New
#1
Copied files from one HDD to another, and some files are now bad.
I wasn't sure whether to put this in a hardware section, as I suspect the problem is either memory or an HDD, but I thought I'd start with the general section.
The short story:
I am using Adobe Lightroom to view and edit my photos. I noticed errors on a few of the photos (something like 'error reading file' or 'end of file error'. The files are RAW picture files, in the .NEF format (from a Nikon). Lightroom is never supposed to edit these files (to do editing it uses a sidecar with XML in), so the problem shouldn't be due to Lightroom.
I have copied a bad file onto a laptop, and the file is indeed bad (you can load and see the photograph, but can't edit or save it). The files got onto my HDD when I copied thousands from an old, smaller HDD. I still have the old HDD, and I have tested an original file, which is good (works as expected). I compared the original file with the bad file using a binary editor, and there were a few tiny differences. The bites were different at 4 addresses:
Address: 25EAF6A Contents file 1: CA file 2: C2
Address: 264AF6A Contents file 1: 39 file 2: 31
Address: 26BAF6A Contents file 1: 5E file 2: 56
Address: 27CAF6A Contents file 1: AA file 2: A2
So the addresses were very similar (all ending AF6A), and the data at those addresses was all different by 8 (CA - 8 = C2, 39 - 8 = 31 etc).
My problem:
I copied thousands of these files, and I have no idea how many are bad (I have to try to edit them to check). I have no idea what caused the problem, whether it's a bad new HDD, or whether there was a problem with the memory while I was doing the copy.
Prior to doing the copy, I installed the new HDD, and installed extra memory at the same time (I had 6GB triple channel, and added 12GB - same manufacturer, same voltage, same timings). I started getting BSODs after the install, about once a day, and put that down to the memory (I ran memtest which passed), but I think I may also have a problem with my SSD (used for the OS), which I've just taken out. I'm having lots of problems, which I'm finding hard to solve, but...
the main thing I want to find out is what caused these files to get corrupted (I'm a photographer, so the files are my job) - is it likely to be the memory, or HDD, and are there any tests I can perform on the HDD to see if it has a problem?
Many thanks for any advice, I'm in quite a pickle.