[comp.sys.amiga] DiskSalv problems

jtreworgy@eagle.wesleyan.edu (James Treworgy) (01/04/90)

I am using DiskSalv 1.42(maybe 1.43? can't remember) and have had a couple
(minor) problems which I've been having pretty consistently since I can
remember. The first is this: I don't have a hard disk, and with a workbench in
df0: and the disk with the DiskSalv program on it in df1:, I invoke it by
saying something like "df1:DIsksalv df0: df1:". Fine, it loads up and then
after it finishes loading I get a requester for the workbench disk. Always
strikes me as a little strange since it is in DF0:. So what I have to do is pop
it out and put it in DF1:, where it will recognize it. Anyone know why it won't
acknowledge it in DF0:?

The other problem is, most of the time when recovering a disk, even if there is
nothing wrong with it, I get those "warning file may be incomplete" things all
the time, even though the files always end up being just fine. (Just kind of
annoying removing those filenotes later). This wasn't happening often until
about version 1.4.

-- 
James A. Treworgy    -- No quote here for insurance reasons --
jtreworgy@eagle.wesleyan.edu         jtreworgy%eagle@WESLEYAN.BITNET

daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) (01/06/90)

in article <5379@eagle.wesleyan.edu>, jtreworgy@eagle.wesleyan.edu (James Treworgy) says:

> I am using DiskSalv 1.42(maybe 1.43? can't remember) and have had a couple
> (minor) problems which I've been having pretty consistently since I can
> remember. The first is this: I don't have a hard disk, and with a workbench in
> df0: and the disk with the DiskSalv program on it in df1:, I invoke it by
> saying something like "df1:DIsksalv df0: df1:". Fine, it loads up and then
> after it finishes loading I get a requester for the workbench disk. Always
> strikes me as a little strange since it is in DF0:. So what I have to do is pop
> it out and put it in DF1:, where it will recognize it. Anyone know why it won't
> acknowledge it in DF0:?

The problem is that, in order to do things in an DOS-copacetic fashion, DiskSalv is
required to inhibit the device while it's accessing it below the level of DOS.  This
is also why DiskSalv will work on disks that normally crash the OS.  Your problem
is that you have your system disk in that same drive.  Once DiskSalv starts up and
inhibits that drive, the system can't see your SYS:, C:, L:, LIBS:, etc. directories,
and very often your current directory.  What you really want to do is salvage from
a drive other than the one containing your system.  DiskSalv will agree to not inhibit
the initial drive if you use the NODOS option, just like it says in the DiskSalv
manual.  But that's technically a Bad Thing to do, from the point of view of the
OS, and without the drive inhibited, your bad disk may very well crash the machine.

> The other problem is, most of the time when recovering a disk, even if there is
> nothing wrong with it, I get those "warning file may be incomplete" things all
> the time, even though the files always end up being just fine. (Just kind of
> annoying removing those filenotes later). This wasn't happening often until
> about version 1.4.

DiskSalv will issue those generally when it finds a track it can't read via the
normal trackdisk block I/O mechanism, indicating at least one bad block on the
disk.  So DiskSalv reads the raw block and attempts to decode the data there as
best as it can, but it's impossible for DiskSalv to be 100% sure there's nothing
wrong with the file.  So it issues that warning.  You can avoid the filenotes by
specifying the NOTAG option, just like is says in the DiskSalv manual.  That is a
warning that something could be wrong with the file, and you're always free to
ignore such warnings.

> James A. Treworgy    -- No quote here for insurance reasons --
> jtreworgy@eagle.wesleyan.edu         jtreworgy%eagle@WESLEYAN.BITNET
-- 
Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Systems Engineering) "The Crew That Never Rests"
   {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh      PLINK: hazy     BIX: hazy
                    Too much of everything is just enough

dan-hankins@cup.portal.com (Daniel B Hankins) (01/06/90)

Disksalv turns off the device driver for the drive from which data is to be
read.  So AmigaDos can't read from the drive any more.  In the particular
example you give, you use DF0: as the source drive.  DiskSalv tries to find
some library or other, and surprise! it can't find the workbench.

Try using as the source drive one _different_ from the one you're booting
from.


Dan Hankins

daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) (01/07/90)

in article <25637@cup.portal.com>, dan-hankins@cup.portal.com (Daniel B Hankins) says:

> Disksalv turns off the device driver for the drive from which data is to be
> read.  So AmigaDos can't read from the drive any more.  In the particular
> example you give, you use DF0: as the source drive.  DiskSalv tries to find
> some library or other, and surprise! it can't find the workbench.

DiskSalv gets most everything it _needs_ from the system before it inhbits the
drive.  It does, however, check for "l:Disk-Validator" and the Format command
before it starts salvaging, but after the inhibit command is issued.  That's
because the Format command is required during run-time if you want to be able
to format a disk during recovery, and Format will call up the disk
validator.  DiskSalv will warn you ahead of time that there features are
disabled if those files aren't available.  You're really asking for trouble
if you try to recover from your system disk; the OS in general doesn't 
really like to have the system yanked out from under it.

> Dan Hankins
-- 
Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Systems Engineering) "The Crew That Never Rests"
   {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh      PLINK: hazy     BIX: hazy
                    Too much of everything is just enough