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From: roy@phri.nyu.edu (Roy Smith)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: Need advices for IIcx HD problem
Message-ID: <1990Jul31.172633.2217@phri.nyu.edu>
Date: 31 Jul 90 17:26:33 GMT
References: <1990Jul31.142641.2713@cs.umn.edu>
Sender: news@phri.nyu.edu (News System)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Public Health Research Institute, New York City
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schang@umn-cs.cs.umn.edu (Shu-Ping Chang) writes:
> I almost had a heart attack when I thought that I will lose all my valuable
> files.  Last night when I planed to pack my MAC, I boot it up again and IT
> WORKS.  I then use HD SC setup utility to run a test of my HD. It passed
> the test OK.  The advices I need is that what should I do now?

	In general (this applies equally well to punch cards, 2 GByte IPI
hard disks, and everything in-between) when faced with storage media which
appeared to be lost and then came back to life, the first thing to do is
make a copy of whatever was on the media.  Do it NOW!  Do not pass Go, do
not collect $200.  You may not get another chance.  The files you save may
be your own.

	Repeat after me: files are worth more than the media they are stored
on.  Make this your manta.  Chant it whenever you have media problems,
especially if you are thinking along the lines of "well, maybe I'll let it
run for a day and see what happens".  Either that, or make sure you have a
good cardiologist on call.

	Once you have recovered whatever files are worth recovering, then
decide what to do with the media.  If it's cheap (i.e. a floppy disk or reel
of tape), throw it away.  Destroy it first, so nobody will find it and use
it by accident.  If it's expensive (like a hard disk), then you have to
think about having it checked out, and/or fixed.  It may not be worth fixing
an obsolete drive; for what it costs to have an old 20 megger fixed you
might be able to buy a new 40, which is faster into the bargain.  The
definition of "obsolete" is context dependant; in my case, I have a Fuji
M2351 Eagle with a suspected bad HDA that fits into that category.  If it's
an Apple HD-40, you may be able to get it fixed for free under their
warranty extention, but you'll have to check with your dealer about that.
--
Roy Smith, Public Health Research Institute
455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016
roy@alanine.phri.nyu.edu -OR- {att,cmcl2,rutgers,hombre}!phri!roy
"Arcane?  Did you say arcane?  It wouldn't be Unix if it wasn't arcane!"