I have returned

[Harold_V]

In regards to the discussion on computers, I'm not particularly troubled by having it here, on this forum. If anyone has a preference, maybe we can move it, but considering we don't have a proper forum to address the issue, I'm open to suggestion.

I consider the use of the computer to be of importance to everyone one the forum. That they choose to use Microsoft products, or not, is the only real consideration. The vast majority of readers use Microsoft, so it's a general interest subject, one that can spell the difference between gaining access to the forum, or not. Anything anyone can do to promote knowledge in that regard should feel free to do so.

Harold

 

[butcher]

Hello Randy, glad your back, been mining?

All of this computer talk is really making me feel like a dummy, I not sure what language these guys are talking in bits or bytes?

 

[nickvc]

Hello Randy, glad your back, been mining?

All of this computer talk is really making me feel like a dummy, I not sure what language these guys are talking in bits or bytes?

Gees I'm glad I'm not the only one they could be talking ancient Babylonian for all the sense it makes to me

 

[Spiritfire]

In answer to questions, yes I mine material all the time (except when snow and cold locks it away for three months). The hard driver was definitely dead. But it operated well for 6 years in a computer that did not have proper air flow. I believe heat was the problem. My new hard drive is in a case that has adequate air flow from front, side, and back fans, and I am even adding more fans.

The only thing that has stopped me from setting up a raid array is lack of money. I am working on it. But upgrading my ram comes first.

I work on Windows 7 and I love it. It is much better than Windows Vista. I even did Beta testing on Windows 7 when the Beta was first available. I will be adding a second hard drive in either February or March, depending on the bills.

About mining: I have discovered a large zone of gold and silver mineralization which is nearly one mile wide and nearly 15 miles along. The values are good and I am developing the property.

Randy in Gunnison

 

[butcher]

Randy, hope you do well on the strip of ground your working, I am no computer guy, but save your old hard disk you may to be able to find a used hard drive of same brand and change out disk inside to copie your old disk?

 

[Shaul]

Welcome back, Randy;

Recently I had a similar problem to yours. After installing a new internal hard drive, I experienced a meltdown. For some unknown reason the new hard drive was having major conflict issues with something in my motherboard. I've run XP-Pro for some years now but have never had a problem like this.
One of my sons who's a computer Tech installed Raid and managed to solve the conflict problems, but all-in-all I still managed to lose about a month and a half's worth of email files, plus contact info and other stuff.
Now I've got a second (external) hard drive just for backup.

There's nothing like losing important information, to make you want to spend the extra money for a backup drive.
Well worth the investment.


Shaul

 

[ps2fixer]

@Shaul

I just wanted to point out to have a game plan if the backup drive dies instead of your main drive. I am Techy and make programs and lost a couple years of projects because I didn't think of "what if" the backup drive dies. Greatest thing is, the drive was only used about a month, but was well over a year old since I bought it and it had a read/write head crash (mechanical).

@Harold

I know this site isn't directed twords computers, but I have seen sites which had their normal subject and at the bottom had an off topic section which commonly had computer related topics in them. I'm not trying to say this site needs it, but I think it could be an added bonus, big time since serveral people here get computers that should have a fair to good resale value as working. Laptops are in the same boat too, parts vs fully working systems.

 

[ReapHer_6]

Randy, hope you do well on the strip of ground your working, I am no computer guy, but save your old hard disk you may to be able to find a used hard drive of same brand and change out disk inside to copie your old disk?

I am not trying to be a party pooper. But we run a class 100 clean room for all platter stack change outs.. It is done all the time, but you must never try it your self with a drive you NEED the data from. The only thing you can do is see if changing the circuit board out with an identical one (under the drive) helps. If you absolutely must have the data and the only way is to go in and get it physically from the platters (disks) you are going to have to send it to a pro.

You will be looking at $800.00 to $2500.00 for the job by a reputable company. You will have to pay a fee to have an estimate, and they usually have a no recovery, no pay policy. But if you open the cover outside of a minium class 100 clean room, they usually won't touch it. A single dust partical will destroy all it touches and a human hair is 100 times (estimated) thicker than the space between the platter and the drive head that is suspended above it (actually there are multiple heads and platters, and the job of changing out the stacka are left to our senior techs.


Remember the failure rate of all hard drives is 100%. Its not if, but when will it fail. Are you prepaired? Anything you value as mission critical... (that can mean your family pics, music, gold spreadsheets what ever is important to you) must have a failover plan. A minimum of a second storage place not on the same HDD. Next, backup to another machine on a network, laslty use a thumbdrive. For those of use who secure mission critical data for a living rotate storage media offsite (external, and or thumb drives) in case of the un thinkable. Like Katrina. Ask yourself this, If a plane hit your building and you backup strat was to keep a weekly backup on another computer in the office or on an external plugged into your pc, or even a network data server, what then? No specialist is going to retieve data from a charcoal brickette.

If is important enough to you, 2 words.. OFFSITE BACKUPS!! weekly, minium...




Just my .02

John S.