The Very Long Night of Sam Kleinman

[Tycho Morgan]

I hope all have noticed that I haven’t been around this site much recently; the only thing worse than being someone no one knows, is not being missed or even noticed when you are gone. In any case, for my own piece of mind I’ll assume that you all have noticed that I haven’t been around and that you all care what has happened to me. <br /><br />It all started two weeks ago. One morning my usually stable computer with Windows 2000 Professional inexplicably crashed. I had to get on with my day so I left it, and I didn’t think of it much and completely forgot about it because of the hour, and other commitments that I had that day. When I got home it wouldn’t boot up at all. It would freeze at the end of the first progressing bar (the one in black and white, no pictures that just says “Starting Windows” above it). I consulted with a number of people: a lot of people had no clue and just wished me luck, some people told me it was a fragged disk, others suggested that it was a problem with the installation, and others still suggested that it was a problem with the hardware. Since I can’t get the Windows setup disk to work, and the hard drive is on NTFS, I don’t have anyway of further diagnosing the problem. A few short days latter I pronounced the darned thing dead. So it looks like I’m going to have to get a new computer, which I was really hopping to push back at least another year or two (Writing isn’t the most lucrative profession after all). In the mean time, however long that is, I have a laptop that is slower than what I’m used to, but it’ll have to do until I can get a new computer.<br /><br />If that weren’t interesting enough, there’s more! Right about the time this all happened <a href="http://www.collectivearts.net">CollectiveArts</a> moved to another sever and Content Management System (CMS). So I was there I was, stuck, redoing more of the pages of that site than I had ever intended, installing an unknown and foreign CMS, and creating a full set of templates using a system I had no experience with. The end result is a site with even better dynamic content, a fully functional <a href="http://www.collectivearts.net/mobile/">mobile site</a> with a <a href="http://www.mazingo.net/pc/subscribe.php?site_id=1442&src=102">mazingo channel</a>, less headache for me in the end, and new division for columns, in addition to a number of other things. It was tough to pull off, but I’m glad to have finally gotten it all done. <br /><br />This only really matters if you care about—or remember—me and what I’ve been up to. If you only care about Pocket PCs and related stuff you probably didn’t like me anyway--<i>that was a joke, if you didn’t get it, please don't blame/hurt me, just mutter this guy is nutty and move on to the next post</i>. I will tell you that I’ve posted a <a href="http://www.collectivearts.net/tech/archives/000116.shtml">review of the Jornada Stowaway Keyboard</a> on CollectiveArts’ Tech Musings. I’m also writing a series of articles for <a href="http://www.palmpower.com">Palm Power Magazine</a> on eBooks and related issues, the first of which will debut in the may issue when ever they release it. eBooks are a fairly neutral topic, and I tend to be platform neutral terms anyway, so it might be of interest to Pocket PC Thoughts readers. <br /><br />So <i>that’s</i> where I’ve been. How about you?

[Paragon]

Oh! I thougth you were in Cancun. Wait that was Jason....which one are you again? :D

Sorry things aren't going well, Sam. When something dies on me I look at it as a positive thing... I have no excuse now, but to go out and get a new one. No matter if I can afford it or not. That is how progress works in my house. I have a feeling the day after the new Xscale devices are announced my Jornada is going to slip out of my hand and land in the toilet.... darn I'll just have to get a new one. :D

Dave

[BevHoward]

>> crash/lost &lt;&lt;

Been there... done that... welcome back.

[st63z]

That's why for my home Win machines I'm always waffling back and forth between FAT and NTFS...

[entropy1980]

This is why i keep a dedicated box laying around to back up all my data to once a week, it sounds worse than it is... but all it is is a cheap duron machine with a 40 gig drive which i dump everything onto it's sole purpose is to be a file server nothing else, backups are pretty speedy over the network, I play around with new software too much and dual booting with Linux makes for a whole other set of fun :wink: so I have learned my lesson.... nothing beats a good back-up regimine...... unless of course the backup machine goes down...... :twisted:

[st63z]

I like imaging the HDDs in all my home PCs as protection for OS/software rollbacks. I've gradually taken this process further and further.

I now use cheap FastTrak RAID 1 controllers (with a minimum of 3 identical drives for each to rotate several sets of backups), using swappable IDE enclosures (was using KingWin KF-21's, then Promise SuperSwaps, now Addonics Combo Hard Drives and Pocket ExDrives).

Norton Ghosting (corporate edition) multiple clients to a network host is a good idea too (been planning to buy this for workplace). At home though, nothing beats the convenience of swapping trays for your boot drive and getting back up instantly (plus you can physically take the swapped out disk trays for offsite protection).

And if Ghost/Drive Image imaging or FastTrak BIOS mirror building takes too long and is too much of a backup hassle (what with you having to boot to DOS and all), then a realtime RAID 1 eliminates the process altogether -- just swap out one of the mirror pair when the system is idle and rotate in one of the extra drives and it'll rebuild the array in Windows the background silently.

The multiple HDD costs do add up, especially if you're using more than one online drive for each system (then you need to buy multiple identical clones of each "drive").

The other annoying cost has been switching out all the frames/trays for all the PCs whenever I'm moving to something else. The reason I like the Addonics now is that they're so versatile (both the CHD for 3.5" HDDs and P. ExDrive for 2.5" HDDs). They can be used as normal (fanned) IDE trays just like KingWin/Promise/Kingston/CRU models (they even have removable bezels for front-loading IDE drives like the KingWin), but can also be used as external hot-plug drives using interchangeable USB 2.0, 1394a (Oxford 911), and PC Card/CardBus cables (in this regard, they seem more elegant/less clunky than competitor Kanguru -- in fact, they're among the smallest empty enclosures I've found, where you could still buy your own drives for cheaper). And all Addonics drives share this same architecture (they make other nifty drives, such as a miraculously small DVD/CD-RW pocket drive). And whenever it's technically feasible, you can run any of them off bus power (USB can power the P. ExDrive, 1394/PC Card can power most, CardBus is in between) -- when not feasible, they have a wide variety of power options (slimline transformer, PS/2 pass-thru, auto adapter, AA batt pack).

And Addonics are compliant to the standards, so *NO* proprietary driver under most OSes when using the external interfaces (especially under the various Windows flavors and some Mac/Linux, but they still have drivers for other OSes like DOS, Solaris, even the Pocket PC for the P. ExDrive, which has previously been mentioned here). They also support other cool features such as USB/PC Card booting with compliant recent BIOSes... As you can tell, I've been somewhat impressed :)

The bad: for portable HDD use, the enclosures don't really provide any special shock/rubber bumper protection. And as standard IDE trays, they're plastic, not the all-metal frames/trays of the competition (trade-off of weight vs. heat conduction dissipation, though in actuality the dual fans already do the job for today's much cooler running HDDs). Also, the current revision of the CHD still uses jumpers (apparently the external interfaces aren't compatible with DMA operation so you must switch back and forth to PIO). But the bad news is that the jumpers are inside the tray itself, and are next to impossible to access when a drive's already mounted. I'm still waiting for their tech to let me know when the new revision is coming in...

Darn it, I've gone and wrote me another off-topic rant (must be the StorageReview flashbacks)...

[Will T Smith]

Interesting,

My WinXP installation started doing that today. Same catch-22. The install disk thinks WinXP is on a non-existent partition. It's scanning un-allocated space and locks up. Partition magic reports a "too few clusters" error. However, without CHKDSK, I cannot fix it. I'll probably install move the drive into my other system and try fixing it from there.

There is a definite need for robust NTFS recovery software that runs off of CD-RW, ZIP or LS-120. It must read and write NTFS and fix common installation issues regarding partition tables, active sectors, basic boot configuration, etc...

BTW, if anyone has any hints for me, please let me know.

[lawnman]

purchase a new machine? Just buy a new hardrive or do a lowlevel format of the current one and start over.

[Elric]

Have you tried NTFSDOS to get to the NTFS partition? Great utility...and it's free.


http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/NTFSDOS.shtml

[Tari Akpodiete]

i didn't know you were a Babylon 5 fan...

[Tycho Morgan]

i didn't know you were a Babylon 5 fan...


THANK YOU!!!! I was waiting for someone to make that connection. I was wondering when someone would point that out. Jeff is usually good for that, but its good that we didn't leave it to him. I'm a rather large B5 fan (as is Jeff) in fact. My avatar is vaguly B5 as well. Anyway...

Let me give you a few more details about my computer situation.

It is/was a cheep low level HP. 533 Celeron, with 64 megs of ram (original) and 10 gigs of drive space. The Windows 2000 is my doing. As is the 384 megs of ram. This is the reason that replacing faulty hardware is virtualy impossible, it is also the reason that Customer Support/Waranties will be of no help (They want me to bring it back to factory specs, which I can't reasonably do). Its also in a MircoATX case which means you had better be happy with what they give you becasue you aren't going to fit anything else in the case.

I'm working on a nearly non-existant budget. When I say, I can't (and won't) be able to aford a new computer untill the end of the summer or later, I'll be lucky to have my own computer again by the end of September.

This isn't the worst thing in the world. I have this laptop which I can use for as long as I need to. Its slow, has lower resolution than I'd like, and is virtualy unportable (battery has a life of one thirtyith of an hour), but it will do, and I'm getting used to it.

That computer is dead, and moving on is the most effective use of my time and energy. Having reciently learned that the most demanding of my summer activites has been reduced to a handful of tolken apearences, so I'll be able to dedicate my time this summer to writing (I hope to have a draft of a manuscript by Labor Day; my fingers are crossed), and a number of freelance projects that will hopefully help me gather the money for a new computer.

Having said all of that, and after telling you that I'm ready to come back. It seems I'm way over extended this weekend, and won't be able to do much of anything. And my long cascade of tests starts a week from monday.... I should really shut up now becasue the more I talk the more I remember I have to do in a two hour period tomorow afternoon.

Cheers,

Sam

[st63z]

Have you tried NTFSDOS to get to the NTFS partition? Great utility...and it's free.

http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/NTFSDOS.shtml


Oh yeah, I keep forgetting to use this even when I had occasion to in the past. I couldn't afford all the Winternal prices for personal use, and for some reason had dismissed the Sysinternal read-only version from my mind...

BTW, a relative of mine just bought a $319 Duron PC from http://half.ebay.com (linked from the front page). I know PC prices have been low, but I haven't checked lately, and I'm pretty impressed with what you can get nowadays (unless it's DOA, I don't think you can be disappointed for the price)? Makes me frustrated how I've been squandering the meager $$$ I had and can't afford anything now...


(off hunting down the obscure B5 reference...)

[Tari Akpodiete]

you know, i was looking at that avatar and wondering. for me, i was having trouble deciding between Xena and Ivanova. by the way: i have all of Babylon 5, except for 'Sleeping in Light' in divx format, plus all the movies, except for 'River of Souls', and all of Crusade. too bad i will have to resize them all to watch them on my pocket pc, but i am thrilled to have them.

[Aceze]

If you ever run Win2K, and decide to go NTFS - I urge you to STRONGLY consider installing the Win2K Recovery Console (it's part of Win2K, and the installation only takes a few minutes and ~7mb). It's "Dos" for NTFS, and will allow you to boot to a CLI to investigate problems you're having with your OS.

Not enough people know this, and that's a shame. I've solved many a problem with Win2K booting/startup using the Recovery Console. Look it up on the web, there's many an article on it. Needless to say, it's required on every 2K box I roll out.

Aceze