Datatraveler Will Not Work

[Hylander]

I have a data traveller which has worked perfectly and has loads of stuff on it.   All of a sudden I am now getting a message to format disk in drive G.

When I attempt to do this a message arrives saying if you continue it will wipe the memory stick clean.   Any suggestions apart from the 'stick the darn thing in the nearest bin' which is what I am tempted to do please.

 

 

 

 

 

[grendel]

if you format the disk it will wipe everything on it.

if it is a memory stick it might well have filled the address section of the stick (memory sticks use a small section to remember where everything is on the stick. my father had a similar problem when he filled the address section and I was able to access the data using specialist software and put it on a new stick, the problem is that it isnt easy or quick.

[Hylander]

Oh dear I fear the worst Grendel.     No I have not formulated it.     It is such a shame as so many memories on it.

 

 

[grendel]

if you have a computer expert local to you they may be able to recover the data, I remember when I did my dads it had to read the stick section by section and gave me umpteen copies of each file, but it did take a while to read the stick at a basic level and find all the files on there.

[ZimbiIV]

I suggest you try it on a different computer.

I have one that works fine on my laptop but Jill's laptop does not even see it.

If it works copy all the data to another stick.

paul

[oldgregg]

33 minutes ago, ZimbiIV said:

If it works copy all the data to another stick.

What he said, basically.

Can I suggest that a USB stick shouldn't be relied on as a sole backup strategy. They're cheap and unreliable and will let you down when you least want them to.

[Paul]

3 minutes ago, oldgregg said:

Can I suggest that a USB stick shouldn't be relied on as a sole backup strategy. They're cheap and unreliable and will let you down when you least want them to.

plus one for that. I would even go as far as to include SSD's in that same comment. I had an SSD connected to our home network which let me down. Even a trip to our local computer shop could not recover the data. He did say if it was a standard HDD he might have been able to. 

The moral of this story is two backups. 

[oldgregg]

Indeed.

Probably not that popular with NBN's demographic, but Google Drive or Dropbox installed and set to sync automatically is a good way of having a second backup.

It's a case of balancing any concern / risk around privacy with the risk of losing data.

[Cockatoo]

+1 for Dropbox here. Anything I think I might need while I am out and about goes there. Main backups go to a network attached storage box that I built and that has mirrored hard drives. I just have to remember to leave my laptop turned on on a Wednesday night otherwise things are bit slow on Thursday Morning.

[grendel]

diskstation with a raid setup here, anything important is backed up onto the diskstation as well as elsewhere, photos are on at least 3 devices.

 

[Simondo]

Have a look at diskdigger you can download it and try to see if it can see your data. It worked for me when nothing else seemed to.

[FairTmiddlin]

All computers have second external hard drive. A network WD cloud 2TB which has a 2TB back up disk attached. Accounts for the group I'm treasurer for has DVD copies too.

Overkill ? No had a program on one of the laptops, which, when I removed the program, deleted the main disk and bootstrap.

So if anyone has downloaded a program called Zello for PC, be careful removing it!  As it has bricked loads of PC's

 

 

[Hylander]

11 hours ago, Simondo said:

Have a look at diskdigger you can download it and try to see if it can see your data. It worked for me when nothing else seemed to.

When it downloads where do you find it all.

 

 

[oldgregg]

diskstation with a raid setup here, anything important is backed up onto the diskstation as well as elsewhere, photos are on at least 3 devices.
 

And of course that can sync automatically with Google Drive or Dropbox etc while you sleep....

Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

[Hylander]

22 minutes ago, Hylander said:

When it downloads where do you find it all.

 

 

I am using the diskdigger at the moment and it is finding all of my snaps on the memory stick.   Taking a while but I thought they were lost forever.   So pleased.  Have ordered a new memory stick,  where do I find all these that have been downloaded please on my laptop.

 

Thank you.

[Hylander]

38 minutes ago, Hylander said:

I am using the diskdigger at the moment and it is finding all of my snaps on the memory stick.   Taking a while but I thought they were lost forever.   So pleased.  Have ordered a new memory stick,  where do I find all these that have been downloaded please on my laptop.

 

Thank you.

Yes,  mystery of the day.    Where are they now? 

[Regulo]

In the list of files it can recover, select the ones you want, and it will give you the option of where to save them. Somewhere on your main computer, I'd suggest, in the first instance.

[Hylander]

i tried just a few but there seems to be nothing there.   I must be doing something wrong.

 

 

[Hylander]

Will it only work if I have a licence?

[Hylander]

Now it is saying that all I have downloaded it does not support this format.  jpg

[DAVIDH]

If you have no luck with diskdigger there is another free program called Recuva which may help. I managed to get some video files recovered with it a couple of years ago. It's here :https://www.ccleaner.com/recuva

 

[Simondo]

Hi Hylander

Yes you do have to get a licence to save (just over a tenner from memory), however at least you know now that you can recover them. Maybe try some other free software first as mentioned above and if you have no luck at least you can use a licenced version of Diskdigger to recover them.

[Hylander]

At the moment I will stick to Diskdigger and am prepared to pay for the Licence about $14.    Not much point though if it does not support jpg files.   I have emailed them to ask before I proceed any further.

 

Thank you for your help.

 

[Hylander]

I am trying again to do another download to see if this one works.   Had a very nice email from Diskdigger who said they would not let me pay for a licence fee because in their opinion my files are corrupted.     I found the folk at Diskdigger very fair.

 

 

[Hylander]

Success and a big thank you to you all.   I duly did another download and all the photos came up as thumb nails so I could see what I was downloading.   Have deleted a heck of a lot of rubbish that was not required on there.    Waiting for the new memory stick to arrive today and then I will transfer over to it.   Yes I bought a licence it was about £11.80 but it was well worth it for all of the memories it has recovered for me.