[comp.sys.att] 6386 and Dead Priam Hard Drive

jeff@gistdev (11/12/88)

We have a BIG problem:

We have an AT&T 6386WGS running ISC 386/ix with a Priam ID130-AT 133MB Hard
Disk, Western Digital WD1006-WAH Hard Disk Controller, 4MB memory,
Versanet-40 ports card, Micom Ethernet card, IEV Video-overlay combo and a
Paradise EGA-480 video card.  The disk is partitioned with 8MB swap, 20MB
"/" , 52MB "/usr" and 52MB "/usr2". 

Our problem is this: the disk died.  It looks like an area under "/" went
bad.  We can boot to a point where most drivers are loaded and then we get
a panic trap.  The VTOC seems to be scrozzed as well. 

As far as we can tell, /usr and /usr2 are ok.  We have some VERY important
source code under /usr2 that for some stupid reason (cost of media) wasn't
backed up for over a month and a half.  Considerable development went on
during that time and now we have a deadline to release the program and we
can't get at it.

Is it possible to mount the /usr2 partition on another machine running the
same configuration? If so, how do we do it?

If that isn't possible, I have heard of a company in Minnesota (I think)
that specializes in recovering data from crashed disks.  Does anyone know
anything about this?

Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks in advance.

*----------------------------------------------------------------------*
#include <disclaimer.h>

Jeff Johnson
Global Information Systems Technology, Inc.
1800 Woodfield Drive
Savoy, IL  61874
(217) 352-1165

ARPANET: jeff%gistdev%gistqa@uxc.cso.uiuc.edu
UUCP:    ...uiucuxc!gistqa!gistdev!jeff

rwhite@nusdhub.UUCP (Robert C. White Jr.) (11/17/88)

in article <8300001@gistdev>, jeff@gistdev says:
<> Our problem is this: the disk died.  It looks like an area under "/" went
<> bad.  We can boot to a point where most drivers are loaded and then we get
<> a panic trap.  The VTOC seems to be scrozzed as well. 
<> 
<> As far as we can tell, /usr and /usr2 are ok.  We have some VERY important
<> source code under /usr2 that for some stupid reason (cost of media) wasn't
<> backed up for over a month and a half.  Considerable development went on
<> during that time and now we have a deadline to release the program and we
<> can't get at it.
<> 
<> Is it possible to mount the /usr2 partition on another machine running the
<> same configuration? If so, how do we do it?

If you can get to some machine running the same revision of the software
then use the standard "how to break into a pc running unix" technique.

Make a bootable floppy on some machine (dosn't matter what machine.)
put on a stripped down kernel (e.g. loose the device drivers where
possible) as much of the /dev directory as you can scavange (off an
old backup perhaps) /etc/passwd /etc/group /etc/init ... and
/etc/mount.  /bin/sh /bin/login /bin/cpio and the like.

Having made this "scavengeing diskette" you should be able to mount
your old /usr /and /usr2 and archive them onto another source.


Rob.