Sorry to hear that Gerald, With all the options these days for backing up, there is no reason not to, but in my experience the majority of people don't backup. A simple 2GB usb drive can be had for way less than 50 bucks at Wal Mart, no need to worry about backing up the entire drive, just back up the data, re-install the OS and restore data, viola, you are back in business with a fresh install running like the day she was born. 2GB is plenty enough for the average users data.
Also there are a lot of really cheap data recovery apps out there that will do some really amazing things with crashed OS'es as far as recoving data, my favorite, File Scavenger works great, you can install your bad drive in another PC as a slave, I mean one so screwed that windows claims it's not even formatted, and file scavenger will not only read it, it will allow you to get every file off it, the demo allows like a limit of 50 files recovered, but the full blown version is only 50 bucks. I wish I had a nickle for every gig of data I have recovered with that one. Also people should remember that you can lose data to good ol Windoze flipping out just as easy as the hard drive failing. Even more reason to back up. However that "kerchunk" is a sure fire sign of a armature being screwed up and not aligning with the platters, however I have used a few light taps with a hammer on those and actually gotten them to work long enough to recover data. There is a very outside chance your fault could be on the PCB, if you could find another identical drive, swap PCB's and you may get lucky, I have recovered a few that way, but the "kerchunk" is about the worst of hard drive failure symptoms. One more thing, I have revived "kerchunked" drives by placing them in the freezer, sometimes the contraction of the metals caused by cold will get them working, however they don't work long, you gotta work fast if it happens to come up. Good luck K4FX > Gerald > > Next time a hard drive fails (and there will be a next time) you may > want to give Spinrite a try. Steve Gibson has made his living for over > 20 years from this program. It is not cheap but has an awesome track > record for hard drive recoveries. > > Look at http://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm > > Happy Holidays > > Rick ve3mm > > On 18-Dec-07, at 7:20 PM, Gerald Youngblood (FlexRadio Systems) wrote: > >> I can personally vouch for the need to back up! Yesterday, I heard my >> laptop disk suddenly start going, "kirchunk, kirchunk, >> kirchunk,...." The >> disk activity light stayed on continuously and when I did the CTRL/ >> ALT/DEL >> it went blue screen. My heart sank. I did a hard shutdown and >> tried to >> reboot. I goes to the point where it tries to access the disk and >> then it >> goes, "kirchunk, kirchunk, kirchunk,...." >> >> Well, I have over 15 years of address book and email records stored in >> Outlook with no backup. I dropped it off at a disk recovery company >> here in >> Austin today. They say the cost will range from $400 to $1,900 >> depending on >> the damage. >> >> I knew better but I kept promising myself I would look into online >> backup >> over the holidays. I think Murphy was listening to my promise. :>( >> >> Take heed all, lest yours crashes too. >> >> 73 and Merry Christmas to all, >> Gerald >> President >> FlexRadio Systems >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Ken N9VV >> Sent: Tuesday, December 18, 2007 10:06 AM >> To: Flex-radio Reflector >> Subject: [Flexradio] [OT] please backup your PC >> >> >> Dear friends on the Flex list, >> >> this is a nagging reminder to lease backup your PC on a regular basis. >> ------------------------------------------ >> Clean your disk of junk >> (C:\Windows\system32\cleanmgr.exe) >> >> Clean off your old Internet cache (history) in IE or your favorite >> browser >> >> Defrag your disk (C:\Windows\system32\dfrg.msc) >> (http://www.auslogics.com/disk-defrag/) >> >> Check your disk for file integrity and consistency >> [best done from SAFE mode - F8 when booting] >> C:\WINDOWS\system32\chkdsk.exe /F >> C:\WINDOWS\system32\chkntfs.exe >> >> W4TME recommends a good Registry Cleaner like >> RegistryFix http://www.registryfix.com >> ----------------------------------------- >> Please backup your important files. Write them to a CDROM or DVD. >> [do a test later to be *sure* you can read the CDROM/DVD] >> Keep the CD in a safe place. >> >> Don't forget: >> [ ] The XYL files, kids homework, music, IM, email >> [ ] Bookmarks or Favorites >> [ ] Address book and Email files >> [ ] Documents and important letters >> [ ] Spreadsheets >> [ ] Electronic Log entries and digi program sub-directories >> [ ] AIM Buddy List >> [ ] Skype Contact List >> [ ] Favorite DOS programs >> [ ] wav and mp3 recordings >> [ ] All those Field Day, shack and antenna pictures >> [ ] Digi mode files and programs (EasyPal, FDMDV, VAC, vCOM) >> [ ] Propagation programs >> [ ] DX Cluster access files >> [ ] TortoiseSVN files >> [ ] Teamspeak subdir >> [ ] Any text files containing LICENSE keys >> >> It *can* happen to you! - disk manufacturers stay in business by >> selling >> hard drives. Their high performance disks can fail after 36 months of >> continuous use. >> >> Back up and be safe! >> Happy Holidays to all the Flexers, >> de ken n9vv >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> FlexRadio mailing list >> FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz >> http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz >> Archive Link: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ >> FlexRadio Knowledge Base: http://kb.flex-radio.com/ >> FlexRadio Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/ >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> FlexRadio mailing list >> FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz >> http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz >> Archive Link: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ >> FlexRadio Knowledge Base: http://kb.flex-radio.com/ >> FlexRadio Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/ > > > _______________________________________________ > FlexRadio mailing list > FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz > http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz > Archive Link: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ > FlexRadio Knowledge Base: http://kb.flex-radio.com/ > FlexRadio Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/ > > > -- > This message has been scanned for viruses and > dangerous content by MailScanner, and is > believed to be clean. > -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. _______________________________________________ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archive Link: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ FlexRadio Knowledge Base: http://kb.flex-radio.com/ FlexRadio Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
