Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!fernwood!decwrl!ogicse!ucsd!helios.ee.lbl.gov!nosc!crash!pro-graphics.cts.com!elund
From: elund@pro-graphics.cts.com (Eric Lund)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Hard drive problem (SPINRITE II)
Message-ID: <1617@crash.cts.com>
Date: 22 Feb 90 11:57:25 GMT
Sender: news@crash.cts.com
Lines: 28

> Before doing a low level destructive format, you might try SpinRrite
> II and Norton's Disk Doctor or Mace's Emeregency Room.  Spinrite II
> will do a non-destructive low level format and optimise your
> interleave factor.  These are all short termed fixes.  If you run
> critical applications, you should get rid of the drive.

I never thought I'd be one to look for room to plug Spinrite II.  I've heard
of a lot of problems using the program.  Stopping the program (by following
the instructions) can be dangerous and you risk losing boot capability and
maybe some data.  That is a scary factor, but it may help to know I had been
experiencing "Data error on drive c:" for quite some time, and then I took the
chance and ran Spinrite on both partitions.  In addition to solving all my
data error problems, Spinrite retrieved over 1/2 meg of "bad" areas.  

So I will reiterate my plug with the exception:  Spinrite II is excellent as
long as you let it run its course and don't interfere with it, no matter what
it tells you!  It's hard not to fiddle with it when it takes 8 hours to run.

As for Norton's Disk Doctor, it's worse.  Where as Spinrite II gave me new
space, Norton methodically marked every one of my sectors bad.  However, it
performs well on floppy media, reconstructing boots et al.

Eric

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