PSA: Back up your data !!! (aka Avoiding Data Recovery - Any Questions?)

[mevinyavin]

This looks to me like it is still in a holding bracket. It looks like it can be removed by unscrewing the 2 screws on the side.

This. The metal plating is not part of the hard drive. You can unscrew the M2 screws and get the hard drive out - it should fit.
This is the hard drive (excuse my crude red lines):


The rest is an enclosure that keeps the hard drive from moving inside the laptop.

[chff]

I moved a 10tb drive from an USB enclosure to inside of a PC with a sata wire, and somehow some folders got erased, but the drive data total still shows about the same

[Randomex]

I moved a 10tb drive from an USB enclosure to inside of a PC with a sata wire, and somehow some folders got erased, but the drive data total still shows about the same

It's possible that some of the files are recoverable by checking the drive for errors, but maybe we should hear from the experts on
whether that could cause issues with a better recovery of the files (especially because that would erase their names and date info).
If you decide to try that, here's how: Right-click the drive in File Explorer/My Computer > Properties > Tools tab > top section.
(If you do that and it says errors have been fixed, report that here for help finding the recovered files.)

[Randomex]

I moved a 10tb drive from an USB enclosure to inside of a PC with a sata wire, and somehow some folders got erased, but the drive data total still shows about the same

Have you searched the drive for those folders/files, just to make sure they weren't accidentally moved?

[chff]

It's possible that some of the files are recoverable by checking the drive for errors, but maybe we should hear from the experts on
whether that could cause issues with a better recovery of the files (especially because that would erase their names and date info).
If you decide to try that, here's how: Right-click the drive in File Explorer/My Computer > Properties > Tools tab > top section.
(If you do that and it says errors have been fixed, report that here for help finding the recovered files.)

"no errors found"

[chff]

Have you searched the drive for those folders/files, just to make sure they weren't accidentally moved?

few folders from a few random subfolders. not found anywhere

[mevinyavin]

This is a backup thread. The recovery thread is this one:
https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=18378.0
Just sayin'...

[Randomex]

Update: One of the screws wouldn't come out. I managed to remove the cover of the adapter area and unscrewed the circuit board. The old drive works (for now) and the files appear to be intact. (I checked for errors and some were reported repaired; I suppose I'll have to run a search for files modified yesterday.)

The drive is making some noise, which I'm sure I've read somewhere is a rather bad sign.
Should I expect it to suddenly completely stop functioning at some point? If not, what should I expect/watch out for?

[mevinyavin]

Update: One of the screws wouldn't come out. I managed to remove the cover of the adapter area and unscrewed the circuit board. The old drive works (for now) and the files appear to be intact. (I checked for errors and some were reported repaired; I suppose I'll have to run a search for files modified yesterday.)

The drive is making some noise, which I'm sure I've read somewhere is a rather bad sign.
Should I expect it to suddenly completely stop functioning at some point? If not, what should I expect/watch out for?

If there's anything crucial on there, you should copy it off to somewhere else just in case.
Hard drives do make noise. Are you referring to abnormal noises? Some noises are definitely a 'don't sneeze at it and copy stuff off immediately' sign. But I'm not a data recovery expert...

[Moshe Green]

If there's anything crucial on there, you should copy it off to somewhere else just in case.
Hard drives do make noise. Are you referring to abnormal noises? Some noises are definitely a 'don't sneeze at it and copy stuff off immediately' sign. But I'm not a data recovery expert...

clicking signs are the worst.

[avadah]

What's the best external 2 tb hard drive to back up photos and videos? It will very rarely be used.

[mevinyavin]

What's the best external 2 tb hard drive to back up photos and videos? It will very rarely be used.

This is the cheapest. If you think you'll need a bit of ruggedness get the second. (Sigh... wasn't that long ago that an SSD and an enclosure were $10 more... Might be time to put hard drives back on the index.)
Toshiba Canvio Basics 2TB Portable External Hard Drive | USB 3.0 | Black - HDTB520XK3AA ($39.99 )


SP Silicon Power 2TB Rugged Portable External Hard Drive | Armor A60 Shockproof | USB 3.1 Gen1 | for PC Mac Xbox and PS4 | Black ($39.99 )

[avadah]

This is the cheapest. If you think you'll need a bit of ruggedness get the second. (Sigh... wasn't that long ago that an SSD and an enclosure were $10 more... Might be time to put hard drives back on the index.)
Toshiba Canvio Basics 2TB Portable External Hard Drive | USB 3.0 | Black - HDTB520XK3AA ($39.99 )


SP Silicon Power 2TB Rugged Portable External Hard Drive | Armor A60 Shockproof | USB 3.1 Gen1 | for PC Mac Xbox and PS4 | Black ($39.99 )

Thank you

[Alexsei]

First thing you do, right now, is make sure you have bitlocker turned OFF. Go now.

My workplace requires hard disk encryption, they recommend bit locker, any other options?

[mevinyavin]

My workplace requires hard disk encryption, they recommend bit locker, any other options?

Once you are encrypting, may as well use the one built-in to Windows, no? At least you can get the key from any computer by logging into the associated Microsoft account.
FWIW Lenovo sells laptops with their own encryption built in (drives are described as OPAL).

[Jojo202]

(Lmk if there is a better place to post this)

iPhone 13 freezes at boot up, at the apple logo. Looking to recover (not deleted) data from it. Any tips? Googling just brings up those shady SEO brands with a lot of word salads and not much content. If someone that actually has experience with this can help, I would appreciate it.

Separate Queston:
Old Android phones with a lockscreen password that the owner has absolutely no recollection of. Any way to pull the data from it? (1 of them has a counter with only a few tries left before it erases fully, the others just make you wait in between guesses) These are old Android versions so if there are any old loopholes...

[mevinyavin]

(Lmk if there is a better place to post this)

iPhone 13 freezes at boot up, at the apple logo. Looking to recover (not deleted) data from it. Any tips? Googling just brings up those shady SEO brands with a lot of word salads and not much content. If someone that actually has experience with this can help, I would appreciate it.

Separate Queston:
Old Android phones with a lockscreen password that the owner has absolutely no recollection of. Any way to pull the data from it? (1 of them has a counter with only a few tries left before it erases fully, the others just make you wait in between guesses) These are old Android versions so if there are any old loopholes...

https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=18378.0

[Yehudaa]

Is there an easy way to automatically back up Google Drive and Google Photos?

I have many years of pictures saved in Google Photos, and over the last few months I've spent time scanning (and discarding) hard copies of many important documents. I started with a stuffed banker's box of documents that I've accumulated over the years, and have now scanned and discarded most of it. I hope to only have hard copies of things which clearly need originals when I'm done.

Now that I'm keeping it all in Google Drive, I'd love to have Drive back up to somewhere regularly. Happy to pay for a backup service, but from a quick google search, it looks like most backup services for Google are for businesses. I'd strongly prefer a cloud-based solution as I don't want to rely on a hard drive, and I only have laptops, no desktop that a hard drive could stay connected to. And I'd strongly prefer something that I can set and forget, as opposed to doing manual Google Takeouts or downloads.

It would be a bonus if such a service could back up Gmail too, but Drive and Photos would be better than nothing.

Does such a thing exist? Recommendations?

TIA

ETA: I'm presently at ~75 GB across Gmail, Photos, and Drive, if that matters.

[Alexsei]

Is there an easy way to automatically back up Google Drive and Google Photos?

I have many years of pictures saved in Google Photos, and over the last few months I've spent time scanning (and discarding) hard copies of many important documents. I started with a stuffed banker's box of documents that I've accumulated over the years, and have now scanned and discarded most of it. I hope to only have hard copies of things which clearly need originals when I'm done.

Now that I'm keeping it all in Google Drive, I'd love to have Drive back up to somewhere regularly. Happy to pay for a backup service, but from a quick google search, it looks like most backup services for Google are for businesses. I'd strongly prefer a cloud-based solution as I don't want to rely on a hard drive, and I only have laptops, no desktop that a hard drive could stay connected to. And I'd strongly prefer something that I can set and forget, as opposed to doing manual Google Takeouts or downloads.

It would be a bonus if such a service could back up Gmail too, but Drive and Photos would be better than nothing.

Does such a thing exist? Recommendations?

TIA

ETA: I'm presently at ~75 GB across Gmail, Photos, and Drive, if that matters.

Check out NAS such as qnap or Synology  or build your own FreeNAS

[Jojo202]

Is there an easy way to automatically back up Google Drive and Google Photos?

Why can't you just use another cloud service like One Drive or iCloud so your laptop will back up to both?