Xref: utzoo comp.sys.att:6227 unix-pc.general:2775 Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!rutgers!att!cbnewsc!danl From: danl@cbnewsc.ATT.COM (daniel.r.levy) Newsgroups: comp.sys.att,unix-pc.general Subject: Re: 3b1 40meg disk woes: Help Message-ID: <586@cbnewsc.ATT.COM> Date: 27 Apr 89 04:27:21 GMT References: <3961@emory.mathcs.emory.edu> <17513@cup.portal.com> <2947@ihuxy.ATT.COM> Distribution: na Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 31 > > Sigh. Kim Wallen recites tales of woe re: his 3B1 with a 40MB HD. > > > > > I would be interested in knowing for how many of these cases, the disk > heads were not parked when the machines were shut down. I've said it > before - nothing is guaranteed in this world, but if you EVER shut down > and turn off a unix-pc without first parking the heads, you have to ask > yourself a question -- "Do I feel lucky" ? From Floryan's explanation, it sounds like the blame lies elsewhere, i.e., the heads sticking to the media in park position due to gumming up by the lubricant, at least for the Seagates. That wouldn't be due to head crashes. For the Miniscribe, that's an unanswered question. The shutdown message warns the user to park the heads if the machine is going to be moved. This would seem to imply that parking the heads is unnecessary otherwise, though it does sound like a good idea. When I unpacked the system software, I could almost swear that in there was a loose sheet stating that rebooting the diagnostic disk to park the heads was not necessary on the 3B1, despite the message. However, looking through my manuals, I can't locate it now. I wonder, was I hallucinating or sump'n? Is there an ioctl() or other trick I can do while the UNIX system is running to park the disk heads? It sounds like it would be a good thing to do during extended idle times. -- Dan'l Levy UNIX(R) mail: att!ttbcad!levy, att!cbnewsc!danl AT&T Bell Laboratories 5555 West Touhy Avenue Any opinions expressed in the message above are Skokie, Illinois 60077 mine, and not necessarily AT&T's.