Guide to Providing Access for Born-Digital Files

Owned by Norris, Abigail N
Last updated: Jun 25, 2019

Part One – Processing a Request

  1. When a request arrives, determine how much help the patron needs identifying disk images to be pulled. If they do not need help, skip to step 3.
  2. Because documentation on the finding aid can be limited, encourage the patron to look at the file tree in the Excel Finding Aid to find materials.
    1. In general, if a patron is looking for a specific filetype or part of the project, include disks that don't have project details listed and have "Unidentified" filetypes. "Unidentified" filetypes can be very common filetypes (such as .xls) that for some reason just weren't included in the output.
  3. Check the disk image number in the Excel or EAD finding aid and verify that there is no restricted material.

NOTE: Due to processing issues, some disk images have already been extracted to files. If you navigate to the disk folder and see a folder titled "files" instead of or in addition to "diskimage," skip to Part Four.

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Part Two – Downloading the Disk Image

  1. Once you have the list of requested disk images, there are two ways to access them: the Toshiba external hard drive or Box.
    1. Toshiba External Hard Drive:
        1. Do this step in the Windows OS on the Spyder laptop.
        2. First, verify that the disk image is in the right place. Plug the hard drive in and navigate to the appropriate disk image folder. The disk images are stored in folders separated by their media number (01 – floppy disk, 02 – CD, 03 – zip disk, 04 – flash drive). For instance, if trying to access disk 2017009_02_069, you would navigate to 2017009_02>2017009_02_069>2017009_02_069_diskimage_2017009_02_069_diskimage.iso (see below).
        3. Confirm that the correct disk image is in the folder. Sometimes, there will be multiple files in the diskimage folder - make sure there is one with an .iso or .E01 extension. (This occassionally appears as a file with no extension but a CD icon.) If there is, this step is complete.
          1. These folders also contain checksum files. They have the same extension as the disk image, but are marked by a green check icon. Careful not to confuse them!


            In this image, the disk image is on the top and the checksum is on the bottom.

        4. In the disk folder, create a 4th folder titled 2017009_0x_xxx_files. For instance, for 2017009_02_069, the folder would be 2017009_02_069_files. This is where you will extract the disk image in Part Three.
        5. Once the folder is created, exit out of the window.

      b. UTexas Box:
        1. Do this step on a computer that can access the internet.
        2. Connect the external hard drive to this computer and create a new folder in the hard drive under the Box Disk Images folder. Title the folder the disk number (i.e., 2017009_02_069).
        3. Navigate to UTexas Box>Vault to Tape. Once in the Vault to Tape folder, search for the disk number and download the associated disk image.
        4. Disconnect the external hard drive and connect to Windows OS on the Spyder laptop.

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    Part Three – Accessing Disk Image Contents

    1. Open FTK Imager in Windows. FTK Imager is found on the desktop.

    2. When the computer asks if you want FTK to be able to make changes, select "Yes."
    3. Mount the Disk Image in FTK Imager.
      1. In the FTK navigation bar, click on the farthest left small icon with the green plus sign to "Add Evidence Item."
      2. In the popup, select "Image File."
      3. Select the disk image and click "Open."
      4. At the next window, click "Finish."

          4. Once the disk image is mounted, this is what it should look like. Expand the Evidence Tree by clicking the plus signs to the left of folders. This allows you to see the structure of the disk image.

          5. Go to the second level of the disk image and click "Export Files." If this is not an option, check the next level down until the option appears.



    6. Export the files to the 2017009_0x_xxx_files folder you created on the external hard drive.

    7. Read the export to verify that all files were exported properly.

    8. To exit out of FTK Imager, go to the navigation bar and click on the 5th from the left icon, "Remove All Evidence Items." This will unmount all disk images from the program. Then, close out of FTK Imager.

    9. This is where I'll put information about generating checksums, if necessary. We need to talk to Benn and Ashley about this.


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    Part Four – Providing Access

    1. With the files saved to the hard drive, go to UTexas Box> the access folder we'll make.



    2. Save the files, along with the media photographs and readme, in a folder titled with the disk number (I.e., 2017009_02_069).



    3. Once the files are uploaded, select Share and enter the recipient's email address. Before sending the invitation, set permissions to Invite as Previewer (not Previewer Uploader). If the folder contains content that needs to be downloaded and viewed on special software, such as .dwg files, set permission to "Viewer."

    4. Once the folder has been shared, return to the main window and click the ellipses to the left of "Share." Select Settings.


    5. In Settings, select permissions you want to restrict, such as Shared Link Access and Privacy.


    6. Under Automated Actions, select Unshare this folder on a selected date and choose the date the patron will lose access to the folder.


    The folder is now ready for the patron to accept your invitation.

    If you have issues viewing files or are working with files such as AutoCAD/.dwg and WordPerfect, refer to Part Two of this guide.

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