1237ceddf5dc
tech



Hello Wayne - 

WC>> I know W.D. has such a utility, I have it here. I think
WC>> W.D. now supplies this with the drive but back in 97 I had
WC>> to pull it off the web site. 

CA>> That utility would be more of a last resort to block out
CA>> bad sectors when the reserve sectors are all used up. 

WC> Ran it after the W.D. drive head crash, too many bad
WC> sectors to repair it exited with a meaningless numeric
WC> error message. Contacted W.D. and their customer service
WC> could not adaquately explain what it mean't other than
WC> "replace the drive." From running the utility it appears
WC> there were a great many spare sectors on the platter before
WC> it opted out. 

Once the mechanism can no longer function it's hopeless.
Software can only do just so much. In a 'progressive' failure
where the media is breaking down blocking bad sectors would buy
some time. 

CA>>> When I worked as a PC consultant I maintained several
CA>>> months of daily reports on employee efficiency (detailed)
CA>>> and the telephone system for 4-6 months plus training
CA>>> texts and other graphs and charts all on one 110 meg hard
CA>>> drive. :-) 

WC>> I recall DOS based data base programs that were quite
WC>> efficient. 

CA>> Yes they are. This system used software written by me and
CA>> a few commercial apps like LOTUS and TELIX (to connect to
CA>> the PBX for programming etc.). 

WC> I've used Lotus and one other early DOS based data base. I
WC> also used Telix for the trial period and really liked it
WC> but finding the freeware Panther 2.0 decided to keep my
WC> cash. 

WC> Deleted Panther quite some time ago due to lack of local
WC> dialup BBS's in this area. 

For dialups I use {COMMO}. It's the fastest terminal app I've
found and has a very extensive macro language. 

--8<--cut 

WC> I'm getting the hang of Windows 98, it's just so simple I
WC> was having difficulty getting accustomed to it. Now when
WC> something _breaks_ in software that's a whole other story
WC> ;-) 

In some ways it is the simplicity that fools you. The
opportunity to right-click in many places eluded me for quite
some time. I wasn't even thinking about any of that. :-) 

>
>        ,                          ,
>      o/      Charles.Angelich      \o       ,
>       __o/
>     / >          USA, MI           < \   __\__
 

___ * ATP/16bit 2.31 * 
... DOS the Ghost in the Machine! http://www.undercoverdesign.com/dosghost/

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