Extracting data from a broken hard disk

Using advanced tools to read movies from a faulty disk

Oct. 15, 2020 - Willem L. Middelkoop

This week I received a message from someone with a iMac that crashed. It contained more than 50.000 photos, covering two decades of personal history. As there was no backup, it was up to me to attempt to safe as much as I could. Could I possibly recover the personal photos?

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Crashed iMac on my desk - ready to be opened

Ohhhh no! Trouble! Read errors while copying photos!

Connecting the disk to a SATA-to-USB convertor

Connecting the salvaged disk to another Mac

Some iMacs require a special cutting blade to cut through the adhesive tape holding the glass on to the Aluminium frame

Reading files from the salvaged disk - if you understand Dutch you’ll understand the personal nature of these photos (‘bevalling’ means birth)

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Articles (148)

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2024-03-05 No, I Won't Build That!
2024-02-16 Vision Pro
2024-01-16 Health and fitness data
2023-12-15 Backup Rotation Scheme
2023-11-10 Apple Watch as Phone
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2023-05-08 Tablet as Tool
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