So, the inevitable happened...

[beehive50]

...one of my EHDs came crashing down. Well, it didn't so much crash, as it just stopped working. Used it yesterday morning. Unplugged it to connect to the laptop so my mom could pick out some photos for me to print for her and nothing. No power. No nothing.

So, after the first attempt this afternoon by the Geek Squad to fix it, it's winging its way to their Data Recovery Center... and I'm really, really, really hoping they'll be able to recover everything.

'Cuz, of course, this was my MAIN back-up EHD... I *think* I have alot of the data and photos on my other EHDs, but this was the back-up of the back-up. And, in my stupid laziness, all of the 2011 photos ONLY went onto this drive. My bad. (My really, really, really bad!)

Oh, well... it is what it is. I just hope their initial quote of $536 is a HIGH estimate... So, sadly, here's just one more reason to back-up, back-up, back-up... sigh...

[justmp]

YIKES! I sure hope they can recover your data! Thanks for the reminder...I need to do some backing up!

[home in ottawa]

You know, there was something to be said for that shoebox of photos.....Don't know what to do to be safe, we are at the mercy of technology. Will our children inherit a couple of hard drives that they have to deal with in order to preserve the memories that we all work to save? I'm thinking of printing photos again. Good luck with the recovery, fingers crossed for you.

[vfleslie]

That's terrible!

I lost photos once. Now I have them on 2 laptops (mine and hubbies), also backed up to Carbonite and EHD. I am very paranoid!

[tracermajig]

Oh no!! I hope you get everything back! I was telling myself just the other day it's time to do another back up!

[readstoomuch]

Debi . . . so so sorry. Hope that the Geek Squad will work wonders and that the dollars won't be sky high for you.

[earlofoxford]

Ugh -- hate hearing this, Debi -- hope the Geek Squad successfully recovers your files.

[esther_a]

That's such bad news, Debi! I certainly hope they can fix it for you for a much reduced price! It is so easy to slip into complacency. So it wasn't so much your backup as your primary storage?

[marnie]

Bummer, Debi! That happened to me once and Geek Squad was able to recover most of my stuff and I don't remember it costing nearly as much as your quote--that's been a couple of years ago, but still--seems high.

[tylertooo]

Oh Debi, I am so sorry to hear that happened. Note to self - back up tonight!!! I think we all need a reminder now and then. I agree the recovery costs are high - lets hope it is an easy fix. Keep us posted.

[beehive50]

Originally Posted by home in ottawa

You know, there was something to be said for that shoebox of photos...

Susan... my son (who is 20 and very tech-y!) said almost the same thing!

Thanks everyone for the good thoughts... and Marnie, I'm hoping my cost is closer to your LESSER cost!

Esther... this was a back-up EHD, but to save space on my very full hard drive, I did have data on here and ONLY on here... personal documents (365 journals, letters, spreadsheets, etc.), documents for the high school soccer boosters (minutes from two years as secretary, rosters, etc.) and the same for Shannon's club team (I'm the manager)... nothing absolutely devastatingly awful 'cuz I do have hard copies (most of it!), but retyping everything would be a monumental task!

All my layouts are on a different EHD... think those will be backed up online very, very soon!

[echogirl]

Oh such a bummer Debi.
Here's hoping that recovery will be quick and cheap!

[carollee]

Noooooooooo!!! Oh Debi you know how much i feel your pain. I hope the Geeks get the data back for you. Amazing what a disaster can do to your practice. Mine is fully backed up each fortnight now. Oh I hope you get as lucky as i did with my disaster.

[katie pertiet]

oh no Debi! That flat out sucks. I'm so sorry

[anxela]

I'm so sorry, Debi! I hope you'll get your photos back (and to a reasonable price)...

[esther_a]

At least your pages are backed up elsewhere. That's the most important, right?! But it sounds like you have a heap of stuff there. I hope you are able to recover it!

[maureenreynolds]

Prayers for 'recovery' and at a reasonable price Debi. Just the title of your post gave me that ...ugh..feeling.

I'm looking at the two blue lights on my desk and saying kind things to them. Stay healthy my darlings! My dh does not understand why periodically I want an updated paper copy of ALL our accounts, the passwords, etc etc. He always says...they're on my computer!

[anke]

Oh good grief Debi!!! I sure hope you'll be able to get all your stuff back at a reasonable price! That quote is absurd!!! I know I will be doing a (multiple) EHD backup today! I am a couple of weeks behind... thanks for the reminder!

[tdavenport]

Debi,
I'm so sorry! Hope you're able to get everything back!

[iUma]

Debi, such a painful costly reminder to all of us....

but if you divide out the cost over the years of value the redemption of your materials is a bargain, no?


printing.... yes... that old fashioned notion seems suddenly good again!!

[Aino]

Big time OUCH. I get that horrible sinking feeling in my stomach just reading this.... Wishing you luck lady.

[beehive50]

And, now the long wait for the call from data recovery... I think I'm 90% OK, but I did have a sinking thought last night... in order to recover space on one of the other EHDs, I moved all (yes, all...) of the photobooks I have been working on to the bad EHD. Not good...

One book I just finished last week, but thankfully, had already uploaded it to Shutterfly. And another that is almost complete is on my computer at work! Yes, scrapping at lunch... So, for that... I'm very thankful!

But, my Europe book... about three-quarters done... thank goodness that I have the photos on two drives here! And, the memory cards, too! Whew! And a couple of Shannon and Derek's soccer books had been started, too... oh, well... crossing fingers for now!

Thanks for the understanding and well wishes! Hope y'all have done some backing up this weekend!

[maureenreynolds]

~~~~~~> Sending you good news via the data recovery geeks.

Mac's Time Machine backs up daily. Just sayin'.

[beehive50]

Originally Posted by maureenreynolds

...Mac's Time Machine backs up daily. Just sayin'.

Ha. You devious Mac girl... trying to sway me over to the 'dark side'... (That side I not-so-secretly wish I was already on! LOL)

[LoriS]

SO sorry to hear all that, Debi! I MUST back up! I've been procrastinating...... need to just DO IT! Hope all your data is ok and the Geeks fix it!

[digigrandma]

Debi, I'm so sorry you've got the EHD woes!! I hold my breath every time I plug my EHD in until I see that it works...one more time! I feel like it is just a matter of time before something happens to it.

[beehive50]

(SAD) UPDATE: So, the Geek Squad Data Recovery calls Thursday... they can't retrieve the data 'cuz the EHD was so fried. They'd have to send it out to a 3rd party... estimated cost $1,300-$1,600. What the...? Are you kidding me? There's no way I can pay that, so while I haven't told Geek Squad to send the EHD (what's left of it!) back to me yet... that's probably my decision. I don't think I can justify that kind of money. Even for photos... sigh...

Luckily, I have MOST of the photos saved on another EHD or the hard drive, but NONE of the documents (Word, Excel, etc.) are backed up elsewhere, although I'm thinking most would be replaceable (or re-typeable! ). What IS lost are the photo books... I had a bunch of soccer books started for the kids... six years of high school + umpteen years of club. Most only had 5-6 pages or so done, so that's not bad. (Note to self: Finish a book before starting another! ) One of Shannon's was nearly done, as was my Europe trip book. Crud. So, all the books will need to be redone, but, honestly, I'm just happy I have most of the photos so I can recreate! And, my Europe photos are stored in three places!

Anyways, back up all your stuff in MORE than ONE place, ladies! Not only could you lose it all (thank goodness I didn't lose it ALL!), but it can financially wreck you, too! hahaha

[Scrapbird]

Before you give up, please get a second opinion. My son (who is a network administrator for the city of Portland OR) says that the Geek Squad folks are not always the best.

[readstoomuch]

Sorry for the bad news, Debi. I'm so glad that you had so much backed up other places . . . but the work on your wonderful photos books will cost you in precious hours of labor I'm sure. What a bummer that is.

I imagine that Scrapbird's post gives you a bit of hope. Her son sounds like he knows what he is talking about.

[dugarner]

I would definitely get a second opinion. I didn't want to say anything at the beginning of this thread because I feel like I'm frequently negative, but I would never use Geek Squad. They have a horrible reputation and tend to be poorly trained and way overpriced. Ask around. I find it hard to believe that an EHD would be fried that bad---usually they simply fail, electronically, primarily.

If you can get power and get it to mount, you can usually recover a good bit of the data. If it is simply failing to mount, you can disassemble it and plug it in directly to your desktop computer's motherboard. That almost always works.

And there are a lot of places that use NSA-level recovery software that I'm sure charge less than that estimate.