Scandisk question

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win95.general.discussion (More info?)

The hard drive in my Windows 95 machine is dying. I have to run a thorough
scandisk about every 3 or 4 weeks when I first turn on the computer. I can
sometimes tell when it's going to run a scandisk on the next boot. Sometimes
it finds bad clusters. Sometimes it doesn't. When it finds a bad cluster it
asks if I want to retrieve the data from that cluster and store it on another
part of the disk. What I'm wondering is how can it repair the data in the
damaged cluster if it can't read the cluster in the first place?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win95.general.discussion (More info?)

A cluster consists of several sectors. Some of the sectors may be bad, and
data from the good sectors is removed and relocated, then the whole cluster
is marked bad. Data is stored in sectors, but because the computer does
not have enough address memory capability to identify all the sectors, the
sectors are grouped into clusters. Then each cluster is allowed to have
only one file, or part of a file, stored in these sectors. That does not
necessarily mean that all the sectors are used. Of course, if part of your
data was in a bad sector, Windows will move what it can, but you could have
a corrupted file when you get through.

Sounds like your should invest in another disk soon.

"DJS0302" <djs0302@aol.comnospam> wrote in message
news:20040901234349.23542.00000014@mb-m18.aol.com...
> The hard drive in my Windows 95 machine is dying. I have to run a
> thorough
> scandisk about every 3 or 4 weeks when I first turn on the computer. I
> can
> sometimes tell when it's going to run a scandisk on the next boot.
> Sometimes
> it finds bad clusters. Sometimes it doesn't. When it finds a bad cluster
> it
> asks if I want to retrieve the data from that cluster and store it on
> another
> part of the disk. What I'm wondering is how can it repair the data in the
> damaged cluster if it can't read the cluster in the first place?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win95.general.discussion (More info?)

For a file such as a text file, a section of 512 characters, not all of
which might be wrong, could be well worth preserving. For a file like an
EXE file, one bad character could render it unusable. Scandisk can't know
how sensitive the file is to incorrect data, so it offers to repair it for
you. 'Repair' should not be equated with 'recovery'. In the odd terminology
of Scandisk, the file is repaired because it is logically consistent within
the disk file system and it can be successfully accessed from disk. The
contents of the file is a different issue.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"DJS0302" <djs0302@aol.comnospam> wrote in message
news:20040901234349.23542.00000014@mb-m18.aol.com...
> The hard drive in my Windows 95 machine is dying. I have to run a
> thorough
> scandisk about every 3 or 4 weeks when I first turn on the computer. I
> can
> sometimes tell when it's going to run a scandisk on the next boot.
> Sometimes
> it finds bad clusters. Sometimes it doesn't. When it finds a bad cluster
> it
> asks if I want to retrieve the data from that cluster and store it on
> another
> part of the disk. What I'm wondering is how can it repair the data in the
> damaged cluster if it can't read the cluster in the first place?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win95.general.discussion (More info?)

On 02 Sep 2004 03:43:49 GMT, djs0302@aol.comnospam (DJS0302) wrote:

>The hard drive in my Windows 95 machine is dying. I have to run a thorough
>scandisk about every 3 or 4 weeks when I first turn on the computer.

Replace the HD, duh.

> What I'm wondering is how can it repair the data in the
>damaged cluster if it can't read the cluster in the first place?

Quite - it lies and tells you it's "fixed" even if at least one
sector's worth of content is all zeros or other garbage.

Having "fixed" the file, Scandisk no longer flags it as bad - it
can't; it has no way to know that. This is how bit-rot slithers you
into having to "just re-install Windows"; files end up containing
garbage, and you have no way to tell which files these are.

If the HD's air space is polluted, or the heads are generally wonking
out, or the surface is generally failing, then the files that are most
often accessed and/or most recently written to will be the first to
go. Think core code files, registry, most recent data...

In these circumstances, the "fixing" efforts of Scandisk (or NT's
ChkDsk) are as useless as having a make-up artist paint lipstick
smiles on trainwreck victims to cheer up dinner-time CNN footage.

Replace the HD, duh.



>-- Risk Management is the clue that asks:
"Why do I keep open buckets of petrol next to all the
ashtrays in the lounge, when I don't even have a car?"
>----------------------- ------ ---- --- -- - - - -