On Wed, 2 Jun 2010 12:24:19 -0700 (PDT), mike
wrote:
I'd like to compare notes
on using mhdd, but I didn't take any notes, so probably would get a
bunch of stuff wrong if I tried to recollect correctly;
We'll, I wouldn't mind, but there's a problem. I don't keep any
obviously defective drives and only save the paperwork on the good
drives. The ones in between are kinda arbitrary. I'll keep results
on the newer and better drives, but not on the older marginal junk.
It's really not that much of a time burner. I have several test
machines and boards, and usually let them run overnight.
However, after getting familar with the program, I do
feel that it does a pretty good job of pointing out a hopeless drive.
My rule-of-thumb is that if the diagnostic says it's bad, it's almost
certainly bad. If the diagnostic says it's good, it might be, but
might also be bad due to some reason that wasn't obvious or tested. I
once tested a drive (with a different program) that had obvious
bearing spin (very noisy), but tested good.
On a slightly different subject, when I got curious about the
definition of 'low-level format', I did some googling on the subject
and checked out the Wikipedia for a bit and now I don't know whether I
even did any low-level formatting in the last few days, though I do
know that I used to in the early 80's - oh, well I guess that's
"progress' for ya.
Low level format is usually done by the factory, and never again. It's
places the sector numbers and servo tracks on the platter. There are
programs that plug into the diagnstic port of the drive that will
recreate the sector numbers, bios preload area, diagnostic tracks, and
landing zone allocation, but not the servo tracks. If the drive seems
to require a new primary format, give up now.
Hint: I have a 15 year old Conner CP1060S 1GB drive sitting in my SCO
Unix 3.2v4.2 server. It's been running continuously since about
1995(?). Three mother boards (486DX2/66), one video card, and one
Wangtek tape controller card have blown up during this time. The
secret to long HD life is leave it running all the time and protect it
from power and static electricity glitches. I have other servers that
have done almost as well, but this one is my oldest.
--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060
http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558