Visit MPB Visit MPB Visit MPB

Computer problem

cameraboy
Posted 08/01/2011 - 13:19 Link
Hi guys, I have a problem & need to understand my computer will only work if I unplug my external hard drive so I am unable to upload photos to the forum & now I am worried that I will lose all my digital pics. Most of my pics are scanned so no problem I can re-scan them. Any help or advice would be gratefully accepted.Thanks Ian.
k7 10-17fe 12-24 55 100 macro 18-55 50-200
SteveEveritt
Posted 08/01/2011 - 13:29 Link
Try removing the physical disk from its case and attach it directly to a spare IDE/sata port on your PC. If you still can't access the data it will be a problem with the HDD but this is usually the controller board on the back of the HDD and rarely the platters.
Almost all data is recoverable even if your HDD appears to be dead. I would advise in future that you use an external NAS drive with two large disks and always configure them mirrored. That way if a disk dies the other still contains all your data.
If you cannot get your data back give me a shout
Flickr
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" (John Lennon)
cameraboy
Posted 08/01/2011 - 13:43 Link
Sorry to be a lemon but your computer language has me stumped I will have to try & explain to someone here in Thailand what you mean.Thanks Ian
k7 10-17fe 12-24 55 100 macro 18-55 50-200
SteveEveritt
Posted 08/01/2011 - 14:02 Link
Ah sorry, didn't notice your location. Any good computer store should know what I am talking about. Good Luck.
Flickr
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" (John Lennon)
thoughton
Posted 08/01/2011 - 16:29 Link
What Steve said, although I think he meant to type RAID, and not NAS.
Tim
AF - Pentax K5, Sigma 10-20/4-5.6, Tamron 17-50/2.8, Sigma 30/1.4, Sigma 70-200/2.8, Tamron 70-300/4-5.6
MF - Vivitar CF 28/2.8, Tamron AD2 90/2.5, MTO 1000/11
Stuff - Metz 58 AF1, Cactus v4, Nikon SB24, Raynox 150, Sigma 1.4x TC, Sigma 2x TC, Kenko 2x macro TC, Redsnapper 283 tripod, iMac 27”, Macbook Pro 17”, iPad, iPhone 3G
FlickrFluidrPPGStreetPortfolio site
Feel free to edit any of my posted photos! If I post a photo for critique, I want brutal honesty. If you don't like it, please say so and tell me why!
SteveEveritt
Posted 08/01/2011 - 20:51 Link
A NAS (Network Attached Storage) box is simply a housing for a number of drives. Once inserted you can create a RAID array. You get to choose between.
1. Striping, which scatters your data across both drives but if one drive fails you lose all your data, on the plus side it is faster access.
2. Mirroring, with this method you add two identical size drives and what you copy to one is mirrored to the other automatically that way if one drive fails the other still contains your data. Slow read/write but much more secure.
3. JBOD, (believe it or not) just a bunch of disks files will be written to a single drive and once this drive is full it will spill over to the second but you see it as a single drive letter in Windows Explorer. This way if you lose a drive you only lose what was on the one drive unlike striping where you lose all data if one drive fails.

Mirroring is definitely the way to go with such precious items as photographs as they can never be replaced.

You attach it to your home network and run software on you PC that will find it an then set it up how you want it.

Here are some examples
link
I have an LG NAS drive to store my pictures and it is configured with a mirrored set of 500GB drives I.e. two 500GB drives. Even though there are two I only see 500GB of space in Windows Explorer. This configuration really does give you peace of mind.
Flickr
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" (John Lennon)
Edited by SteveEveritt: 08/01/2011 - 20:53
thoughton
Posted 08/01/2011 - 21:56 Link
An NAS is, by definition, a hard disk that you attach to your network. The OP doesn't have that, he has a hard disk which attaches to his PC. He hasn't even said if he has a network, which is why i questioned recommending an NAS.

PS An NAS can be a single drive, or multiple drives in a RAID array.
Tim
AF - Pentax K5, Sigma 10-20/4-5.6, Tamron 17-50/2.8, Sigma 30/1.4, Sigma 70-200/2.8, Tamron 70-300/4-5.6
MF - Vivitar CF 28/2.8, Tamron AD2 90/2.5, MTO 1000/11
Stuff - Metz 58 AF1, Cactus v4, Nikon SB24, Raynox 150, Sigma 1.4x TC, Sigma 2x TC, Kenko 2x macro TC, Redsnapper 283 tripod, iMac 27”, Macbook Pro 17”, iPad, iPhone 3G
FlickrFluidrPPGStreetPortfolio site
Feel free to edit any of my posted photos! If I post a photo for critique, I want brutal honesty. If you don't like it, please say so and tell me why!
Edited by thoughton: 08/01/2011 - 22:01
Road_Dancer
Posted 08/01/2011 - 22:42 Link
When you say 'Your computer won't work when the external drive is attached', do you mean that it won't boot? If so, most likely cause is the boot order setting in your BIOS.

Most desktop computers are set something like this:
Boot Priority
1) Optical Disk Drive
2) External USB device
3) Internal Hard Drive

What should happen is, you computer turns on, completes it's Power On Self Test (POST) and then looks for something to load in the order it's told too. If it doesn't find something it can load from, it moves down the list. Often External USB drive confuse the computer as they don't respond properly to the "Can I load from you" request, so the computer sits there doing nothing. USB printers with memory card slots used to be notorious for this.

If your PC boots to Windows with the drive unplugged, and then reads the drive fine once it's plugged back in, there's nothing to worry about, either get into the habit of leaving the drive unplugged when you first turn on the PC, or get someone to show you how to change the Boot Order.

If however you computer doesn't work at all when your drive is attached, then it's likely a problem with the external drive, and hopefully is only going to probelm with the USB -> Hard drive circuit board in the external box itself. Any decent computer shop should be able to swap the drive into a new case.
Pentax K10d; Metz mecablitz 48 AF-1; Pentax A 50mm F2; Pentax 18-55mm DAII; Sigma 28-300mm F3.5-5.6; Koboron 24-70mm F3.5-4.8. Pentax MZ-7, Zenit 35mm
My Flickr Photos
Edited by Road_Dancer: 08/01/2011 - 22:45
SmutjeUK
Posted 08/01/2011 - 22:46 Link
Is the HDD (Hard Disk Drive) in a sealed unit or is it possible that you can take out the HDD. It may be an idea to connect the HDD directly to the MoBo (Motherboard) as you may have a faulty or short in the USB connection.
Does the HDD works on a different computer? Is the HDD Casing maybe faulty and not the HDD itself (that's why connecting the HDD itself to the MoBo)?
There is some software that may get your HDD going again, I will dig it out on Monday (I got a job tomorrow, sorry) its free download and has helped me with some of similar problems.
I got my HDD's now on a RAID 6 setting which means I can have up to two HDD fail on me and still be able to recover the data. May be an idea for the future but it may not come cheap.
Let me know how you get on in here and we may be able to fix it for you.
Kind regards
SmutjeUK

It's nice to be nice!

Pentax K-5 with D-GB4 Grip, to many lenses to mention by now (serious LBA by now), TC's, Lowepro Slingshot 300 AW, Manfrotto 028 & Redsnapper RS-283 with various Heads plus various Camera Clamps (I collect them). Pentax AF 360FGZ, Pentax AF 240FT, several Metz 45 CT-1 & 5 with stands and 'Blow Up' Soft Boxes, Flash Triggers, and various Macro gear.
DOIK
Posted 08/01/2011 - 22:56 Link
Ian, I presume it is a usb external drive with or without a power supply unit. Have you tried plugging the drive into another port on your pc? If so do you have the same problem? If you do then the external drive is at fault. It might be worth checking the pins on the usb ports and plug to make sure they are not bent etc.
If it is the drive come back for further advice.
I would forget about NAS & RAID stuff for the time being.All I would say is keep two copies of files on two different drives or DVD's

John
DOIK
Posted 08/01/2011 - 23:03 Link
Road_Dancer wrote:
When you say 'Your computer won't work when the external drive is attached', do you mean that it won't boot? If so, most likely cause is the boot order setting in your BIOS.

Most desktop computers are set something like this:
Boot Priority
1) Optical Disk Drive
2) External USB device
3) Internal Hard Drive

What should happen is, you computer turns on, completes it's Power On Self Test (POST) and then looks for something to load in the order it's told too. If it doesn't find something it can load from, it moves down the list. Often External USB drive confuse the computer as they don't respond properly to the "Can I load from you" request, so the computer sits there doing nothing. USB printers with memory card slots used to be notorious for this.

If your PC boots to Windows with the drive unplugged, and then reads the drive fine once it's plugged back in, there's nothing to worry about, either get into the habit of leaving the drive unplugged when you first turn on the PC, or get someone to show you how to change the Boot Order.

If however you computer doesn't work at all when your drive is attached, then it's likely a problem with the external drive, and hopefully is only going to probelm with the USB -> Hard drive circuit board in the external box itself. Any decent computer shop should be able to swap the drive into a new case.

What a good precise response to the problem

John
Road_Dancer
Posted 08/01/2011 - 23:57 Link
Hey, it comes with my day job

I was doing PC Technical Support, and I'm now a Technical Trainer for a PC, TV and AV repair lab.
Pentax K10d; Metz mecablitz 48 AF-1; Pentax A 50mm F2; Pentax 18-55mm DAII; Sigma 28-300mm F3.5-5.6; Koboron 24-70mm F3.5-4.8. Pentax MZ-7, Zenit 35mm
My Flickr Photos
Edited by Road_Dancer: 09/01/2011 - 00:09
cameraboy
Posted 09/01/2011 - 02:01 Link
Thanks for all the advice guys I will get myself to a computer store tomorrow & try to get this annoyance sorted out. Your advice is well noted to do a back up .Thanks everyone if or when I get this resolved I will start to add photos again & I will keep you all informed. Ian
k7 10-17fe 12-24 55 100 macro 18-55 50-200

Add Comment

To leave a comment - Log in to Pentax User or create a new account.