"D Yuniskis" wrote in message
...
Gareth Magennis wrote:

In this case there is no OS on the disk at all, the 2480 does not boot
from it.

Sure, but the code running in the device still has some concept
of what *it* thinks a disk will "look like". Whatever the
prevailing psychosis regarding disks happened to be at the time
the device was manufactured... :

I have successfully upgraded the 2480's OS via MIDI onto its onboard
Flash, with no valid hard drive installed. The drive is purely storage.

Does this make things any easier?

You still have the "what do I think a 'disk' looks like" issue.

If it is just used for storage, do you have to *put* anything on
it, initially? I.e., can the device cope with a "blank" (though
formatted!) disk?

If this is the case, format it as I described (in a PC).

OTOH, if you need to "initialize" it's contents, then you will
want to clone an image off of a "preciously initialized" disk...

Is cloning the new drive from the working (noisy) one a viable
proposition?

Yes. "Clonezilla" (et al.) is your friend... You will still
need to do this in a PC -- though you can do it on a PC with the
covers off and your disk(s) (the one being cloned and then the
one you are cloning *to*) dangling from their cables (I have a
small PC that I use for this -- set the drive on top of
the CD-ROM (on top of a pad of paper acting as an insulator)
and "borrow" the cable from the existing disk drive in the PC)

BTW, it probably wouldn't hurt to save a copy of the disk images
that Clonezilla builds for you onto CD or DVD (depending on how
large they actually are) so you have them as a fallback *when*
your disk dies...




I will certainly be giving this a go.



Cheers to you and M.P.

Gareth.