Extracting data from a broken hard disk
Using advanced tools to read photos 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?
Continue reading![Crashed iMac on my desk - ready to be opened](/blog/2020-10-15_rescuing-photos-from-a-crashed-imac/images/i_00_Crashed-iMac-on-my-desk-ready-to-be-opened_500px.jpg)
![Some iMacs require a special cutting blade to cut through the adhesive tape holding the glass on to the Aluminium frame](/blog/2020-10-15_rescuing-photos-from-a-crashed-imac/images/i_01_Some-iMacs-require-a-special-cutting-blade-to-cut-through-the-adhesive-tape-holding-the-glass-on-to-_500px.jpg)
![Removing the glass panel using suction caps](/blog/2020-10-15_rescuing-photos-from-a-crashed-imac/images/i_02_Removing-the-glass-panel-using-suction-caps_500px.jpg)
![This chip is was originally part of a external USB disk drive - you might have one around that you can use for this](/blog/2020-10-15_rescuing-photos-from-a-crashed-imac/images/i_08_This-chip-is-was-originally-part-of-a-external-USB-disk-drive-you-might-have-one-around-that-you-can_500px.jpg)
![Connecting the salvaged disk to another Mac](/blog/2020-10-15_rescuing-photos-from-a-crashed-imac/images/i_09_Connecting-the-salvaged-disk-to-another-Mac_500px.jpg)
![It doesn’t hurt to be nice to the damaged disk... “pleasssssse little disky... give me the photos!” - But don’t touch the chips!](/blog/2020-10-15_rescuing-photos-from-a-crashed-imac/images/i_13_It-doesn-t-hurt-to-be-nice-to-the-damaged-disk-pleasssssse-little-disky-give-me-the-photos-But-don-t_500px.jpg)