How much would you be prepared to pay for precious, lost photographs?

[Nana]

Before Christmas I was transferring photos from my laptop onto my external drive. Lots of wires, connections etc & when I turned to pick up the phone the external drive toppled onto the floor with a thud. I knew instantly there would be damage of some sort.

On the external drive are photos that no-one else has. All my Art degree work, all the days out with my GC, pics of the times spent with mum, some of Dad, all the birth pics of GC. I kept folders of each of the grandchildren from birth, special occasions & many, many more.

OH took it to Curry's ...long story, but after reading reviews I decided not to proceed with repairs. Basically I need to have a specialised data recovery procedure. We've looked round for a reliable company & they all charge the same around £300-500.

I know the family would help by giving me pics they have, but there were a lot, as I said, that only I have. I feel as tho I have lost a big part of me. The irony is that I was going to back up my hard drive after Christmas.

I just wondered how much photos/special recorded memories mean to you.

[Daisy]

Nana - I’m just going to take the dog for a walk, but when I get back I ask my DS2 what his suggestions are. I hesitate to say all may not be lost, but fingers crossed about his thoughts. X

[Plantaholic]

I do hope there is something or somebody who can help you retrieve these memories. I have slides and cine pics. that I can't play.

[Nana]

Thank you. Plant, I'm almost sure you can get slides etc put onto discs.

Thanks for your input Daisy. Looking forward to hearing what you have to say.

Ps. I can't get the time right on my posts. About 2hrs out I think. It's now about 4pm.

[Daisy]

Nana your last post was showing 3.58 pm. I’ll check on your profile when I’m on my computer. DS2 is at the vets (for the dog, not him!) so I’ll speak to him later. 👍

[Gemini]

Nana, you were still on GMT+1.
I have changed it to GMT, which is the correct setting until later in March when we change again!

[Daisy]

Thanks, Gem. You beat me to it. Xx

[Daisy]

Nana, I’ve asked my DS2 about your external drive and he says if it’s had a bump it becomes a very difficult specialised job to repair/recover the files and can cost as much as £1,000. The prices you quote are very reasonable if you feel they are reputable companies. Whether you want to spend the money to save your lovely special photos is hard, I know.

If you decide to go ahead my DS says why don’t you think about additional backup for your external drive storage such as Amazon, Dropbox or Google He says they’re not expensive. Good luck whatever you decide. I honestly don’t know what I’d do. 👍💐

[Daisy]

Nana and Plant - I meant to say, yes you can get slides put on to other media - DVDs or memory sticks, and then transfer them to a Cloud storage for long term accessibility.

If you're transferring slides it's worth checking them on a little handheld viewer first to weed out any that are too dark. Lots of us took under-exposed slide photos back in the day!

It's also possible to scan slides and make any adjustments needed in a photo editing software like Lightroom or Photoshop.

[Plantaholic]

Oh, thanks for that Daisy

[Lizzie48]

That is a very difficult decision Nana, losing all your photo's etc. I have been having a look on the internet and they can be recovered, as you say, at a price.
I have an external disc and only the other day did I copy everything onto a memory stick. I hope you get it sorted, I can only guess how you feel!!

[Daisy]

It's very hard to future-proof photos stored electronically. My DS2 says more and more people are reverting to printing out their most precious photos. It's not unusual (when the shop is open!) for people to have hundreds of prints done. They go through their phones/cameras/computers and select the most important and keep them as prints as well as electronically.

I use Apple's Time Machine on an external drive which backs up automatically from my computer, and also save photos onto the Cloud. I think I pay something like £3 a month for that, and I can increase the capacity when I need to.

[Nana]

Thank you Daisy & Lizzie. Part of your reply Daisy ...
"If you decide to go ahead my DS says why don’t you think about additional backup for your external drive storage such as Amazon, Dropbox or Google He says they’re not expensive. " The trouble with me is that if I had someone to teach me these things I could learn & avoid these distressing situations.

Cloud, Time Machine, Drop Box etc are like a foreign language to me. My OH said he'll pay for the data retrieval. He has seen how it's affected me & just wants to help.

I feel as though I had my childhood taken from me & now the next stages of my life ... all the precious memories. It's a big risk as all the money spent may be wasted as nothing is guaranteed. At least it's given me hope.

[Daisy]

Nana, I can see how distressing this is for you - so many precious memories. How kind and caring of your OH to pay for the retrieval, especially as there’s no guarantee of success, but whoever does it will do their best, I’m sure.

As far as setting up some kind of cloud storage, I bet there is someone on a local neighbourhood support or community group who could help you with it, and be pleased to do so. It’s worth asking. 🙂👍

[Nana]

Thanks for your help & caring Daisy. Much appreciated.