Member Avatar for andantesash

Hi,

My external hard drive has stopped working and I need to get all my photos of it, as some of them are really important to me as I am a photographer.

Can anyone suggest to me the best method to get the photos back. The hard drive is appearing in my computer when I plug it into the dock, but I can't access it and the properties are saying there is no free or used space.

But I used my Linux Ubuntu disk and I can open it no problem. But it takes so long to copy them so I have to install ubuntu. So i need to create a partition to back them up.

How do I create a partition without formatting my machine?

Or does anyone have any other suggestions?

  • 5 Contributors
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  • 16 Hours Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by khakilang
Member Avatar for CimmerianX

So if ubuntu live disk can mount and read the file contents when somehow windows can't... buy your replacement HD and another USB to IDE/SATA adapter, mount the 2nd drive and start a mass copy from the original to the new disk.

If you have windows on the internal HD and your photos on the defective external HD, then I don't see why you want to create a partition anywhere.

Member Avatar for gerbil

"I need to get all my photos of it, as some of them are really important to me as I am a photographer."
What is that old computer saying...something like: If you don't have a copy of your data, then it really isn't all that important to you...? Computers have a knack of confronting you with that "truism".
If you have free space in a partition in your internal hdd then you can shrink it [move its RHS] and then create a partition in the newly freed space. This is the pgm to do just that: Partition Wizard Home Ed. Far more convenient than UBCD. :wink
But it does seem that the partition table in the external drive is damaged... you could check that [ and repair it...] with this pgm: Testdisk
If you need help with that, just repost.
Both pgms are free.

Edited by gerbil because: n/a
Member Avatar for khakilang

Since you can open it with Ubuntu. I suggest you back up all your photo into a CD/DVD first before attempting doing anything else as the photos is important to you. You can use Brasero CD/DVD burner to burn your photo into CD/DVD. If you couldn't find it than go to Ubuntu software center to download Brasero. Cd/DVD disk is cheaper than another hard disk but if you have the budget, why not get another one and do a mass copy.

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