Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site gargoyle.UChicago.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!ihnp4!gargoyle!stuart
From: stuart@gargoyle.UChicago.UUCP (Stuart A. Kurtz)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: Disk Performance
Message-ID: <497@gargoyle.UChicago.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 20-Jun-85 17:12:06 EDT
Article-I.D.: gargoyle.497
Posted: Thu Jun 20 17:12:06 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 21-Jun-85 02:32:47 EDT
References: <-165000@ur-univax.UUCP> <20500003@rocksvax.UUCP> <> <142@telesoft.UUCP> <>
Reply-To: kurtz@uchicago.csnet
Organization: Dept. of Comp. Sci., The University of Chicago
Lines: 29
Keywords: disk problems
Summary: A commercial disk repair program

Copy Mac II (v2.1) comes with a program called "MacTools", which can
be used to repair disks which the Mac finds otherwise unreadable.  In
fact, I recently (inadvertantly) stuffed the wrong disk in while
doing a bit copy [no flames: I was exercising my legal right to back
up software I'd purchased], wiping out tracks 0 and 1 completely.
Using MacTools I was able to recover *every* file on the disk.

The repair takes a fair amount of time:  depending on the extend of
the damage, the program may spin your disks for 20 minutes.  Once the
program terminates, the hard work begins.  You have numerous files
with essentially no finder information.  (Minor things, e.g., file
name, type, and owner).  MacTools comes with a binary editor, so you
can *usually* ascertain which recovered file was which.  It also has
the capability of setting the finder info, once you figure out what
it should be.

The hardest stuff to deal with is the new (4.x) format MacWrite,
which sure looks like garbage.  Enough comes out clear so that you
can *usually* figure out that you're looking at a WORD file type
rather than an APPL.  It sure would be nice if WORD files had a
resource which said "I'm a WORD file!" where you could read it with
the binary editor!

Anyway, I've used MacTools to recover about 3 disks over the past 6
months.  For 29.95 (check MacWorld adds), I'd say it's essential.

Stu

email: {kurtz | stuart}@{ihnp4!gargoyle.uucp | uchicago.csnet}