As I write, I’m copying files from a hard disk in one of my dead computers across to my new machine. Probably most if not all of the images are somewhere on a backup CD or DVD, but it is rather handier to have them more easily available.
Unless you are a geek rather than (or as well as) a photographer, you may not know that it is usually easy to recover files from hard disks. Even if the computer refuses to boot from the disk it will probably still be working and if so almost certainly still contains most if not all of your files. Of course I knew that police or military intelligence or expensive data-recovery services could get you work back. And I thought I could probably fit the old disk into a new computer (so long as it had the right kind of connectors.) But what I hadn’t really realised was how easy and cheap it was to simply transfer the data.
The tiny bit of gear I bought is a ‘USB 2.0 to SATA Hard Drive Kit + Power Adapter‘ and cost me £12.95, and can transfer from 2.5″ and 3.5″ IDE and SATA drives to a USB port. It comes with various connectors and also a power supply with various connector types. Finding the right ones to get a power and data connection to the hard disk took a couple of minutes as I couldn’t be bothered to remove the drive from the system unit and it wasn’t easy to see inside the box, but other than that it was simple.
If I could be bothered to undo a few screws (and I may in time) I could simply remove the old drive from the machine and slot it into a ‘Smart Dock’ which cost just a few pounds more, and I may do so in time. I did wonder if this might be a sensible alternative to the growing line of external hard drives on the desk to my right, but at the moment it seems to be slightly cheaper to buy these in sensible capacities that bare hard drives.
Something that most photographers possibly know is that if police or security grab your camera and delete images or even format the card in your camera it doesn’t really remove your images. You should also know that they have no right to do so, or to ask you to do so in the UK, but unfortunately too many don’t know the law or chose to ignore it. If you are a journalist (and a UK press card will evidence this) they don’t even have the right to look at the images without a court order. So long as you take no more pictures on the card, the files will still be there and can be recovered on your computer using rescue software such as Sandisk Rescue Pro.
There was a rather unexpected bonus to unplugging one of my hard drives. After I’d finishing copying a hundred GB or so from it I shut it down, unplugged the USB lead from the other computer and the power supply lead from the transformer and then thought I’d just try starting up the old machine again. After sitting there useless for around a month (my IT technician who had rebuilt it has been having other problems) it started up without the slightest hiccough, although as well as the drive I had removed, another is not yet accessible. If I can work out which it is I’ll try connecting that up with the . That still leaves two rather large working drives and gives me access to a lot more files without having to find off-line backups on DVD, CD or currently unconnected external drives.
It’s also the machine into which my film scanner is plugged, and assuming it keeps on working, it means I can return to the slow business of producing high res scans my ancient negatives with the Minolta Multi-Pro.
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My London Diary : Buildings of London : River Lea/Lee Valley : London’s Industrial Heritage
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