Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!chinet!mpcook
From: mpcook@chinet.chi.il.us (Michael P. Cook)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: De-fragmentizer non-disaster
Message-ID: <9617@chinet.chi.il.us>
Date: 19 Sep 89 14:13:35 GMT
Reply-To: mpcook@chinet.chi.il.us (Michael P. Cook)
Organization: Chinet - Public Access Unix
Lines: 44

<Michael P. Cook writes:
<$I recently purchased PC Tools version 5.5 (excellent write ups abound) and 
<$used its Compress program on a hard drive.  Fortunately I followed their
<$instructions to the letter - 1. FULLY BACK UP YOUR HARD DISK BEFORE RUNNING.
< 
<   That's odd ... I've been using their Compress R4.24 (and 3.24 before that)
<
<   Can you describe the "problem" at all?  I'd be interested in hearing
<what happened.
 
The Compress program aborted, apparently after encountering a read/write error 
with respect to a rather large file.  I have no idea what the origin of the 
original error was.  After exiting from Compress, I was also unable to access 
either that file, or a different subdirectory (with my comm software in it), 
kept getting the feared "General Failure Reading Drive C:" message upon doing 
a "dir". That has never happened to me before or since.  After doing a warm 
boot, I could get a directory, but it had a number of scrambled entries in it.  
Norton Disk Doctor reported that I had FAT problems, cross linked files and 
what not.  It fixed it but several of the files were truncated.  I am fairly 
certain that there was no other way to retrieve them whole (I wasn't worried 
since I had done a full backup just prior to compressing, thank GOD).
 
I have no advice or opinion re: PC Tools other than.......BACKUP...BACKUP.. 
It may have been an abberation, a full moon, stray electrons, who knows. 
 
<DISCLAIMER:  I have nothing to do with Central Point Software other than the
<    fact that I like their products.
 
Being that I don't have the time I used to for playing around and learning new 
software, I have found Norton Utilities easier to use (although obviously more 
limited in range of functions).  The PC Tools manual was difficult to read 
quickly, the menus (even with a mouse) required a bit of trial and error, the 
comm program is very limited, the calendar too time consuming to be useful for 
my office environment, etc.  Not BIG problems I grant you.  I expect by 
version 7 or 8 it'll be a bit more polished and friendly.  And less 
irritating! (Took me a while to figure out how to install off of a backup of 
the original distribution disks - change the volume label - aw come on, guys). 
 
-- Mike
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Cook                                              Oak Park IL USA
usenet address:                                mpcook@chinet.chi.il.us
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