jaclaz

Well, with all due respect , that's incomplete/unfinalized anecdotal reference at it's best. You had a working (revived) disk drive inside a "botched" enclosure (or maybe an old model not able to recognize a disk bigger than - say - 128 Gb). A working disk will work as direct connection AND inside a working USB enclosure. Some "half-botched" disks may send *queer* signals to the BIOS or to the OS when connected directly preventing booting, while the on-board controller of the USB enclosure may be less sensitive to it, as well some timing problems that are critical in the booting phase may be avoided by connecting the disk to an already booted system. You can also fake that the Sata connection is actually an e-sata connection, thus allowing hot-plug of the disk directly after boot. Unfortunately this is only part "science", the other part being "magic" or "luck" or "fate" or whatever you want to call something that is "immaterial" . jaclaz

Yes and no (meaning that there is NO end to the foolishness in attempting bettering things - and often completely failing at it) http://www.blackanddecker.com/power-tools/aaw100.aspx Do check the user's comments... Let's say that your car should never stop in winter http://bdk.force.com/FAQ/PKB_Article?id=kA0C0000000Cfr7KAC&brand=Black_Decker&group=&model=%22AAW100%22&type=&terms=&returl=%2Fapex%2Fpkb_search%3Fbrand%3DBlack_Decker%26mode%3D1%26model%3D%2522AAW100%2522%26sortby%3D0%26terms%3D jaclaz

I meant a Y-cable like this one: Never seen one of those, you mean something like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Oyen-Digital-Y-Cable-Micro-B-Standard/dp/B0052OJ97O They seem to be needed for *any* of USB 1.1, 2.0 or 3.0. (in the sense that you still have a female "A" connector on the motherboard, and if it USB 3.0 you don't need the "Y cable", but if it is indifferently a USB 1.1 or 2.0 you may need it) of course if the disk has a USB 3.0 "micro-B" connector. Or am I missing something? jaclaz

These are "news" for me, care to expand on this? Or are you talking of the common Y-cable to allow more than 500 mA to power the disk drive? I am not aware of a change in specs before 3.0 , i.e. the max is 5 units (of 100 mA each) on both USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 and was upgraded to 6 units (150 mA each) in USB 3.0. jaclaz

Strangely OT (ON Topic): http://blog.fosketts.net/2013/01/07/microsoft-kill-craptops-destroy-windows/ an interesting approach concluding that Windows 8 is deemed to failure anyway.... jaclaz

Yes and no. The Windows 8 is simply a "better" Windows 7 (only worse ), with a nameless crappy interface imposed on it, really, it is nothing more than Vista SP4. The issue is ONLY with the App Store/Windows Store. The technology to basically do whatever they see fit is already there, in theory they could use the automatic updates to do anything (since Windows XP - and this nicely explains why exactly the last good OS was 2K) on any PC that has them set to automatically download and install. But at least up to 7 (but I believe in 8 as well) you can turn off that feature and set it to "manual". On Windows RT you simply cannot (AFAIK) turn the Windows Store off AND since *every program* goes through it they could well package a "deleting" tool around *any* update of *any* software hosted on the Store. And most probably, since the RT is nothing but a MS version of the iOS, they have added to it the "kill switch", but I doubt that the same exists on the "real" 8 (though it could be possible, noone has yet found any trace of it, but again it could be something that they could deploy allright inside an Update *anytime*). jaclaz

Sometimes using an external USB enclosure and connecting it to an already booted system, the disk becomes accessible. You can try that and see if a disk editor, like tiny hexer or a recovery tool like DMDE can access the disk, possibly seen as RAW and thus asking to initialize it in disk management, i.e. DO NOT try opening disk management. jaclaz

Yes, this is the issue then . You should get this part clearer, this sentence makes NO sense technically: A drive (in the sense of what is assigned a drive letter to WHEN a system is booted) is EITHER a primary partition or a logical volume inside extended, and has NO drive letter assigned to it UNTIL an OS boots and assigns them. If you prefer NO drive (in the sense above) exists (only partitions and/or volumes do) until the Windows OS is booted and assigns to either partitions or volumes their drive letters. Drive letter assignment are made (at install time) automatically, if you clone that OS, they are obviously copied over and remain "sticky" (and a lot of things become "mixed", including all links and the \boot\BCD). jaclaz

Queer. Wrong. It is normal that a "clone" would not work without changes (to the Registry). What is "strange" is the reboot. you should get at the most a BSOD. From the "good", "booting" Windows 8 inspect it's Registry, you want to check the key HKLM\SYSTEM\MountedDevices http://diddy.boot-land.net/firadisk/files/mounteddevices.htm then mount the System hive of the (offline) registry of the non-working 8 and compare values. Normally, and from what I can get from your report you had a primary partition with Windows 7 (and/or possibly before it the stupid Windows 7 "boot" partition of 100 Mb) that you shrinked, then created the new partition on which you installed Windows 8. I.e. you had either of: 1st primary Partition (Windows 7 boot partition) around 100 Mb <- this gets NO drive letter when either 7 or 8 are booted 2nd primary Partition (Windows 7 system partition)<- this gets C:\ drive letter when 7 is booted and D:\ (or *whatever*) drive letter when 8 is booted 3rd primary partition (Windows 8 system partition)<- this gets C:\ drive letter when 8 is booted and D:\ (or *whatever*) drive letter when 7 is booted OR: 1st primary Partition (Windows 7 system partition)<- this gets C:\ drive letter when 7 is booted and D:\ (or *whatever*) drive letter when 8 is booted 2nd primary partition (Windows 8 system partition)<- this gets C:\ drive letter when 8 is booted and D:\ (or *whatever*) drive letter when 7 is booted WHICH of the two setups above? How EXACTLY (with which tools, with which commands, etc.) did you "clone" the 8? Most likely you still have in the mentioned keys the drive letters "the other way round", you need to edit the "offline" Registry deleting all contents of the HKLM\SYSTEM\MountedDevices EXCEPTION made for the ones: \DosDevices\C: \DosDevices\D: <-or whatever drive letter has the non-system partition then rename: the key \DosDevices\C: to \DosDevices\Z: the key \DosDevices\D: to \DosDevices\C: the key \DosDevices\Z: to \DosDevices\D: unmount the System hive, reboot and try again repairing with the recovery option, it is likely that it didn't work correctly because it was "confused" by the wrong drive lettering. jaclaz

For Apple iOS it is a concrete possibility, you can even remotely wipe a device (this is "technology at final user level") : http://support.apple.com/kb/ph2701 http://osxdaily.com/2012/06/05/remote-wipe-iphone-or-ipad/ let alone what the Apple Store can do centrally. And we do have the known examples of the e-books wiped in 2009: http://boingboing.net/2009/07/30/high-school-student-1.html and now also of users: http://boingboing.net/2012/10/22/kindle-user-claims-amazon-dele.html Cannot say about Windows 8 (the real OS) but it is VERY LIKELY that Windows RT may have this same "feature" IMHO, see: http://www.neowin.net/news/windows-8-apps-can-be-deleted-remotely-by-microsoft http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9222518/Microsoft_We_can_remotely_delete_Windows_8_apps For the record, Android may be not-so-different . jaclaz

I don't know. Last time I had issues with a device, I had to go through a quite complex workaround, see: (to avoid having to use devcon and redistibute it). In the meantime a couple new (free) thingies were found, see here (only SEEMINGLY unrelated) that may do: http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=24100 http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?s=&showtopic=24100&view=findpost&p=165126 http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?s=&showtopic=24100&view=findpost&p=165130 http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?s=&showtopic=24100&view=findpost&p=165155 So we have both Paraglider's http://www.paraglidernc.com/Files/devcontrol.7z and the Alter http://alter.org.ua/en/soft/win/drv_inst/ to experiment with... jaclaz

Wait a minute: that should mean Vista or later, it is possible that something has changed, I guess that this thread was originated about XP/2003 (and possibly earlier OS's). jaclaz

I guess that if you provide a parameter, you ALSO need to provide the other parameters. Why don' t you simply do first thing EXACTLY what has been posted on this thread? or: jaclaz

I cannot find a DefaultInstall section in that .inf file (re-read the thread). jaclaz

Well, this is NOT part of the "standard", "recoommended" guides, WHY exactly did you issued that? Or you did that on a a second attempt? Basically running the "F,,22" command is of little use unless you also check the setting (to see if it is set correctly). The checking command for the SD15 is F712, but it may vary with different firmwares. Compare with: http://www.rage3d.com/board/showpost.php?p=1336056446&postcount=6 Try restarting from scratch. FORGET about anything that you read anywhere else and just re-do the steps from THIS: http://www.mapleleafmountain.com/seagatebrick.html guide EXACTLY as they are. There are quite a few reports about people failing that succeeded by simply re-doing the procedure from scratch. jaclaz

Well, for the record, there is a "way out" without third party tools, using WMI time classes (on XP, NOT on 2K, which misses a few classes). http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee198928.aspx http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa394590(v=vs.85).aspx What is available should be: For 2K (but also for XP if one wants to have the date/time format in the "full" UTC format), writing a file and immediately get it's created or last accessed time/date may be a good enough workaround . jaclaz

Oww, come on , everyone knows how 5/6 years old kids only can read CAPITAL LETTERS and only later learn to read small letters (and only much later longhand/cursive), nothing really difficult to understand. CAPITAL LETTERS ARE EASIER and perfectly suited for the dumb (or dumbed down) intended audience . Of course the third word a kid learns to read ( after MOM and DAD) is obviously HOME and the nice MS guys made a provision to avoid the kids to become lost (from the same cited article): Humanity is doomed... . jaclaz

Sure, that may mean that the motor contacts are OK, but the head ones are not. The disk is probably trying to tell you that it cannot sense that the disk has been spinned up (basically to make sure the disk is spinning *something* is sent back to the PCB, in your case, since the drive is spinning, it means that this *something* doesn't reach the PCB - for *whatever reasons*). But it is as well possible that pre-amp or heads are "gone" . It is not that by issuing "random" commands you can get out of it. The exact sequence is given, DO NOT do foolish things such as issuing a F3 T>m0,2,2,,,,,22 on a drive that is NOT spinning! There are a few variations on the way to issue the "right" commands, try (after having re-checked contacts, BOTH motor and head) to start the disk, then do: At the F3 T> prompt type: /2 and press [ENTER], now at the F3 2> prompt only type: Z and DO NOT press [ENTER] wait a bit, you should have nonetheless the: message. (remove the cardboard if any) Now press backspace and on the same F3 2> prompt press the: U key (again without sending [ENTER]) What happens? You may want to try putting a piece of cardboard over the PCB and press over the contacts (both head and motor) with your fingers while issuing the U command. Here is another (rather clear) source confirming that the issue is often with contacts: http://www.overclock.net/t/457286/seagate-bricked-firmware-drive-fix-with-pics/40#post_7803284 Well, whenever you transmit data, the shorter the cable is, the better, but in your case this is not the issue, as all commands "go through" and feedback is received OK. jaclaz

@Tripredacus JFYI, here is the final statement: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2009/dec09/12-16statement.aspx and this is the actual Commitment (.doc format - in the evident attempt to use NOT a proprietary format ): http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/presskits/eu-msft/docs/microsoft%20commitments.doc Besides the "main" commitment related to browser ballot, this one §3, point (19) is IMHO worth a note: Of course, on my XP, if I connect to www.update.microsoft.com (with another browser) I get to: http://www.update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate/v6/thanks.aspx?ln=en&&thankspage=5 What happens from a Vista and successors? jaclaz

It seems to me like you are failing to see the "core" of the issue. Microsoft (AND NOT any OEM) in order to avoid further sanctions subscribed an agreement in which they promised to do something. This promise of something was NOT kept by Microsoft. The EU punished MS for not respecting this agreement. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/06/eu-microsoft-pix-tv-idUSL6N0BY7LX20130306 The official statement by MS is here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2012/jul12/07-17statement.aspx It seems pretty much linear to me. If we want to discuss the amount of the fine to be adequate/fair , or whether the "technical error" was actually a technical error or not (good faith, etc.) , that's fine , but no doubts whatever about it being the straightforward result of an obligation underwritten by MS not fully implemented by MS. jaclaz

I will translate the referenced article to: And this: To: @bphlpt Maybe at the light of the above "translation" , you may want to re-phrase (or make more clear) the cited comment. OT (meaning strrangely enough On Topic ) my crystal ball - sometimes - works fine: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/07/us-eu-microsoft-idUSBRE92500520130307 jaclaz

JFYI, the way the DATE /T and TIME/T behave in different versions of Windows (and in different "regional" versions) is a known "nightmare" , same happens - as an example - for "Canadian English": http://www.robvanderwoude.com/datetiment.php jaclaz

Just for the record: http://www.forensicfocus.com/Forums/viewtopic/p=6562957/#6562957 jaclaz

Well, then do it in a few instances, something *like*: gsar.exe -i -o -s"%BITS_DESCRIPTION%" -r"Transfers files in the background using idle network bandwidth.§My_append§" gsar.exe -i -o -s"§My_append§" -r" If the service is stopped, features such as Windows Update, and MSN Explorer will be unable to automatically download programs and other information.§My_append§" gsar.exe -i -o -s"§My_append§" -r"If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it may fail to transfer files if they do not have a fail safe mechanism to transfer files directly through IE in case BITS has been disabled." 1.inf might do. jaclaz

No way (that we know about and that have been tested succesfully), sorry . That should mean heads (or pre-amp) are gone for good: http://forum.hddguru.com/seagate-7200-1tb-spinup-clicking-spindown-t12769.html but in the above there is seemingly a report about someone who downgraded the firmware and then re-upgraded it that could be something to try (of course ONLY if you don't have anything to loose OR you simply cannot afford professional recovery services). Here it is hinted instead that resetting S.M.A.R.T. may help: http://forum.hddguru.com/dead-seagate-barracuda-7200-st3500320as-t17638.html If the issue is the spinning up not reaching full speed , you can try holding the drive vertical during spin up, but this is VERY near the border of "magic".... BTW, did you check the heads contacts also? jaclaz