Computer help! (Not piano related...)

[John M. Formsma]

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Brian,

I have done what you need done, but only with a tower system.  What you have
to do is temporarily "install" the drive into the new computer, then copy
the old info onto the new drive.  I like using DOS for this since you can
easily see which files are what.  However, on a laptop, you may need
something that I've seen in catalogues.  It is a device that allows you to
use an old hard drive with any parallel port.  If memory is correct, it
sells for around $40-55, including the case to protect the drive.  I don't
have any experience with this, but I bet it would work for your situation.

Sometimes in a hard drive failure, much of the information is still there
and recoverable.  What I've observed is that the boot sector (what makes the
computer start in DOS, Windows, etc.) gets corrupted, which is why your
machine won't start.  The other info is probably there and uncorrupted.
Also, before you run out to get a new drive, try reformatting to see if that
will cure the problem.  If the drive is only 1.5 years old, it should still
be good--maybe even under warranty.   Some drives are warranted for 3-5
years.

If you need any more particulars, I'll be glad to help, but contact me in
the next two days.  I'll be gone the rest of the week.

Hope you get it going.

John Formsma

  -----Original Message-----
  From: owner-pianotech@ptg.org [mailto:owner-pianotech@ptg.org]On Behalf Of
Brian Trout
  Sent: Sunday, September 12, 1999 6:32 PM
  To: pianotech@ptg.org
  Subject: Computer help! (Not piano related...)


  Hi list,

  Any of you computer types out there care to offer an opinion?

  I'm typing this on a new laptop computer.  I love it.  It's 3 times the
computer my old one (only 1 1/2 years old) is/was.

  I'd really like to retrieve some of the old information from my old
computer, but I'm not sure I can.  Basically, it has begun hard drive
failure, and most of the information that I would like to access is there on
the hard drive.  It will boot up, but it will not run Windows, even in the
'safe' mode.  I've tried running the Scandisk program that was onboard, but
it keeps finding errors it can't fix.  When it gets to the disk scan, it
keeps finding sections of the hard drive that are "about to fail" and moves
the info to another part of the disk.  And talk about slow... the Scandisk
program files tell me that it 'should' take about 10 minutes for a disk
scan... it took 4 hours to go through 10% and then quit because it couldn't
handle the job. Anybody have any suggestions?  Do you think a program like
Norton utilities or another similar program would be able to help me?  or is
it too late?

  I've been a bad boy for not backing up my work earlier.  I'm thinking of
replacing the hard drive on the old computer, and perhaps looking into a zip
drive for a little more secure backup.  I'm also in the market for a program
like Norton utilities, or a similar product.  But I sure would like to have
some of that old info...

  The upside is, now I have a portable computer and can play with the
Tunelab program I downloaded!!

  Anyway, if you have an idea, thought, suggestion, or note of sympathy, I'm
receiving them all with open ears.  :-)

  Thanks,

  Brian Trout
  Quarryville, PA
  btrout@desupernet.net


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