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From: geb@cadre.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Hard Disk Crash Fix
Message-ID: <618@cadre.dsl.PITTSBURGH.EDU>
Date: Thu, 29-Jan-87 12:53:36 EST
Article-I.D.: cadre.618
Posted: Thu Jan 29 12:53:36 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 31-Jan-87 07:24:58 EST
Reply-To: geb@cadre.dsl.pittsburgh.edu.UUCP (Gordon E. Banks)
Organization: Decision Systems Lab, Univ. of Pittsburgh
Lines: 36

References:

I just recovered from a hard disk crash and I thought that how
I did it might help someone else in the same fix.  Pardon the
length and details if this is a trivial problem to some of you.

I was using Packit II to unpack a file that binhex had reported
a crc error on (I know, I know, but sometimes it is a small doc
or source file that is munged and some of the packed files are
still usable).  Packit complained that the "packed file is bad"
and then while the finder was restoring the desktop windows a
system error 02 (unrecoverable restart) occurred.  On reboot, the
error continued to occur whenever the desktop was beginning to come
up.  I tried to make a new desktop (holding control & option down
while booting) but a system error (02) occurred again despite this.
I then used "Disk First Aid" (the program that Apple distributes)
which reported that the SCSI needed repairs.  It repaired it, but
when I rebooted, the dialogue "SCSI needs minor repairs" came
up and if repair was selected, a system error (28) was generated.
Thus it appeared that I was stuck.  

Solution:

I put my HFS backup program (commercial HD backup program) on a
system floppy and booted from that with the initial desktop window
open showing the HFS backup icon.  There is a delay of about 0.25
seconds between the time the floppy desktop appears and the appearance
of the dialogue box which asks if the SCSI should be repaired.  During
that time, if you can double click on the HFS backup icon (takes some
practice) the backup program will execute and was fortunately able
to read the SCSI directory and backup th