External HDD Issue

[Bruce]

@Jason Smith - any news?

[Bruce]

no activity for a week.
abandoned.

[Bruce]

re-opened as per OP request.

[Jason_Smith]

re-opened as per OP request.

Thanks Bruce.

Apologies all, not been well recently so this has been low on the priority list.

Updates since the last ppst, I’ve tried renaming the files to multiple formats but no joys on any of them.

It seems as though the files have been broken down into the chunks, do you have any ideas of which software could do this? I might be able to download one of them and see if it can stitch the files back together?

Is there anyway to look at what might be in the chunk files to see if the images are in there?

[Malnutrition]

You can give this software a shot.

https://www.freefileviewer.com/

http://www.uvviewsoft.com/index.htm

https://www.thewindowsclub.com/free-universal-file-viewer-software-for-windows-10

[Bruce]

It seems as though the files have been broken down into the chunks, do you have any ideas of which software could do this? I might be able to download one of them and see if it can stitch the files back together?

those chunks are either because the drive has failed or are the result of running a file recovery program like Recvua. did you run any sort of file recovery program?
either way, doesn’t matter, your files are toast. (too late for the “how to backup” pearls of wisdom!)

you can try the software Mal suggested, but if the files are in chunks, you’ll just get “this file is corrupted” when those programs try to open any files.

I’ve never seen software that could stitch files back together, but may that is due to never needing to look.
but I can’t see how it would be possible.
a files first ‘chunk’ would have the file type in the header section, but any subsequent chunks would have no identifying indicators as to where they fit into a file let alone which file they belong to.

[Bruce]

@Jason Smith - any news?

[Jason_Smith]

Morning all,

So after much struggle and messing around, I still have had no joy with the recommended programmes. I think it’s beginning to look hopeless. If I sent this away to an expert do you think they would have much success or would that be a waste of money?

[PeterOz]

Chunk files are normally downloaded files from the internet.
So instead of downloading 500GB in one go it breaks it into smaller files(Chunks) so if it has a problem
it is easier to for retries to pull back down smaller files (chunks) instead of trying to pull the
whole 500GB file down again.
When all files are downloaded it then concatenates the files into one large file.

I doubt if the pics you want are the chunk files (I could be wrong)

Your other files NTS HJM HTS - my guess are the files you recorded from tv.
In your first pic you have a png file - copy that to your laptop and see if it will open.
If it will open you will most likely find it is a pic to do with your recorded tv program not the pic you are after.

If I sent this away to an expert do you think they would have much success or would that be a waste of money

Only you can put a value on your pics - are you 100% sure the old army photos are on here? 100%

IMHO I would hate to pay a small fortune to have the data recovered and find out it just a tv show that you paid for.

If you are that desperate to watch the comedy American Dad it would be cheaper to join Disney +

https://whatsondisneyplus.com/tag/american-dad/

DATA RECOVERY IS NOT CHEAP

[Bruce]

my experience of people using data recovery mobs is very good if it’s a hardware issue.
they can do their magic and recover the data.
cheapest was $450, dearest was $6500.

it all depends on what has gone wrong with the drive.

[Bruce]

Chunk files are normally downloaded files from the internet.

that’s right, there’s that reason too.
I never remember those type of ‘chunks’ as I never download any web stuff that is that big!!!

[Bruce]

@Jason Smith - any news?

[Malnutrition]

Not sure if this software works, but it may be worth a shot for 100 bucks.

https://www.oo-software.com/en/products/oodiskrecovery

[Bruce]

Jason hasn’t been around for a week.
PM me if the thread needs re-opening.