RAND@merrimack.edu (Rand P. Hall) (09/14/89)
Other than degaussing, can anyone suggest a way to get previously
initialized disks to appear uninitialized?
Why on earth do I want to do this? We're giving intro classes to about
600 freshmen and part of the class involves initializing disks. The
kids bring their own and keep them afterward. The problem is the
instructor(s) now have to keep coming up with blank disks to demo on.
Rand P. Hall UUCP: {uunet,bbn,ulowell}!ginosko!hubdub!rand
Merrimack College CSNET: rand@merrimack.edu
N. Andover, MA 508.683.7111 Dukakis = 15% tax hike + $1.3 billion deficitbskendig@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Brian Kendig) (09/15/89)
In article <5261@merrimack.edu> RAND@merrimack.edu (Rand P. Hall) writes: >Other than degaussing, can anyone suggest a way to get previously >initialized disks to appear uninitialized? Format them in an IBM. At last, Big Blue is good for something! Or you could try to scramble them by holding magnets over them. Or run over them with a very large truck. << Brian >> -- | Brian S. Kendig | I feel more like I | bskendig | | Computer Engineering | did when I got here | @phoenix.Princeton.EDU | | Princeton University | than I do now. | @PUCC.BITNET | | Systems Engineering, NASA Space Station Freedom / General Electric WP3 |
earleh@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Earle R. Horton) (09/15/89)
In article <5261@merrimack.edu> RAND@merrimack.edu (Rand P. Hall) writes: >Other than degaussing, can anyone suggest a way to get previously >initialized disks to appear uninitialized? > >Why on earth do I want to do this? We're giving intro classes to about >600 freshmen and part of the class involves initializing disks. The >kids bring their own and keep them afterward. The problem is the >instructor(s) now have to keep coming up with blank disks to demo on. Several suggestions follow. Have the instructors use a disk which is known to be bad and will not initialize. This will also show the students what the "Initialization Failed" dialog looks like. The instructor can then perform the rest of the demonstration with a good disk. Obtain a raw disk editor such as MacTools or FEdit. Use it to zero out the disks after they have been initialized. Reformat the demo disks on another make machine if you have one around. Erase the disk, rebooting the Mac via the programmer's switch halfway through the process. (Ohh, this is mean!) Earle R. Horton
prince@maui.cs.ucla.edu (Larry Prince) (09/15/89)
In article <5261@merrimack.edu> RAND@merrimack.edu (Rand P. Hall) writes: >Other than degaussing, can anyone suggest a way to get previously >initialized disks to appear uninitialized? > Of course, the fastest way to uninitialize disks is to erase them with a bulk eraser...you can get one for $40 or $50 at various electronics retail outlets. Failing that, though, you could use this somewhat slower method... Simply initialize the diskettes as PRO-DOS or MS-DOS disks, using either Apple File Exchange with an FDHD drive, or the appropriate computer. UCLA Computer Science Department -- Larry 3413 Boelter Hall Los Angeles 90024 (213) 825-2145 Prince UUCP: {uunet,rutgers,ucbvax}!cs.ucla.edu!prince Internet: prince@CS.UCLA.EDU
rcbaem@eutrc3.urc.tue.nl (Ernst <pooh> Mulder) (09/15/89)
In article <5261@merrimack.edu> RAND@merrimack.edu (Rand P. Hall) writes: >Other than degaussing, can anyone suggest a way to get previously >initialized disks to appear uninitialized? There are a couple. First you could molest your disks using a magnet. This is very rude. Secondly you could use an eraser. We use a device like this on the computer centre where I work, and someone was able to erase about 10 tapes in one go. (Imagine how many disks would fit in the same place as 10 tapes!) If you are very rude you can start to erase the disk (from the finder) and use a paperclip to get the disk out before the Mac has finished erasing it. The latter will give a different warning when you reinsert the disk though. The first methods will say 'This disk is unreadable', the latter will say 'This is not a Macintosh disk'. I personally vote for the eraser method. Ernst. >
d88-sli@nada.kth.se (Stefan Lindmark) (09/15/89)
>In article <5261@merrimack.edu> RAND@merrimack.edu (Rand P. Hall) writes: >>Other than degaussing, can anyone suggest a way to get previously >>initialized disks to appear uninitialized? Try using a magnet, holding it very close to the magnetic surface after sliding the cover away. You may have trouble finding a magnet strong enough. If you want to do this often and quickly, use one of the powerful electro-magnet devices, normally used for de-magnetizing the heads of audio-tape decks. But beware: They tend to be *very* strong, ie everything in a radius of two meters may be destroyed. -- Stefan Lindmark Email: d88-sli@nada.kth.se Snail-mail: Don't even bother... If everybody helped one newuser today, the world would look a bit happier.
bernard.becker@canremote.uucp (BERNARD BECKER) (09/15/89)
Select erase disk from menu. When the disk is half finished formatting shut the Mac off. This is really inelegant but it works. The next time you put the disk in it will say it is not a Mac disk etc.... Children DO NOT DO THIS AT HOME. This technician is a trained monkey and has been taught by professionals. If you do this to your Mac and it dies well, youve been warned. I discovered this when while formatting a disk my wife plugged in the iron and the kettle at the same time. Everyone should be forced to live in ancient and crumbling buildings. Oh the multitudinous benefits of Rent Controlled Buildings. <<BB>> --- * Via ProDoor 3.1aR
allbery@NCoast.ORG (Brandon S. Allbery) (09/16/89)
As quoted from <5261@merrimack.edu> by RAND@merrimack.edu (Rand P. Hall): +--------------- | Other than degaussing, can anyone suggest a way to get previously | initialized disks to appear uninitialized? +--------------- I reformat them on my Toshiba T1000. ++Brandon -- Brandon S. Allbery, moderator of comp.sources.misc allbery@NCoast.ORG uunet!hal.cwru.edu!ncoast!allbery ncoast!allbery@hal.cwru.edu bsa@telotech.uucp, 161-7070 BALLBERY (MCI), ALLBERY (Delphi), B.ALLBERY (GEnie) Is that enough addresses for you? no? then: allbery@uunet.UU.NET (c.s.misc)
pepke@loligo (Eric Pepke) (09/19/89)
Anecdote: A long time ago, I had an industrial strength bulk tape eraser. The thing drew about 10 amps. When you put a tape on it and turned it on, the tape vibrated and made a noise rougly equivalent to a steam jackhammer. One had to take the tape at least 10 feet away from the eraser before switching it off to avoid magnetizing the tape from the half cycle when the switch opened. At this time, I had some low density TRS-80 disks I wanted to erase, and I figured this would be a good way to do it. I rubbed each disk on the deguasser for about 30 seconds. As far as I could tell, not a single bit was erased. The oxide they use on disks is HARD. If you want to erase disks, make sure your deguasser is designed for the job. Eric Pepke INTERNET: pepke@gw.scri.fsu.edu Supercomputer Computations Research Institute MFENET: pepke@fsu Florida State University SPAN: scri::pepke Tallahassee, FL 32306-4052 BITNET: pepke@fsu Disclaimer: My employers seldom even LISTEN to my opinions. Meta-disclaimer: Any society that needs disclaimers has too many lawyers.