Can't Use Spinrite 6 for high capacity HDD's

[calvin_b]

Environment - Win2K, Dell P4, Drive 0 = 40Gb, Drive 1 = 160GB, NTFS

Situation - chkdsk indicated index problems which it fixed, but I want
to ensure that there aren't other problems in the offing

When I run Spinrite, it 'sees' the drives, but in the entry for the
160GB drive it warns that the Bios setting (Auto) does not map to the
actual layout of the drive.I cannot run any analysis or repair routines


Any ideas on how I can proceed? I've already flashed the Bios to the
latest level available from the Dell website.

TIA

calvin_b

 

[Rod Speed]

Environment - Win2K, Dell P4, Drive 0 = 40Gb, Drive 1 = 160GB, NTFS

Situation - chkdsk indicated index problems which it fixed, but
I want to ensure that there aren't other problems in the offing

When I run Spinrite, it 'sees' the drives, but in the entry for the
160GB drive it warns that the Bios setting (Auto) does not map to the
actual layout of the drive.I cannot run any analysis or repair routines

Any ideas on how I can proceed?

Presumably there is some problem with 48 bit LBA
support somewhere, since that drive is over 128G.

Check that you do have Win2K 48 bit LBA support installed and enabled.

If the problem is still seen with that fine, put the boot into Gibson.

 

[calvin_b]

Thanks for the post...48 bit LBA seems to be enabled (according to
http://www.winguides.com/registry). I have full access to the drive via
NTFS.

 

[Joep]

Thanks for the post...48 bit LBA seems to be enabled (according to
http://www.winguides.com/registry). I have full access to the drive via
NTFS.

Windows 'supporting' 48 bit LBA does not help Spinrite. Are you sure SR
isn't just reporting a geometry mismatch (BIOS <> Partition tables)?

 

[Rod Speed]

Thanks for the post...48 bit LBA seems to be enabled (according to
http://www.winguides.com/registry). I have full access to the drive via NTFS.

Yeah, I had a brain fart too, it doesnt even use 2K at all, uses dos.

Demand an answer from Gibson. There isnt anything
obvious on a quick browse of the web site on that.

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

the Bios setting (Auto) does not map to the actual layout of the drive.

Presumably that's the 'partition layout of the drive'.

I cannot run any analysis or repair routines


Presumably there is some problem with 48 bit LBA
support somewhere, since that drive is over 128G.

Check that you do have Win2K 48 bit LBA support installed and enabled.

What good will that do to DOS, Clueless?
SpinRite doesn't run under Windows.

If the problem is still seen with that fine, put the boot into Gibson.

Utterly clueless.

 

[Joep]

Demand an answer from Gibson. There isnt anything
obvious on a quick browse of the web site on that.

"Spinrite is so easy to use that it doesn't need documentation" - according
to many of the SR newsgroup folks. The website nor the old documenation (SR5
and down) shed a lot o' light on SR 6 operation, results and problems.

 

[calvin_b]

Thanks for your posts..all of you. The penny started to drop with me.
Spinrite runs under Free-Dos, so it must be subjected to the
limitations of what the OS can address in terms of disk capacity Y/N?
If so, does anyone know what those limits might be? I'm a Mac convert
(back 5 years) so i never got into the 'guts' of DOS I'm afraid.

TIA

calvin_b

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

"Spinrite is so easy to use that it doesn't need documentation" - according
to many of the SR newsgroup folks. The website nor the old documenation (SR5
and down) shed a lot o' light on SR 6 operation, results and problems.

What problems. Steve Gibson is GOD and GOD is perfect.

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

Thanks for your posts..all of you. The penny started to drop with me.
Spinrite runs under Free-Dos, so it must be subjected to the
limitations of what the OS can address in terms of disk capacity Y/N?

No. It can use bios calls direct.

If so, does anyone know what those limits might be?

Doesn't likely apply.

I'm a Mac convert
(back 5 years) so i never got into the 'guts' of DOS I'm afraid.

You could run Findpart to check whether there is a geometry mismatch
between the bios geometry translation and the a geometry parameters
used with the partition tables.

 

[Rod Speed]

Thanks for your posts..all of you. The penny started to drop with me.
Spinrite runs under Free-Dos, so it must be subjected to the
limitations of what the OS can address in terms of disk capacity Y/N?

Nope, that sort of program aint necessarily limited by the OS at all.

If so, does anyone know what those limits might be?

None that are relevant in this particular situation.

The problem is that Spinrite is ****ed.

I'm a Mac convert (back 5 years)

I wish you hadnt leapt out of that closet quite so
enthusiastically, there are clearly children reading here.

so i never got into the 'guts' of DOS I'm afraid.

Its guts are completely irrelevant to this.

 

[Eric Gisin]

You are much better off using chkdsk to check file systems,
and the drive's diagnostics and SMART to check hardware.
I doubt spinrite matches either of them.

 

[calvin_b]

What is Findpart? I have never heard of it, and how can I access it?

TIA

Calvin_b

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

What is Findpart? I have never heard of it, and how can I access it?

You are on Google, aren't you?

 

[fubar01]

Calvin_b

I've used Spinrite 6 to test drives on receipt before release to users.
Works fine with 200+ GB drives. Takes about 11 1/2 hours to do a deep
Level 4 test on a 200GB Seagate ST320022A ATA drive.

I've seen drive geometry mismatches before, but can't recall any from
Spinrite. But it is a problematic piece of software -- just check
Steve's newsfeeds/newsgroups: news.grc.com, grc.spinrite and
grc.spinrite.dev. If you really want to pursue this, post your
questions there.

I wouldn't bother, however. You should offload all your data to
another drive and reformat and repartition the drive. Then get a clean
bill of health from Spinrite (or Disk Manager or whatever) and then
reload. Everything else is a waste of time, unless you want to examine
and identify exactly what has happened.

-- Roy Zider

 

[John Doe]

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Subject: Re: Can't Use Spinrite 6 for high capacity HDD's
Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2005 16:46:05 +0200
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[QUOTE]
What is Findpart? I have never heard of it, and how can I access it?

You are on Google, aren't you?

TIA

Calvin_b

[/QUOTE]