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From: johnl@ima.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: Re: Re: FIX FOR AT DISK PROBLEMS
Message-ID: <476@ima.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 10-Feb-85 23:43:56 EST
Article-I.D.: ima.476
Posted: Sun Feb 10 23:43:56 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 13-Feb-85 02:48:33 EST
Lines: 15
Nf-ID: #R:hp-pcd:-620004200:ima:11700009:000:767
Nf-From: ima!johnl    Feb 10 21:43:00 1985

Sorry to report that although DFixer does what it's supposed to do, it is
not the long-sought fix for PC AT disk problems.  DFixer is just the thing
when you have disks with marginal spots on the platters.  Unfortunately, the
problem with AT disks is looking increasingly like a design flaw in the
per-drive electronics, and DFixer can't fix that.

I hear that the guy who wrote DFixer thinks that you can tell real marginal
spots from the AT's phantom ones, and is working on a new version of DFixer
that takes this into account.

John Levine, ima!johnl

PS:  As has been suggested, DFIxer knows about the DOS file format and can
be run quite safely on a disk with data on it.  If it finds that a sector
that is in use is bad, you lose, but you already lost anyway.