Learn from my mistake: back up your data now!!

[richard p. t.]

I have 6 or so external sata 320 gig drives which work well and allow me to transport files here and there easily ...
I had (sob) one that I called a 'work in progress' drive. I had just finished editing a new film (fortunately I had 'exported' it to another drive) when my 'work in progress' drive died. So I lost the capture files of that film, as well as capture files of 3 other films of mine which are un-edited (but which are reversal so i can re-capture them. I don't use tape for transfering). But I lost the exported master of my previous film. I have it now on dvd only. What a bugger. I hadn't backed it up because I was planning to work some more on the sound track. Now its gone gone gone. The computer can't recognise the drive at all. Its a mechanical failure which are the worst I understand. Apparently it MIGHT be possible to have the data salvaged, but repair of a mechanical failure is doubtful I understand and also expensive. Bugger bugger bugger.

SO LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE AND BACK UP YOUR DATA N O W !!!!

[Scotness]

Ouch - my sympathies Richard -- I've got a friend who lost everything of a feature he shot in a drive failure - he's paying about $1000 to try and have the data recovered from the drive!

Scot

[richard p. t.]

Ouch - my sympathies Richard -- I've got a friend who lost everything of a feature he shot in a drive failure - he's paying about $1000 to try and have the data recovered from the drive!

Scot

A feature! add a few more 'buggers' for that!
I figured $1000 is about what they would want. Of course, they have us over a barrel with our trousers down, if you get what I mean.

[Patrick]

Oh my gosh! Sorry to hear about the driver failure. One of the 'curses' of computer technology.

[James E]

Critically important files, such as irreplaceable digital photos etc, I keep in at least three places: Main drive in a folder, data drive, and CD/DVD ROM back ups. CD/DVD Back ups are dirt cheap insurance for you data. Some things I've even kept in a forth place: A flash drive or chip.
Good luck w/ your data rescue. Absolutely gut wrenching...

[philipms]

Hi,
I have some experience with this. As a film editor I go through 20+ harddrives a year. You can recover your data with a program called R-Studio. I have used this application for over 5 years and never found a broken/ dead/ lost etc hard drive I could not recover the data from. There are probably other places on the internet that will detail how to use the application, but here are some basics:
1) attach your dead hd to a different computer & boot to windows
2) if windows doesn't see your hd, no problem R-studio will, launch the application.
3) scan for all files on your dead hd. This could take 1+ days (especially if you have a slow computer.. non dual core, etc.)
4) Then open the drive files (This could take another hour).
5) then copy within R-Studio any/all the lost files to another hd.
I have fixed 10+ dead hds (friends seem to send me theirs, saying you'll never fix this one.. and I do) with this application and it has never failed me.
good luck,
Philip

[Scotness]

yeah I know the programme and it's good - there are other similar ones to it - the problem though is when you get physical defects in the drive it can't fix - that's when you've got to call in the $1K+ guys!

[David M. Leugers]

If editing in DV format and outputting to DVD, once I have transferred the film to DV in the computer, I output to DV tape as an unedited DV Master. Very cheap insurance. Once an edit is finalized, I do the same thing with the edited master. If the drive fails, just recapture into the computer off the DV tape. Might not be for everyone's situation, but it works for me. I too had a hard drive fail and it blows big time.


David M. Leugers

[Jim Carlile]

This is what I use for backup. Keeps life easier.

[richard p. t.]

This is what I use for backup. Keeps life easier.

Yes, of course I still have the film ... and always will!
For the film I just finished I had made duplicate files with time code on screen (just a simple frame count). As I broke down each roll's file into an edit bin in premiere, I identified each shot with the roll and shot number - ie whether it was the first, second, third, etc shot on the roll. Shot 17 on Roll 6 was thus designated 6:17 for example. After I finished the digital edit, I was going to substitute the files I edited from (which didn't have time code on screen) with the duplicate time code files. Then I was going to note the time code frame number of each shot in the edit. Then I was going to compare those time code frames in the edit with the time code frame number of the first frame of that particular shot on the raw footage. Then, by subtracting the time code number of the first frame of each shot in the raw footage from the time code number of the first USED frame of that shot in the edit list I would know how many film frames' in' from the start of each shot its edit 'in' point is. Where shot 6:17 is used in the edit, for example, it might have shown on screen a frame count of 21986. In looking at shot 6:17 in the raw footage I might then have noted that the first frame of that shot was 21450. By subtracting 21450 from 21986 you get 536 frames. This is the number of frames from the head of the start of shot 6:17 to the edit 'in' point for that shot. By listing this info for each shot, I would then have an edit list for conforming the original super 8 to the digital edit ... then i was going to make an optical blow up to 16mm of the edited super 8.
I found I needed to use a simple frame count rather than a more normal time code number because the transfer has more frames in it than the original film does, simply because in transfering the is a certain amount of 'rocking and rolling' as you adjust the exposure, colour, etc..
Still, the actual shot order list is still on the computer, even though the files are gone. I can now print out that list and assemble the super 8 in the order I had it in the digital edit. I can then re transfer that assemble edit and then compare that transfer with the digital edit. I can then simply visually ascertain how many frames 'in' each shot needs to be trimmed.
Hidyho.

As for repairing the drive, my thought was that if it is a mechanical failure, that is it. To do a digital repair using the software mentioned above, wouldn't I still need windows to be able to recognise the drive? I thought that, failing recognition of the drive at all, it is PHYSICALLY buggered and would require a specialist ...

[philipms]

As for repairing the drive, my thought was that if it is a mechanical failure, that is it. To do a digital repair using the software mentioned above, wouldn't I still need windows to be able to recognise the drive? I thought that, failing recognition of the drive at all, it is PHYSICALLY buggered and would require a specialist ...

No. R-Studio will recognize the hd on a different computer (don't worry about windows seeing the hd). Do not use the same computer. You will be able to recover just about everything on the drive. I do this all the time.

good luck,
Philip

[christoph]

I thought that, failing recognition of the drive at all, it is PHYSICALLY buggered and would require a specialist ...

No. R-Studio will recognize the hd on a different computer (don't worry about windows seeing the hd). Do not use the same computer. You will be able to recover just about everything on the drive. I do this all the time.

if there's a hardware failure like dead motor or fried electronics, using software will do no good at all.. on the other hand, replacing those parts is quite easy and shouldnt be too expensive if you find a honest service. but if you had a serious head crash or something that damaged the platter surface, you will have to fork out lots of money :(

best of luck
++ c.

[Jim Carlile]

Then, by subtracting the time code number of the first frame of each shot in the raw footage from the time code number of the first USED frame of that shot in the edit list I would know how many film frames' in' from the start of each shot its edit 'in' point is. Where shot 6:17 is used in the edit, for example, it might have shown on screen a frame count of 21986. In looking at shot 6:17 in the raw footage I might then have noted that the first frame of that shot was 21450. By subtracting 21450 from 21986 you get 536 frames. This is the number of frames from the head of the start of shot 6:17 to the edit 'in' point for that shot. By listing this info for each shot, I would then have an edit list for conforming the original super 8 to the digital edit ... then i was going to make an optical blow up to 16mm of the edited super 8.
I found I needed to use a simple frame count rather than a more normal time code number because the transfer has more frames in it than the original film does, simply because in transfering the is a certain amount of 'rocking and rolling' as you adjust the exposure, colour, etc..

(jk Richard )

[richard p. t.]

Then, by subtracting the time code number of the first frame of each shot in the raw footage from the time code number of the first USED frame of that shot in the edit list I would know how many film frames' in' from the start of each shot its edit 'in' point is. Where shot 6:17 is used in the edit, for example, it might have shown on screen a frame count of 21986. In looking at shot 6:17 in the raw footage I might then have noted that the first frame of that shot was 21450. By subtracting 21450 from 21986 you get 536 frames. This is the number of frames from the head of the start of shot 6:17 to the edit 'in' point for that shot. By listing this info for each shot, I would then have an edit list for conforming the original super 8 to the digital edit ... then i was going to make an optical blow up to 16mm of the edited super 8.
I found I needed to use a simple frame count rather than a more normal time code number because the transfer has more frames in it than the original film does, simply because in transfering the is a certain amount of 'rocking and rolling' as you adjust the exposure, colour, etc..

(jk Richard )

Yes, I have one of those too! Indeed that is how I intend to count the frames on the s8!
RT