AstroSkipper Posted April 20, 2023 Share Posted April 20, 2023 (edited) 7 hours ago, jaclaz said: Diskfresh (as well not particularly current, last version is seemingly 2013) on the other hand seems like a "normal" program (i.e. not using any particular proprietary method) so it should work just fine on more modern hard disks as it likely only uses conventional read/write procedures. If I had the need to refresh a more recent HDD, I would give DiskFresh a try. 7 hours ago, jaclaz said: It remains a mistery (to me) why, if this disk refreshing is so useful/advised by "experts", only two dedicated programs (for Dos/Windows) exist that perform this disk refreshing. A tool similar to Spinrite is HDD Regenerator. And defragmenting a partition or restoring an image has also the effect of refreshing data. So such a special tool like DiskFresh is rather targeting HDDs which were stored outside as a backup or are used rarely. And there are certainly many other tools that perform read/write operations as one of many features. Therefore, probably no need for more such specialized tools. Edited April 20, 2023 by AstroSkipper Update of content 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaclaz Posted April 20, 2023 Share Posted April 20, 2023 Yeah, sure, but HDD regenerator does so much more (at least in 60% of cases): http://www.dposoft.net/hdd.html Quote How it works Almost 60% of all hard drives damaged with bad sectors have an incorrectly magnetized disk surface. We have developed an algorithm which is used to repair damaged disk surfaces. This technology is hardware independent, it supports many types of hard drives and repairs damage that even low-level disk formatting cannot repair. As a result, previously unreadable information will be restored. Because of the way the repair is made, the existing information on the disk drive will not be affected! jaclaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroSkipper Posted April 20, 2023 Share Posted April 20, 2023 (edited) 49 minutes ago, jaclaz said: Yeah, sure, but HDD regenerator does so much more (at least in 60% of cases): Right! That's why I included it in my collection of emergency programs years ago. I have a bag with many CDs and DVDs for emergencies (more than 100). With these programs, I can access my hard drives, partitions or hardware from the outside of my Windows system partition at any time. BTW, all repairs in terms of computers I do myself, if it is still repairable at all, and have a lot of special tools and measuring instruments for this. All of my computers are built, modified and maintained by myself. AstroSkipper Edited April 20, 2023 by AstroSkipper Update of content 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UCyborg Posted April 20, 2023 Author Share Posted April 20, 2023 Hm, my computer history is shorter, the first one in second half of 90s was obsolete in few short years (133 MHz Intel Pentium, 16 MB RAM) and replaced with faster machine with 2 GHz Intel Celeron and 256 MB RAM, before any serious failure occurred. Two Maxtor disks that were subsequently used one after another in the newer computer throughout its lifetime didn't last for many years and both failed mechanically (click of death). Windows XP's BSOD was pretty much the last thing that computer displayed back then. Current computer from 2009...the 500 GB WD disk I started with (WD5000AAKS) started developing bad sectors within warranty period, I remember messing with Spinrite and HDD Regenerator, neither helped with that problem, the disk was sent back to retailer and they sent me a new similar model (WD5000AAKX). So far, I indeed cannot say I've seen pressing need or convincing (to me) evidence for regular refreshing, even for the case when data hasn't been written in a while. At least I know the other disk I refreshed still works 99,99%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroSkipper Posted April 20, 2023 Share Posted April 20, 2023 (edited) 17 hours ago, UCyborg said: Hm, my computer history is shorter, the first one in second half of 90s was obsolete in few short years (133 MHz Intel Pentium, 16 MB RAM) and replaced with faster machine with 2 GHz Intel Celeron and 256 MB RAM, before any serious failure occurred. Two Maxtor disks that were subsequently used one after another in the newer computer throughout its lifetime didn't last for many years and both failed mechanically (click of death). Windows XP's BSOD was pretty much the last thing that computer displayed back then. Current computer from 2009...the 500 GB WD disk I started with (WD5000AAKS) started developing bad sectors within warranty period, I remember messing with Spinrite and HDD Regenerator, neither helped with that problem, the disk was sent back to retailer and they sent me a new similar model (WD5000AAKX). So far, I indeed cannot say I've seen pressing need or convincing (to me) evidence for regular refreshing, even for the case when data hasn't been written in a while. At least I know the other disk I refreshed still works 99,99%. OT: My first computers were an Atari 800 XL with 64 KB RAM from 1984 and an Atari 1040 ST with 1 MB RAM (upgraded to unbeliebable 4 MB) from 1986. One year later, 1987, I bought an external Quantum HDD for my Atari 1040 ST. This HDD is now an unbelievable 36 years old and still working. And both Atari computers, too. A Quantum hard disk was something like a Mercedes at that time and of the very best quality. I am quite sure that you won't get any HDDs in these days which last such a long time. And I should mention that this Quantum HDD never got any data refreshing in all the 36 years. It seems that hard disks of such quality probably don't need that either. Edited April 21, 2023 by AstroSkipper Update of content 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaclaz Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 I forgot to put a <sarcasm> tag on my last post, sorry. jaclaz 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroSkipper Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 Well, sarcasm is unfortunately a rhetorical stylistic device that tends to backfire. Isn't it? AstroSkipper 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Draker Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 Fellas, wow ! This all could've been said in a couple of words . Just copy (periodically) your data from an old HDD to a new one. Solved ! I don't think @UCyborglives on a volcano or walking in magnetic storm parks in the evenings ! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroSkipper Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 11 minutes ago, D.Draker said: Fellas, wow ! This all could've been said in a couple of words . Just copy (periodically) your data from an old HDD to a new one. Solved ! Yep, but I have a feeling that it wouldn't be as much fun. And here, members meet who don't necessarily follow the maxim "Brevity is the soul of wit". 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaclaz Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 Maybe we fell in a hysteresis loop of some kind. jaclaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Draker Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 We tend to overvalue things in life. Now, what I'm gonna say is not for those who are/were in love (if such cases still exist!, so no offence !). Would you make a backup of a woman you dated for over several years ? I think not ! And even if you did, would it have any value for you in a couple of years fast forward ? It's much easier to just go out and get a new one instead. Younger, prettier . The same is with hard disks, you'll get better ones every year ! What do you all exactly store ??? Ancient software ? Outdated drivers ? Women born in the sixties ??? I'm not saying newer is always better, I too keep my old photos, for example. BUT. I'll not get unhinged if my HDDs just freaking die, all at once. To hell with them ! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroSkipper Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 (edited) 4 hours ago, D.Draker said: The same is with hard disks, you'll get better ones every year ! Unfortunately, it is not as simple as you describe here. You can't buy a new PATA meaning an IDE hard disk anymore, and that for years. They are not produced anymore. In old systems, there is no SATA controller or can no longer be retrofitted so easily. Old systems lack of PCIe slots, they have PCI only. Therefore, it could be important to maintain and take care of old IDE hard disks and their data as long as possible. Edited April 22, 2023 by AstroSkipper 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Draker Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 3 hours ago, AstroSkipper said: Unfortunately, it is not as simple as you describe here. You can't buy a new PATA meaning an IDE hard disk anymore, and that for years. They are not produced anymore. In old systems, there is no SATA controller or can no longer be retrofitted so easily. Old systems lacks of PCIe slots, they have PCI only. Therefore, it could be important to maintain and take care of old IDE hard disks and their data as long as possible. Not a problem also, since there's plenty of well-working IDE-SATA adapters for like 5 bucks per unit. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroSkipper Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 (edited) 40 minutes ago, D.Draker said: Not a problem also, since there's plenty of well-working IDE-SATA adapters for like 5 bucks per unit. Unfortunately, a lot of problems. No space for additional PCI cards. Quality of IDE-SATA adapters, lack of space, compatibility problems, IRQ incompatibilities and so on. I've already bought IDE-SATA adapters and expansion cards, but I'm happy if my old computer doesn't need any further modification. This cheap electronic stuff has burnt me out before. I am not really a friend of such adapters. Edited April 21, 2023 by AstroSkipper 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UCyborg Posted April 22, 2023 Author Share Posted April 22, 2023 On 4/21/2023 at 12:36 AM, AstroSkipper said: OT: My first computers were an Atari 800 XL with 64 KB RAM from 1984 and an Atari 1040 ST with 1 MB RAM (upgraded to unbeliebable 4 MB) from 1986. One year later, 1987, I bought an external Quantum HDD for my Atari 1040 ST. This HDD is now an unbelievable 36 years old and still working. And both Atari computers, too. A Quantum hard disk was something like a Mercedes at that time and of the very best quality. I am quite sure that you won't get any HDDs in these days which last such a long time. And I should mention that this Quantum HDD never got any data refreshing in all the 36 years. It seems that hard disks of such quality probably don't need that either. Cool, but are they used regularly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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