Partition / Format External Hard Drive ?

[andantesash]

Hi,

My external hard drive has stopped working and I need to get all my photos of it, as some of them are really important to me as I am a photographer.

Can anyone suggest to me the best method to get the photos back. The hard drive is appearing in my computer when I plug it into the dock, but I can't access it and the properties are saying there is no free or used space.

But I used my Linux Ubuntu disk and I can open it no problem. But it takes so long to copy them so I have to install ubuntu. So i need to create a partition to back them up.

How do I create a partition without formatting my machine?

Or does anyone have any other suggestions?

[CimmerianX]

So if ubuntu live disk can mount and read the file contents when somehow windows can't... buy your replacement HD and another USB to IDE/SATA adapter, mount the 2nd drive and start a mass copy from the original to the new disk.

If you have windows on the internal HD and your photos on the defective external HD, then I don't see why you want to create a partition anywhere.

[rch1231]

Down load the UBCD from

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

It is a linux boot disk with several utilities on in including repartitioning, imaging or copying your hard disk.

Also available is a version for windows but you hve to use your working windows system to create the cd Image.

http://www.ubcd4win.com/howto.htm

[gerbil]

"I need to get all my photos of it, as some of them are really important to me as I am a photographer."
What is that old computer saying...something like: If you don't have a copy of your data, then it really isn't all that important to you...? Computers have a knack of confronting you with that "truism".
If you have free space in a partition in your internal hdd then you can shrink it [move its RHS] and then create a partition in the newly freed space. This is the pgm to do just that: Partition Wizard Home Ed. Far more convenient than UBCD. :wink
But it does seem that the partition table in the external drive is damaged... you could check that [ and repair it...] with this pgm: Testdisk
If you need help with that, just repost.
Both pgms are free.

[khakilang]

Since you can open it with Ubuntu. I suggest you back up all your photo into a CD/DVD first before attempting doing anything else as the photos is important to you. You can use Brasero CD/DVD burner to burn your photo into CD/DVD. If you couldn't find it than go to Ubuntu software center to download Brasero. Cd/DVD disk is cheaper than another hard disk but if you have the budget, why not get another one and do a mass copy.