[net.micro.mac] Bad Mac disk: what to do?

ihw@hou5a.UUCP (I Walkenfeld) (01/17/85)

[...]

What does (can) one do about bad Mac disks?

One particular disk always gets the message "This is not a Macintosh
disk" (not "unreadable"), and when I OK initialization, the Mac does
a litlle something and then spits it out with the message
"Initialization failed." 

Is this a hardware failure, tracking failure, or what?  I'm not hard
up for the disk, but I'd like to salvage it if possible.
(I think I may have tried to initialize it for the first time with a
system that I had been tinkering with - might this have done
something to the disk?)

Thanks for any help (or condolence).

			Irwin Walkenfeld
			AT&T Information Systems
			Holmdel, NJ

			...!hou5a!ihw

ems@amdahl.UUCP (E. Michael Smith) (01/29/85)

> [...]
> 
> What does (can) one do about bad Mac disks?
> 
> One particular disk always gets the message "This is not a Macintosh
> disk" (not "unreadable"), and when I OK initialization, the Mac does
> a litlle something and then spits it out with the message
> "Initialization failed." 
> 
> Is this a hardware failure, tracking failure, or what?  I'm not hard
> up for the disk, but I'd like to salvage it if possible.

I tended to experience this effect semi randomly.  It was always
in the external drive.  It stopped when I moved the drive to sit
on the right side of Mac rather than on the top.  Mag fields?

-- 

E. Michael Smith  ...!{hplabs,ihnp4,amd,nsc}!amdahl!ems

Comedo ergo sum

The opinions expressed by me are not representative of those of any
other person - natural, unnatural, or fictional - and only marginally
reflect my opinions as strained by the language.

jss@sjuvax.UUCP (J. Shapiro) (02/02/85)

[Aren't you hungry...?]

	Other people have experienced field related problems with the Mac.  Sit
your drive on the right or left side.  Having it on top is a bad idea
anyway, as it inhibits airflow and causes overheating.  Without a fan this
is serious.

Jon Shapiro