Backups

By now I am sure we all have heard how important backups of our important data are.  I certainly know this lesson well.  But still, I got bit.  Being a "computer professional" I know better.  My daughter told me a few days ago that her laptop quit working.  That laptop and I have a long history.  I have patched it together several times.  But this time it was a different problem.  It wouldn't boot.

Ugh.  My heart sank.  I had meaning to back it up, but just never had.  All her papers and, most importantly, pictures and videos are on that hard drive.  I tried a few of my best ideas, like booting Linux from a CD and trying to read the drive.  Even took the drive out and put it into my main Linux machine and tried copying using "dd" but to to avail.  Horrendous read errors all over the disk.  That's actually the good news.

Why is that the good news?  Because since it reads sometimes but has read errors all over the place, that is a strong indication that it is NOT the data corrupted.  Instead, it seems more like an electronics / controller board problem.  If it were the data on the drive it would likely be more consistent.  I have, a long, long time ago, fixed drives with similar problems by replacing the controller board with an identical one from another drive.  I don't have one like hers easily available, but there is a service that advertises exactly that sort of thing online: Outsource Data Recovery in Cleveland Ohio.

Before I go any further let me tell you what I did wrong.  Trying to access the drive myself could have caused further damage.  If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, shut off the computer and remove the drive and don't do anything with it until you consult a professional.  Every bit of use after the first problem decreases the chances of successful data recovery.

OK, on with the story.  Outsource advertises "$60 hard drive repairs."  If the problem is as simple as mine appears to be, they advertise they can repair the electronics for essentially a $60 flat fee.  If the problem is more in depth they will let you know and let you decide what to do.  I looked around online for more information and reviews of their service.  There are not a lot.  I found about 8 good reviews, pretty much all giving five stars, and one bad one.  The one bad one did sound a bit flaky, like someone who didn't really know what they were talking about.  Over half the good ones were on either the company's own web site or their Google plus page.  So the details are a bit sketchy.  The Better Business Bureau in Cleveland Ohio has them listed, and has no complaints lodged against them.  They are not a member of the BBB.

So, I have decided to give them a try.  I will file a ticket with them and send the drive to them.  I am hopeful.  I think there is a good chance of success.  I will report back with the results.

The lesson here is: don't put off your backups.  Find a good backup strategy and stick to it.  Back up your phone or tablet too.  These days we carry our lives around in our pocket and it only takes a second to lose everything.  I bought a new 4 terabyte external drive to do my backups on.  I'm going now to continue backing up all my important data.  Maybe you should too.