[comp.sys.ibm.pc] H E L P - 80 Meg HD crash.

mms00786@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (01/15/90)

I turn here in desperation about a problem.

We purchased a 80 Meg HD about two years or so ago, in the days when 80 Meg HD's
were not so common. We purchased it from Computerland, and I think it is an
80 Meg Seagate - however, a company called CMS is somehow involved with this
HD.
The problem is the cmsdrv.sys file that came with the HD so that we could use
it under dos 3.2. Well, this file somehow does not like dos3.3, and what is
worst, some of the new softwares are now starting to mess up the HD. Most
recently, an unknowing operator booted off of a floppy, and tried to use the
DOS 3.3 restore command. The result is that DOS 3.2 is no longer able to
handle the "dir" or "cd" command without locking up. PCTools and its backup
program are able to detect and use all the sub directories and all the files, but
DOS 3.2 cannot.

We are unable to reinstall dos3.2 on the HD with the sys command.

So what can I do? I think if I could talk to this CMS company and ask them
about it, I would get somewhere. But Computerland will not give us any 
information - all they can do is reformat the HD (how?) @ $75/hr, reinstall
DOS 3.2, and wait for us to crash it again.

I would appreciate:
  a) Information on CMS
  b) Information on how to bypass CMS
  c) Information on whether some version of Ontrack's Disk Manager will help
  d) Information on how to low level format the HD.
  e) Where to purchase the necessary explosives to blow up every Computerland
     on the surface of the earth.

Thank you very much in advance.

Milan
mms00786@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu
.

mms00786@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (01/16/90)

Thanks to all those who replied - your help was great!
Due to the fact that three people were sitting idle because of the d*** HD, we
had to go to Computerland and pay them $50/hr to sit in front of a computer and
intently watch our HD format. However, this time I managed to coax the latest
version of the cms driver, the latest version of Seagate Ontrack Disk Manager,
and the full HD specification from them. For those interested, CMS is some
sort of a distributor, and can be reached at (714) 259 9555.

Once again, thank you all.

Milan
.