Re: What is a HD crash?

["Seth D. Kadesh" <thes+@CMU.EDU>]

gachenb@eis.calstate.edu (Greg R. Achenbach) writes:
> OK, I'm new to this HD stuff.  I just got a GS recently and want to get a 
> HD.  I found one (CMS 40) for $75.  The owner said that it crashed.  She 

That's not a very good price, especially if it's a refurbished drive.
New, larger sized drives sell for about $1.50/meg (this is a bare
drive - no case or power supply).

> got it repaired and is now afraid to use it for fear of loosing more 
> data.  My questions:
> 
> 1. What is a HD clash?

Could be a variety of things.  The term is typically used to refer to
a head crash, where the read/write head comes in contact with the disk
platter (this is bad).

It can also refer to a motor failure, a circuit board failure, a blown
fuse...a HD crash really is just about anything that causes the drive
to fail.

> 2. What would the repair shop have done (if anything) to fix it?
> 3. Is a HD that has crashed unreliable?

Depends on what the problem was.  I don't know what they would do in
the case of a head crash.  Other problems are easier to fix.

> 4. Does this sound like a good deal?

Not really.  Ask her if she knows exactly what was wrong.

> 5. What else should I look at when I go see this thing?  (I don't have a 
> SCSI card yet to be able to test it out)

About all that you can do is make sure that it powers on, spins up,
and doesn't make any funny noises.

  Seth ---> thes+@cmu.edu		It is not enough to watch.
"I said 'Forget Topsoil, Think Tinfoil, There's tons of kids who want
to get tanned.'" - Think Tree