[comp.sys.amiga] disk salvaging

SAC.42AD-LGX@e.isi.edu (08/22/89)

I was recently trying to rescue a friends data disk when we
discovered that the problem was on disk sector 80 (I think, I
don't have the info here with me)  Apparently that is the sector
where all the disk info is stored so disksalv (the magical elixir
of disk life) would not even work.  Any ideas?  Ideas must be
workable for the simple mind (like mine).

Thanks,

Steve Brady

_______________________________________________________________________________

STEVE BRADY 			42AD/LGX
Autovon: 362-4338		Grand Forks AFB ND 58205-5000
Comm: 701-747-4338		

Don't expect to see pearls of Wisdom, I am just a CLAM.
_______________________________________________________________________________

"If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, and is in black and white chances
are, it's a MACINTOSH!"

daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie) (08/23/89)

in article <22141@louie.udel.EDU>, SAC.42AD-LGX@e.isi.edu says:

> I was recently trying to rescue a friends data disk when we
> discovered that the problem was on disk sector 80 (I think, I
> don't have the info here with me)  Apparently that is the sector
> where all the disk info is stored so disksalv (the magical elixir
> of disk life) would not even work.  Any ideas?  Ideas must be
> workable for the simple mind (like mine).

DiskSalv doesn't REQUIRE any information to be resident on the disk, though
many device drivers won't automatically mount a bad partition, and
obviously they can't if their physical information, such as in the
"hardblocks" standard, gets wiped out.  Though disk sector 80 doesn't make
any sense; and how did you come to believe it was this disk sector? If the
disk get recognized by the OS, DiskSalv can get at it. 

But if it doesn't, all is not lost.  You can manually create a mountlist
for the disk, mount it without accessing the disk, and the run DiskSalv on
it.  You'll need to know the physical information about your disk partition
to do this.  If your disk software automatically manages partitions, you may
not have any idea about this info.  I can't figure it for you on a bad 
disk, you may need to contact the manufacturer for help on that one.  What
I would recommend doing is creating an emergency boot disk before the current
one has any problems (backups, of course, are also an excellent idea -- I use
SuperBack).  This emergency disk is a Workbench disk with DiskSalv, emergency
mountlists, and a disk device driver if necessary.  With a good disk, the info
you get from DiskSalv on any partition before scanning starts will help you
create mountlist entries.  Also, read the Amiga Enhancer docs on mountlists if
you're not familiar with what they do.

> Steve Brady
-- 
Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Systems Engineering) "The Crew That Never Rests"
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            We have no choice.  We are, after all, professionals.