porter@topaz.rutgers.edu (Adam L. Porter) (11/23/88)
A while ago, I got wise and turned my XT on its side to save space. However, I am getting intermittent seek errors from my Seagate ST-225 (with Western Digital controller, if it matters). The best thing is probably to reformat the drive in its current position, but I don't want to completely reformat the drive. (Don't everyone flame me for not keeping backups...I keep current backups of the ~1 meg of important stuff, but I don't back up the disk because I only have 360K drives.) Is there a good way to stop these errors without reformatting the drive? Thanks for your advice!! -- ============================================================================== Adam L. Porter 272 Hamilton St. #96 New Brunswick, NJ 08901 (201) 247-6723 ==============================================================================
pjh@mccc.UUCP (Pete Holsberg) (11/24/88)
In article <Nov.22.20.02.13.1988.14699@topaz.rutgers.edu> porter@topaz.rutgers.edu (Adam L. Porter) writes:
=
=A while ago, I got wise and turned my XT on its side to save space.
=However, I am getting intermittent seek errors from my Seagate ST-225
=(with Western Digital controller, if it matters).
=Is there a good way to stop these errors without reformatting the
=drive?
I have two suggestions. (1) Buy a used AST Rampage/PC and (2) turn the
computer right-side up! Keep it on its side and you'll be in the market
for a new HD by New Year's Day.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Pete
--
Pete Holsberg UUCP: {...!rutgers!}princeton!mccc!pjh
Mercer College CompuServe: 70240,334
1200 Old Trenton Road GEnie: PJHOLSBERG
Trenton, NJ 08690 Voice: 1-609-586-4800davidsen@steinmetz.ge.com (William E. Davidsen Jr) (11/30/88)
I believe that you should reformat. Why fool around with anything other
than the correct solution?
--
bill davidsen (wedu@ge-crd.arpa)
{uunet | philabs}!steinmetz!crdos1!davidsen
"Stupidity, like virtue, is its own reward" -mewalt@sixwbn.UUCP (Walt Novinger) (12/01/88)
In article <427@mccc.UUCP> pjh@mccc.UUCP (Pete Holsberg) writes: >In article <Nov.22.20.02.13.1988.14699@topaz.rutgers.edu> porter@topaz.rutgers.edu (Adam L. Porter) writes: >= >=A while ago, I got wise and turned my XT on its side to save space. >=However, I am getting intermittent seek errors from my Seagate ST-225 >=(with Western Digital controller, if it matters). > >=Is there a good way to stop these errors without reformatting the >=drive? > >I have two suggestions. (1) Buy a used AST Rampage/PC and (2) turn the >computer right-side up! Keep it on its side and you'll be in the market >for a new HD by New Year's Day. > I disagree that Adam has to be in the market for a new HD by New Year's. I have run numerous 225's (and other) HDs on their sides for several years. Before doing so (assuming that they had data on them), I always backed them up, turned them to their new position, and did a low-level reformat. As the drive ages, and the head positioning mechanism wears ever-so-slightly, the change in position can cause the head to shift with respect to the previously formatted tracks. Reformatting in the new position seems to alleviate the problem. Good luck, Adam! ================================================================================ Walt Novinger | ...!sun!plx!walt | ~ Plexus Computers, Inc. | ...!sun!plx!sixwbn!walt | Joke 'em if they can't~ 3833 N. First St. |-------------------------------| take a f**k! ~ San Jose, CA 95134 | Disclaimer: You mean my | ~ 408-943-2406 (w) | boss might read this? | Robin Williams ~ 415-964-9377 (h) | Nah - he forgot his password! | ~ ===============================================================================
dsd@hpsad.HP.COM (Donald StDenis) (12/02/88)
>/ hpsad:comp.sys.ibm.pc / porter@topaz.rutgers.edu (Adam L. Porter) / 5:02 pm Nov 22, 1988 / > >A while ago, I got wise and turned my XT on its side to save space. >However, I am getting intermittent seek errors from my Seagate ST-225 >(with Western Digital controller, if it matters). The best thing is >probably to reformat the drive in its current position, but I don't >want to completely reformat the drive. (Don't everyone flame me for >not keeping backups...I keep current backups of the ~1 meg of >important stuff, but I don't back up the disk because I only have 360K >drives.) > >Is there a good way to stop these errors without reformatting the >drive? There seems to be claims that the drive will die in this position, but I've never had problems with mine, and it's been on it's side for 2 yrs. I think that the program SPIN-RITE will do the job for you. It does a lowlevel format "on the fly". Of course you should invest the money and time in an archival backup. SPIN-RIT (I hope that's how it's spelled) is pretty inexpensive. >Thanks for your advice!! Don't thank people for it, it only encourages them! >-- >============================================================================== >Adam L. Porter >272 Hamilton St. #96 >New Brunswick, NJ 08901 >(201) 247-6723 >============================================================================== *** Learn from other people's mistakes, you can't possibly live long enough to make them all yourself. *** -- Author Unknown >>>>>>>>>Disclaimer: I don't invent them, I just paraphrase 'em! <<<<<<<<<
maddoxt@novavax.UUCP (Thomas Maddox) (12/05/88)
In article <427@mccc.UUCP> pjh@mccc.UUCP (Pete Holsberg) writes: >In article <Nov.22.20.02.13.1988.14699@topaz.rutgers.edu> porter@topaz.rutgers.edu (Adam L. Porter) writes: >=A while ago, I got wise and turned my XT on its side to save space. >=However, I am getting intermittent seek errors from my Seagate ST-225 >=(with Western Digital controller, if it matters). >I have two suggestions. (1) Buy a used AST Rampage/PC and (2) turn the >computer right-side up! Keep it on its side and you'll be in the market >for a new HD by New Year's Day. Eek! Is this true? I've got a Leading Edge D with ST-238 that I've fairly recently put on its side (due to sudden insufficiency of desk space). Dealers (yeah yeah, I know) and others have told me there is no problem with doing this. So does anyone have any evidence or reasoning thaat will settle this thing one way or another?
grosen@amadeus.ucsb.edu (Mark D. Grosen) (12/05/88)
[Putting HD's on their sides] There is no problem in using a HD standing on its side. The key thing is to format your disk in the orientation it is going to be used in. From the original posting, it sounds like the user had been using his disk in horiz. orient., and then switched to vertical. Not a good idea, unless you re-format. Witness all the Sun machines with shoeboxes in vertical orientation. I have been using my PC with vertical orientation for over 15 months without a problem. Mark Mark D. Grosen ARPA: grosen@amadeus.ucsb.edu Signal Processing Lab / Communications Research Lab ECE Dept. University of California Santa Barbara, CA 93106
ejablow@dasys1.UUCP (Eric Robert Jablow) (12/05/88)
The Micropolis drives my department's Suns came with had specific
instructions that we reformat them if ever we put them on their sides.
I assume it's the same for any hard disk drive. Have you used
spinrite? What does it say?
--
Eric Jablow {allegra,philabs,cmcl2}!phri\
Big Electric Cat Public Unix {bellcore,cmcl2}!cucard!dasys1!ejablow
New York, NY, USA
New address: jessica!eric@sbee.sbcc.edu.alz@tc.fluke.COM (Al Weiss) (12/08/88)
Quoting from the Seagate 225 manual: "The ST225 may be mounted horizontally with the spindle motor down, or on either side. The drive should not be tilted (front to back) in any position, by more than 5 degrees. For optimum performance the drive should be formatted in the same orientation as it will be mounted in the host system." I called Seagate to see if I could tilt it at 8 degrees and they said "Even if it works for a while, your warantee is immediately void." It seems that they have a heat problem in fighting gravity with the head positioner. As far as running it 90 degrees on its side, its ok, or anywhere in between. Just reformat. But dont tip it any further than 90, including upside down.