Is this PC doa? (was a formatting question)

[Michael Haney]

All high capacity drives have errors, this is where error correction
technology comes in.  Its normal for drives to have a certain number
of read/write errors on a daily basis, but when those numbers start to
rise above a certain threshold that's when you've got a problem.  This
is what SMART checks for, but SMART isn't as thorough and it should or
could be.

I wish there was a Linux version of this, or it was at least open
source, but there's a great piece of software for instances like this.
 Its called SpinRite, and many IT shops I've worked for used it to
recover data from failing or failed drives.  Its a disk repair utility
originally, but has been used for restoring data more so in recent
years.  The software is a bit pricey, like $99US.  Its a tiny program
that takes up just a few k and creates an ISO image you burn to a CD.
This is a FreeDOS LiveCD that contains the utility software.  It
supports Linux, Mac, and Windows file systems.

Its made by Gibson Research Corporation which is owned by Steve
Gibson, the guy beyond the Shields Up test for testing the security of
your router.  I don't know if there's a Linux equivalent to this
software.  Its tiny but powerful.  Doesn't anybody know of any free
software that can do the same stuff SpinRite can do?

-- 
Michael "TheZorch" Haney
"The greatest tragedy in mankind's entire history may be the hijacking
of morality by religion." ~ Arthur C. Clarke
"The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion and
politics, but it is not the path to knowledge, and there is no place
for it in the endeavor of science. " ~ Carl Sagan

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