Let this be a lesson to me...and you...

tahmail · Jan 13, 2008

Should I mention.....store a set of those CD,s DVD's, Ironmountain (what every you use for backup) OFFSITE so if you have a fire or other disaster, you still have your files.

leaving0hio · Jan 13, 2008

nossie said:
Thank the Bill for RAID5

I used to say that too - then i lost an array controller.

bellacat · Jan 14, 2008

Now that i have read this post i am reminded I am due for a backup so that is what i will be doing tomorrow. Thanks for the reminder.

nossie · Jan 14, 2008

leaving0hio said:
I used to say that too - then i lost an array controller.

True. There is no single device for a 100% safe backup system but you have to draw the line between what you can realisticly afford and building a hermetically sealed nuclear bunker. I use 3 drives in RAID 5 and do DVD backups every now and then (2-3 months-ish) or straight away if they're sensitive shots like a wedding shoot.
After that point I don't really care, if I'm hit by sods law then so be it.

ScottS · Jan 14, 2008

Funny that this thread is coming back up because my photography computer (vista) JUST CRASHED.

With vista I have learned to backup all the time...

Phew!

monkeykoder · Jan 14, 2008

Operating systems crashing is no big deal a linux live cd can usually fix that... That is however no excuse not to back up your data. Hard drives still crash.

ScottS · Jan 14, 2008

OS crashes are only bad if you dont have a backup... Then you have to pay someone to get your data off the HD before you can reinstall your OS on it.

Thats what im doing now... take up way too much of my time.

And on a side note, Im on my old desktop computer with a tube screen....and woa! my eyes hurt!!

leaving0hio · Jan 14, 2008

nossie said:
True. There is no single device for a 100% safe backup system but you have to draw the line between what you can realisticly afford and building a hermetically sealed nuclear bunker. I use 3 drives in RAID 5 and do DVD backups every now and then (2-3 months-ish) or straight away if they're sensitive shots like a wedding shoot.
After that point I don't really care, if I'm hit by sods law then so be it.

I don't know why, but I thought you were relying on the RAID as your (only) backup strategy. So my reply came from that assumption. My apologies.

monkeykoder · Jan 14, 2008

ScottS said:
OS crashes are only bad if you dont have a backup... Then you have to pay someone to get your data off the HD before you can reinstall your OS on it.

Thats what im doing now... take up way too much of my time.

And on a side note, Im on my old desktop computer with a tube screen....and woa! my eyes hurt!!

Pay someone??? why would you do that? I can think of 2 methods using a linux live cd (depending on your current hardware) Which allow you to do it for nearly free (insert cost of external hard drive or burnable CDs to make up for the nearly)

nossie · Jan 15, 2008

ScottS said:
Funny that this thread is coming back up because my photography computer (vista) JUST CRASHED.

With vista I have learned to backup all the time...

Phew!

Mine never crashes. It might be something more than Vista at fault. I'd suggest you run memtest some night for starters.

ScottS said:
OS crashes are only bad if you dont have a backup... Then you have to pay someone to get your data off the HD before you can reinstall your OS on it.

Thats what im doing now... take up way too much of my time.

And on a side note, Im on my old desktop computer with a tube screen....and woa! my eyes hurt!!

Keep all your OS and Application Installations on C:\ which is one phsyical drive all to itself.
Then get a second harddrive D:\ that is only for storing your work, photos, downloads etc. Now if the OS becomes corrupt for any reason you can easily format C:\ and reinstall everything without worrying about your work.

You can do the same on a single drive by creating a partition so that D:\ is a virtual drive. This is a good idea if you're working on a laptop but for desktop I'd go with the 2 drives.

nossie · Jan 15, 2008

leaving0hio said:
I don't know why, but I thought you were relying on the RAID as your (only) backup strategy. So my reply came from that assumption. My apologies.

Could easily happen but it's nothing to worry about, I didn't give all the information.

About the RAID controller failing... couldn't you replace it? Even if it's an onboard controller wouldn't a seperate controller take up the drives again for you?

JonnyB · Jan 15, 2008

As a last resort u can always take the hard drive out and give it a good old whack, like banging it off a table. If the hard drives just sticking this can occasionally free it up. The trick is to just hit it hard enough to free it up without knacking it.

Like a say though a complete last resort once all other options have be exausted and u have nothing left to loose.

c_lawrence · Feb 23, 2008

If your hard drive is making noise, then it can be recovered. I would suggest having a 'professional' do this, however, before accidentally creating irreversible damage... this can be expensive, though. The good news is if there is a university near you, track down their computer education department and/or IT department and they can recover your hd for you. Of course nothing is free but they will generally take on anything for 'educational purposes' and at a relatively nominal fee. A friend (non-university student) had his hardrive recovered by UGA for $75.00.