[SOLVED] Missing Images ?

[Pinkie1547]

I have a folder on my PC entitled 'Art & Photography' in which there are (or should be) 1160 images in alphabetical order. However when I tried to access the folder today only images up to the letter 'F' were visible. When I click on Properties it says there are only 753 images but then the amount of images starts to climb until it reaches 1160. But still I can't see any images passed the letter F.
The folder is in an external hard-drive.
Can anyone help, I really don't want to lose all those images.

 

[rgd1101]

backup your image. just in case the hdd failed

 

[Pinkie1547]

Back up my image ? It's not just an image, it's 1160 images as stated in my original post. How can I back them up if they're missing ?

 

[ex_bubblehead]

The time for backups is BEFORE things like this happen. This might be a case of filesystem corruption, which can happen from time to time, especially on external drives that may be connected/disconnected repeatedly. Run 'chkdsk' on the drive. However, as chkdsk is only concerned with filesystem integrity and not files themselves you may well lose one or more files. This is what regular backups are there for. This can also be, as mentioned above, a drive failure. Again, this is why backups are so important.

 

[Pinkie1547]

The time for backups is BEFORE things like this happen. This might be a case of filesystem corruption, which can happen from time to time, especially on external drives that may be connected/disconnected repeatedly. Run 'chkdsk' on the drive. However, as chkdsk is only concerned with filesystem integrity and not files themselves you may well lose one or more files. This is what regular backups are there for. This can also be, as mentioned above, a drive failure. Again, this is why backups are so important.

OK I'll run chkdsk. I did back up my files some months ago onto a USB stick but have added to the folder since then and just never got around to backing up the additional files/images. Thing is, when I tried to connect the USB stick into my PC I was told that Windows didn't recognise it, this despite being fine the last time I connected it - some months ago.

 

[USAFRet]

Thing is, when I tried to connect the USB stick into my PC I was told that Windows didn't recognise it, this despite being fine the last time I connected it - some months ago.

1. All electronics work. Right up until the moment they don't.
2. No one thinks of a backup until 5 minutes after then need it.

 

[Pinkie1547]

Yeah, I hear you. Fair enough, but is there anything I can do to recover these seemingly lost images ?
I ran 'chkdsk' but nothing changed.
There are 1160 files in the folder when I look at the Properties of the folder but only 428 are there when I open it.

 

[USAFRet]

Yeah, I hear you. Fair enough, but is there anything I can do to recover these seemingly lost images ?
I ran 'chkdsk' but nothing changed.
There are 1160 files in the folder when I look at the Properties of the folder but only 428 are there when I open it.

What have you tried so far?

 

[Pinkie1547]

What have you tried so far?

I haven't really tried anything other than run chkdsk as I don't know what to do. I guess that's why I'm here, asking for help. What about a system restore ?

 

[USAFRet]

I haven't really tried anything other than run chkdsk as I don't know what to do. I guess that's why I'm here, asking for help. What about a system restore ?

That will do nothing for images on an external.

When you say there are "428 files" there...are any of them actually valid image files?
Click and open....what happens?

 

[Pinkie1547]

Yes, 428 are normal images which can be viewed when the folder is opened. Up until a few hours ago there were 1160 which were viewable. 732 have simply disappeared and yet the properties of the folder state that there are 1160.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

As a test/verification download one of the many Linux live CD/DVD's, create the bootable media, then boot into the live environment and see if your files appear there. Linux's NTFS drivers ignore a great many things and will often times allow you access when Windows won't. If you're not comfortable with doing this then perhaps engaging a local expert is the next step.

 

[Pinkie1547]

As a test/verification download one of the many Linux live CD/DVD's, create the bootable media, then boot into the live environment and see if your files appear there. Linux's NTFS drivers ignore a great many things and will often times allow you access when Windows won't. If you're not comfortable with doing this then perhaps engaging a local expert is the next step.

Umm, aren't YOU an expert ? Tried an experiment though. Moved a pic from a different folder to the Art & Photography folder and then went into the folder to view the image. I couldn't see it. Tried to send a pic with the same name to the Art folder and was asked (as I hoped) which one I wanted to delete since there was already a pic with that name in the folder. So, the first pic I moved to Art & Photography is THERE but somehow I can't see it. Do you know what I mean ?

 

[ex_bubblehead]

....So, the first pic I moved to Art & Photography is THERE but somehow I can't see it. Do you know what I mean ?

Which is exactly why I suggested using a Linux Live session to look at the drive/directory. This may involve using Linux to get the files off of the disk before reformatting it. You're at the point where the more you mess around with it (trying to move/copy things blindly) the less likely you will be able to recover any lost data.

 

[Pinkie1547]

Which is exactly why I suggested using a Linux Live session to look at the drive/directory. This may involve using Linux to get the files off of the disk before reformatting it. You're at the point where the more you mess around with it (trying to move/copy things blindly) the less likely you will be able to recover any lost data.

Thing is, I don't even know what a Linux Live Session is.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

Thing is, I don't even know what a Linux Live Session is.

Which is precisely why I suggested finding a local expert to do these things. This is not something easily done remotely, or by someone not familiar with the process.

 

[Drew125]

Sounds to me like the HDD is failing. I'd make a immediate back-up of what you have. You may, long shot, be able to use VSS to recover some items. Right click the folder go to properties, Previous versions. If your drive is external the odds of this working are low. After backing up your data use Crystal disk information to check the drive, If its failing it will let you know.

CrystalDiskInfo

About CrystalDiskInfo A HDD/SSD utility software which supports a part of USB, Intel RAID and NVMe. Aoi Edition Standard Edition Shizuku Edition Kurei Kei Edition Download System Requirements OS Windows XP/Vista/7/8/8.1/10/11Windows Server 2003/2008/2012/2016/2019/2022 Architecture x86/x64/ARM64...

crystalmark.info

 

[Pinkie1547]

Which is precisely why I suggested finding a local expert to do these things. This is not something easily done remotely, or by someone not familiar with the process.

Took my PC to a local repair shop. Turned out the problem was 'bad sectors' in my External Hard Drive. Thanks for your help.

 

[Drew125]

Took my PC to a local repair shop. Turned out the problem was 'bad sectors' in my External Hard Drive. Thanks for your help.

I am glad you found the issue. I thought it was going to be a bad HDD. When stuff starts to disappear that's usually the case.

 

[Pinkie1547]

I am glad you found the issue. I thought it was going to be a bad HDD. When stuff starts to disappear that's usually the case.

Yeah, I was starting to panic myself. Thanks again.