I was trying to find someone else out there with the same issue as me, and came across this old topic, which is closed. I'm hoping someone here can offer some advice, as I'm not looking so much for the file recovery advice in that thread (I have a great licensed recovery software), as what the frack is causing this and how to make it stop happening.
Issue: I have about 8 years of photo, music, and video files that I've backed up onto two external drives. At some point last year, some of the photos in one vacation folder (which was new at the time) became corrupt both on my laptop and the external - likely laptop first, then copied to external already corrupted. All files copied to that drive from that point onward were corrupted. I tried the other drive, and all the same photos were also corrupted. The same photos show on my laptop without issue, and can all be opened. I tried to delete them and re-copy them, which I didn't notice because I didn't revisit them until months later. The recycle bins for the same drive became corrupt and deleting files (corrupt or undamaged) became impossible. I panicked and recently transferred all the files back to my laptop, where they now sit. I can't continue to house 40,000 photos, 500 documents, and 20,000 songs on a netbook! But everywhere else I copy them, they immediately corrupt. I can open every last one of them on the laptop without issue, except the ones corrupted during that odd period (about six months of photos in all, which I've deleted from my laptop).
I bought a brand new WD external drive from Futureshop last week and copied all of the files over. When I opened them at home, no problem. When I brought it to work and connected to my laptop there, it said the entire drive was inaccessible. I took it home once again, and it connected no problem. I then noticed about 50% of the photos in every folder had no thumbnail and now would not open with any program. Yet the same files on my laptop open no problem. I uploaded every last photo to Flickr, and all my documents to Google Drive, but I'd still like to know WTF is up with my files.
I re-formatted the new drive and took it to work, where it opened without a hitch. I copied five documents and took them home. No problem. There I copied a single folder of photos, and immediately they were all corrupted on the new drive. The same ones, once again, continue to be able to open on my laptop and uploaded to Flickr just fine.
I know that corruption isn't "contagious", but I'm just baffled. I work in IT, and although I wouldn't claim to be an expert at file structure, I do have several CompTIA and Microsoft certifications (not saying that to sound arrogant, just go ahead and talk tech and I'll get it). These files are from two different cameras, all of them are jpg format. The music files are all downloads or ripped from my own CDs. The documents range from oldschool versions of Word to ODT files. This is between three different external drives and a laptop, the laptop was new before this started happening. I have different three anti-virus programs on my computer, but haven't ruled out a virus.
Since that was hella long, here's a recap: My files are fine on my own computer. When I copy them anywhere else, they become corrupt and corrupt that drive to the point where it has to be reformatted. I don't need to recover the files, just want to know what's up and how to stop it so I can back up my files.
Issue: I have about 8 years of photo, music, and video files that I've backed up onto two external drives. At some point last year, some of the photos in one vacation folder (which was new at the time) became corrupt both on my laptop and the external - likely laptop first, then copied to external already corrupted. All files copied to that drive from that point onward were corrupted. I tried the other drive, and all the same photos were also corrupted. The same photos show on my laptop without issue, and can all be opened. I tried to delete them and re-copy them, which I didn't notice because I didn't revisit them until months later. The recycle bins for the same drive became corrupt and deleting files (corrupt or undamaged) became impossible. I panicked and recently transferred all the files back to my laptop, where they now sit. I can't continue to house 40,000 photos, 500 documents, and 20,000 songs on a netbook! But everywhere else I copy them, they immediately corrupt. I can open every last one of them on the laptop without issue, except the ones corrupted during that odd period (about six months of photos in all, which I've deleted from my laptop).
I bought a brand new WD external drive from Futureshop last week and copied all of the files over. When I opened them at home, no problem. When I brought it to work and connected to my laptop there, it said the entire drive was inaccessible. I took it home once again, and it connected no problem. I then noticed about 50% of the photos in every folder had no thumbnail and now would not open with any program. Yet the same files on my laptop open no problem. I uploaded every last photo to Flickr, and all my documents to Google Drive, but I'd still like to know WTF is up with my files.
I re-formatted the new drive and took it to work, where it opened without a hitch. I copied five documents and took them home. No problem. There I copied a single folder of photos, and immediately they were all corrupted on the new drive. The same ones, once again, continue to be able to open on my laptop and uploaded to Flickr just fine.
I know that corruption isn't "contagious", but I'm just baffled. I work in IT, and although I wouldn't claim to be an expert at file structure, I do have several CompTIA and Microsoft certifications (not saying that to sound arrogant, just go ahead and talk tech and I'll get it). These files are from two different cameras, all of them are jpg format. The music files are all downloads or ripped from my own CDs. The documents range from oldschool versions of Word to ODT files. This is between three different external drives and a laptop, the laptop was new before this started happening. I have different three anti-virus programs on my computer, but haven't ruled out a virus.
Since that was hella long, here's a recap: My files are fine on my own computer. When I copy them anywhere else, they become corrupt and corrupt that drive to the point where it has to be reformatted. I don't need to recover the files, just want to know what's up and how to stop it so I can back up my files.