the cloud service. Almost certainly the former I think unless you're using a severely crap backstreet merchant
 
I can recommend backblaze. Really cheap for unlimited data. Also automatic so no need to think about it.
It sounds like it's a power issue with your drives rather the drive themselves. Your data should be fine if that's the case and you just need a new caddy or a "toaster".

In case anyone cares my back up system is as follows.
Shoot to laptop, back up to LaCie rugged while shooting.
As soon as I'm home back up to 2 more hard drives that are attached to my desktop.
Backblaze then auto backs up one of the attached drives.
So as long as I don't have a massive fire or get burgled before backblaze has backed up my files I think I'm pretty safe. Oh and this is as well as time machine working it's thing.
 
I can recommend backblaze. Really cheap for unlimited data. Also automatic so no need to think about it.
It sounds like it's a power issue with your drives rather the drive themselves. Your data should be fine if that's the case and you just need a new caddy or a "toaster".

In case anyone cares my back up system is as follows.
Shoot to laptop, back up to LaCie rugged while shooting.
As soon as I'm home back up to 2 more hard drives that are attached to my desktop.
Backblaze then auto backs up one of the attached drives.
So as long as I don't have a massive fire or get burgled before backblaze has backed up my files I think I'm pretty safe. Oh and this is as well as time machine working it's thing.
I bought a LaCie rugged last week
 
I can recommend backblaze. Really cheap for unlimited data. Also automatic so no need to think about it.
It sounds like it's a power issue with your drives rather the drive themselves. Your data should be fine if that's the case and you just need a new caddy or a "toaster".

In case anyone cares my back up system is as follows.
Shoot to laptop, back up to LaCie rugged while shooting.
As soon as I'm home back up to 2 more hard drives that are attached to my desktop.
Backblaze then auto backs up one of the attached drives.
So as long as I don't have a massive fire or get burgled before backblaze has backed up my files I think I'm pretty safe. Oh and this is as well as time machine working it's thing.

A lot better than mine!

I've been thinking about using backblaze for a while. When you do the initial backup have you had any problems with uploading a large amount from the interent service provider? Never been sure if there is problems uploading so much. I have about 10-12tb to backup.

Also can it be set upto only backup external drives rather than what is on the internal drives?
 
A lot better than mine!

I've been thinking about using backblaze for a while. When you do the initial backup have you had any problems with uploading a large amount from the interent service provider? Never been sure if there is problems uploading so much. I have about 10-12tb to backup.

Also can it be set upto only backup external drives rather than what is on the internal drives?

Well backing that up in one go is going to take you an age unless you have great upload speed. Even then I think it caps out even though backblaze say it won't. You may be better off getting them to send drives out to you but that is probably costly. I suppose if you can wait the six months or more for full back up, then you'll not find much cheaper cloud space!
You can alter the settings to back up exactly what you want, I just find it easier for it to do everything and that way it's backing up my retouching work as well until I've finished all the images.
I've never had any problems with my isp about using backblaze even during the initial month long upload!

12tb is a lot of photos. Can I ask what you are taking photos of to have that many? I usually cut down what I'm backing up a lot. If I can get away with not backing up something that wasn't in my original long list edit then I'm happy. Why would I want to keep a frame I rejected in the first place. But maybe that's just me.
 
Well backing that up in one go is going to take you an age unless you have great upload speed. Even then I think it caps out even though backblaze say it won't. You may be better off getting them to send drives out to you but that is probably costly. I suppose if you can wait the six months or more for full back up, then you'll not find much cheaper cloud space!
You can alter the settings to back up exactly what you want, I just find it easier for it to do everything and that way it's backing up my retouching work as well until I've finished all the images.
I've never had any problems with my isp about using backblaze even during the initial month long upload!

12tb is a lot of photos. Can I ask what you are taking photos of to have that many? I usually cut down what I'm backing up a lot. If I can get away with not backing up something that wasn't in my original long list edit then I'm happy. Why would I want to keep a frame I rejected in the first place. But maybe that's just me.

I went ahead and got it and my upload for ONE hard drive is 130 days :lol: That is excluding lots of folders already. Going to have to have a re-think

I am a DOP so it is mostly video and time lapse with a small amount of regular photos, so file sizes really start racking up.
 
daft question but are you sure its not a faulty cable or usb adapter ?
Have you tried them on a windows machine direct into a usb port?
 
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