please PLEASE get another drive in an exernal enclosure and copy those fles.
Losing pics is far worse then a couple of tens of dollars.
important files ALWAYS on three locations with two not always conneted to power.
yeah… “collection of beamshots” is to be considered archiving important data… wink
6 years worth of weddings, maternity pics, Anniversary’s, Birthday parties…. crazy how complicated it becomes to do long term storage for the GB’s and GB’s of files created. The day’s of simply stuffing pics in a box are gone. Now it takes constant maintenance as even DVD’s fail given time. Archival Gold DVD’s are difficult to come by, expensive, and no guarantee they’ll be readable by tomorrows device’s. BD (Blue-Ray Disc), same thing, while they hold a lot of information, are they reliable? Is an archival flash drive really going to hold data for a 100 years? Who knows…
might be worth investing in a good cloud storage system.
I been using linux mint for about 6 years now. Got to dual boot with windows for a few things… but my main linux install has been going strong for 6 years. Still works great. Can not do that with windows, or at least I never have been able to.
I need to do a HDD upgrade in the near future, so I will probably do a fresh install then
Can’t you just use google photo back up, and Picasa as backups for your photos?
City slickers! Y’all are too used to having excellent internet connections. I live in the country, satellite internet is great (sometimes) and below phone modem speeds at others. (I was seeing a swing between 230Mbps and 6Mbps just this morning)
One wedding is usually around 40GB of RAW files, more or less.
Could I use my Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 5.5 with Linux or another operating system? I’m using Windows Pro 7 with 64bit processing and 12GB RAM, it’s working for me and has been stable for the most part except for the hard drive change and now Windows warning me multiple times a day about the licensing…
For a real photographer cloud backups are usually clunky and too limited.
There is no cloud, it is just somebody else’s computer 
Just buy a external harddrive and if the pics total size is not more then 64GB a 64GB USB drive
Then once every week or two weeks turn of the modem and add the new files to rye HD and the USB stick.
Disconnect them and turn back modem
Put the USB stick in a place you always will walk by in case of emergency so you can grab it when leaving (or stash it at a friend)
Keep the HD unplugged in a shock tree dry place.
You can also get two HDS and have one at a friends home. Just add new files every month on this or so.
Neat to use a cloud, Dropbox or NAS, this should not stop you from having your data on three locations NEXT TO THE CLOUD/NAS/DROPBOX etc really!
Dale give MS a call to get it running again, win 7 is fine no need to learn a whole new OS.
You just have to get rid of that nagging genuine stuff.
I live in a suburb on the edge of Cleveland. My choices are a 30 Mb/s connection as part of a package from the cable companies, 3 Mb/s from at&t, or lte from a cell provider. The T-mobile service I have is almost 10x the speed of what at&t offers and cheaper. Why should I pay for tv channels I won’t watch to get the same connection speed as t-mobile. Tethering limit sucks but I survive. Rural areas aren’t the only ones suffering. Houses just 200 ft away can get the fast at&t service but they refuse to upgrade service on side streets and even basic phone service is unreliable due to deteriorating insulation and water infiltration. Imagine losing phone and internet twice a year over an eight year period and paying for a year of crackling and no dial tone.
edited to correct connection speeds
“Daz’s Loader” right after you install 7? no problems…
I’m in the minority here I think……
Windows 10 laptop and desktop. Both work fine and dandy.
Windows 10 phone. Works fine and dandy.
I don’t care about targetted advertising. I’ve got a very busy life with work and my family, especially the ten month old…
I do care about the pics I take of my children. So W10 suits me just fine. OneDrive account with plenty of storage space for me. Syncs all my pics and videos automatically when my phone is on WiFi. If my phone got stolen, get another, sign into Outlook and…. Hey presto, there are all my pics.
I used to use Linux, now I just wouldn’t have the time.
Just so people know, [Daz Loader] is an illegal hack to defeat activation. You will have a hell of a time getting a copy that is not loaded with viruses. If this is the first time you’ve even heard of it, you probably shouldn’t go there. Whatever problems you have might get much worse.
its not news that microsoft is a corrupt, greedy corporation that thrives on illegal activity and gets away with it. They have the money to pay off the government to leave them alone.
1) its only “illegal” if you are avoiding a microsoft license, IE… “not buying anything and still installing it”
2) if you already PAID to HAVE windows? you paid for a LICENSE… when that windoze craps out on you? and you download “whatever” to install the version of windows “that you paid for”?? You are not avoiding a license… you already BOUGHT a license.
=
as far as the “loaded with viruses” argument goes? eh… it certainly CAN HAPPEN, but… tons of peopel use these things, and tons of people scan the packages and run them in emulators to see if theres any viruses in it… the “popular” versions with high marks on the download sites have always worked fine
people who just BLINDLY shout that “anything except certificated genuine microsquish products are loaded with viruses!” might as well just copy and paste the “advertising copy” from the monopoly company (microsquish)
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and it bears mentioning? does anyone realize WHY these things were even invented and worked on in the first place? because people like to play old games (that they already PAID FOR) and people like to run their older version software (that again they already PAID FOR)
theres no reason to have to buy ALL NEW SOFTWARE every couple years, just because the software companies refuse to support last years OS.
people just HAPPENED to notice that these smaller, leaner versions just HAPPENED to work better and stay more stable than the real product…
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once again for the cheap seats…
1) when you BUY a computer, you PAID for a license to run windows… its not a license for “one year”, its a license for as long as the computer runs.
2) when you BUY software? you PAID for a license to run that software… its not a license for “until such time as we want you to buy the software all over again”
3) the fact that windows wants to do a new version every 2 years, and the software companies want you tp spend thousands on software every couple windoze releaes? is irrlelevant.
4) when you bought your new computer? you are ENTITLED and LICENSED to run “windoze 17” or whatever version came with it. You are entitled and licensed to run your software you bought and paid for…
5) if you BOUGHT a computer with Windize? i say “enforce your license”.
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windoze has “big plans”, you know… the PLAN is to get onto the “cloud model”… you pay money EVERY MONTH for a “virtual desktop”… and you pay a fee every MONTH for whatever software you want… thats how greedy the OS and the software providers are…
there aint no way i intend on being extorted money every month like a utility company…
oh, by the way? all this aside…
1) i make spare money re-doing peoples computers. General story? “i bought this computer new a year or two ago… my kid uses it… its really slow and grinding to a halt now…”
2) what do i generally “do”? i get online and find the “reinstall windows” option that exists on the hard drive… theres usually a “small volume partition” on the hard drive?? its accessed by “keystrokes” at boot-up… it wipes the hard drive and reinstalls the original windows and drivers specifically for that machine, makes it like the day you bought it new
3) thats the best easiest solution… and 99% of customers dont even know it…
Latest AMD drivers disable Avira Live Protect , I have installed the 2014 drivers … ( Thats how far back I had to go )
Dont get me started on Windows activation ,
My Win 8 license has been locked out for some reason (?)
Just the slightest hardware change , and Dipstick Soft thinks your a software pirate ! ( I put in a new SSD )
ATM running 7 without a single update , latest Chrome and Firefox browsers VIA comodo firewall ( Sandbox ) ( 3 firewalls running )
Also running Mint VIA VB5 , hope to be playing games VIA mint shortly …
Had to re install mint on a larger virtual HDD ( games need space ) …
Steam OS may not be ready for VB5 , hopefully steam will run on mint … ( Fingers crossed )
Cloud computing (?) Sweet lord all mighty , what a “CON” …
What moron wants to pay monthly for the rest of their life … ( Utilities in deed )
Get of the grid man ! ( And its already against the law to be off the grid in some jurisdictions ) ( Hmmm , wonder if anyone has ever wondered why ? )
Sedstar,
Yes, that is the easiest way.
But the customer would definitely know it if they had any personal data on that machine that you did not back up prior to wiping it. Imagine their horror when 4,000 family photos are gone. Because you know, they didn’t even know that HAD to back that crap up.
Just make sure you’re letting them know EVERYTHING will be gone if it is not backed up. And I’d back it up yourself if you’re not sure… hand them a disc or two with their freshly restored pc upon pickup.
I am running Steam on Linux Mint, never had any issues. Only game I run on it so far is Terraria though
My Windows 7 always was perfect until win10 came out….since then I always have trouble 50% load on idle and such things…I deinstalled a few updates and disabled autoupdate but now also the manual update don’t works or takes forever to find updates…stupid microsoft…
The Internet is full of similiar stories. Win7 was so perfect:(…