geoff@pmafire.UUCP (Geoff Allen) (12/05/89)
In article <874@pmafire.UUCP>, I wrote about a floppy disk that had a destroyed Desktop file, so I couldn't get anything off of it. Before I go into the more general responses, I got three responses to this comment: >So I tried Disk 1st Aid. It accomplished nothing. (Actually, I've >never seen this program accomplish anything -- does it do anything >useful?) ---------- From: uunet!grad1.cis.upenn.edu!meuchen (Paul Eric Menchen) As for the Apple Disk First Aid, I think it was successful once. ---------- From: Rick Zaccone <uunet!sol.bucknell.edu!zaccone> I've never been able to get Disk First Aid to do anything useful either. ---------- From: Ingemar Ragnemalm <uunet!isy.liu.se!ingemar> You mean Apple's program? Forget it, that's no recovery program. All it does is to check if the file hierarchy, and if some blocks are marked "busy" but not included in files, it can mark them free. That is actually *not* what you want in many cases. Sometimes the OS maps out some sectors, since they are bad. With Disk 1:st Aid you get them back. Some feature! ---------- Thanks, Ingemar, that's useful to know! Now for the more general responses: ---------- From: uunet!dartvax!eleazar.dartmouth.edu!danno (Secret Squirrel) [I'm including all of this one, because it was very informative. --Geoff] I'll go into my standard response here: Try 1st Aid Kit from 1st Aid software. I give this program god-like status, and its manual is a bible. It lets you watch its progress as it verifies sectors; it then checks the directory info and the boot blocks, and gives you detailed instructions about what to do (mostly, it refers to the detailed instructions in the manual). Because the manual is so integral, there is no point in copying it, really. (I am a college student, and I was more than willing to shell out $99 for it.) It does not talk down to you, or baby you by not telling you what it's doing as I feel SUM does. MacTools is nice, but how many of us will get anywhere by looking at the hex of something? The manual has a complete introduction to how files are stored, and why they think their methods are the best for doing what needs to be done. There is an amazingly comprehensive section on almost all mac problems, and what to do. (Every possible dialog message the mac might give you is listed, with a reference to one of their recovery techniques.They try to solve problems that don't involve their software at all!) At this point, it would be hard to believe that I'm not connected with the company. But all I did was read a glowing review, buy it, and become totally converted. I sometimes get the urge to send these people more money. Then I look at my checkbook... There is only one reason I keep SUM around at all: 1st Aid will not do the directory backup that Shield/Guardian does. They do not believe that this is a good way to do recovery, since the volume is almost guaranteed to have changed since the last time the image was created. While I agree with them, I fear for the day when my hard disk won't come up, and I wouldn't have another to recover all my files to (1st Aid won't let you recover to the same disk). What about your specific problem? Hmmm. If only the desktop is corrupted, you should be able to (not under Multifinder) launch ResEdit (because ResEdit does NOT require the desktop file), insert the disk, and delete the offending file. If not, the directory is damaged, and I would head for 1st Aid. (I know they do overnight shipping for a few extra dollars, for those emergencies.) [ResEdit showed a blank window --Geoff] I've seen a lot of people who work with a disk that has 1K (or even 0K!) available. When they do anything that causes a desktop update, suddenly the disk needs "minor repairs" (which always means, "desktop repair"), [Thanks, that's nice to know! --Geoff] but the complete desktop can not be created due to lack of space (I know this is not your problem, just thought I'd explain where I got my technique from). In this case, you can use ResEdit to copy the files out (seems a lot simpler than MacTools to me; maybe I just have a weak spot for ResEdit, since that was my first intro to advanced Mac Techniques.) Well, I'm sorry this was so long winded, but I could go on forever about the joys of 1st Aid Kit. ---------- From: uunet!phoenix.princeton.edu!zimerman (Jacob Ben-david Zimmerman) Hi! I am a computer consultant at Princeton U, and I sort of repair dead floppies for a living. Not having played with yours, I can't give a prognosis, or diagnosis, but I wouldn't give up hope. Try to get hold of a program called 1st Aid HFS, or even SUM (Symantec Utilities for the Macintosh) v. II. Those are both excellent. ---------- From: uunet!grad1.cis.upenn.edu!meuchen (Paul Eric Menchen) Get SUM (Symatec Symna Utilities for the Mac or whatever). These programs have been able to recover nearly every file I've ever encountered lost, and I've encountered a lot as I was the computer consultant in my college dorm (with lots of people who showed little respect for their disks). ---------- From: uunet!afit-ab.arpa!lriggins%galaxy (L. Maurice Riggins) If you do a sector copy with formatting using PC Tools Mac, it can often repair problems like that in the process. [This sounds similar to what ended up working. See my other article describing the resolution of the problem <881@pmafire.UUCP> for details. --Geoff] ---------- From: Rick Zaccone <uunet!sol.bucknell.edu!zaccone> I've had good luck with Floppy Fixer. It should be available in the sumex archives. If you can't find it, let me know and I'll send you a copy. ---------- From: mace.cc.purdue.edu!ajq@cs.utexas.edu (John O'Malley) Call MacConnection and buy SUM II (Symantics Utilities for Macintosh). SUM has saved dozens of bad disks for me. It's failed to save the files only a couple of times ... and if I remember right, one of those times it was because someone actually reinitialized the disk. SUM II is a complete utilities package for both hard disks and floppies. It's a set of programs that I think every Mac user should own. ---------- From: uunet!cme.nist.gov!paisley (Scott Paisley) Check out maczap. I have seen it recover disks that where completely trashed. It's pretty cheap too. (can't remember off the top of my head, but I think it's about $35.) ---------- From: Ingemar Ragnemalm <uunet!isy.liu.se!ingemar> Try one of the following: SUM, Symantec Utilities, might help. I think it's buggy, though. I don't have it, but I had a friend recover a disk for me with it. I guess it worked OK. There is also a shareware program named Floppy Fixer. Try it. I've tried it once or twice, and it seems to do a good job. ---------- Thanks, everyone for all the advice and help. I appreciate it a bunch. Geoff -- Geoff Allen \ WINCO doesn't believe in Macs, {uunet|bigtex}!pmafire!geoff \ so of course these are my views. ucdavis!egg-id!pmafire!geoff \
jacquemin-michel@CS.YALE.EDU (Michel Jacquemin) (12/06/89)
I received a message asking me to post the responses I got to my
request about what to do with 256K SIMMs. Here goes:
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From: coherent.com!dplatt@harvard.UUCP
An outfit called ComputerCare sells an enhancement board ("MacRescue")
which attaches to the Mac 128k and 512k motherboards. It has slots for
6 SIMMs, which can be loaded with either 256k or 1m SIMMs. Also comes
with a SCSI port. I don't know whether it requires that the 128k Mac be
upgraded to a 512ke (ROM/disk upgrade from Apple) first, or whether it
can be used with a "naked" 128 or 512.
A guy who works for our company just ordered one, with which to stuff
his 512ke... I'm going to sell him some of our leftover 256k SIMMs and
help him upgrade his machine to a reasonable size. He ordered the board
on Friday... about $350, I believe. They advertise in the back pages of
MacWorld.
I recall reading some years ago that people had successfully hotwired
additional memory into their 128k machines, without having to replace
the motherboard... but the job was messy to do, didn't use SIMMs, and
was not for the faint of heart.
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Other people suggested that I use the 256K SIMMs in a MacII or SE,
or sell it to somebody who has a MacII or SE.
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Michel Jacquemin