From: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org (alloy-digest) To: alloy-digest@smoe.org Subject: alloy-digest V6 #233 Reply-To: alloy@smoe.org Sender: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "alloy-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. alloy-digest Tuesday, September 4 2001 Volume 06 : Number 233 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Alloy: Hitch Hikers on Wed / Stick Bass / The Human drum machine ["Tim Hu] Alloy: If your PC is more than two or three years old read this ! ["Tim ] Re: Alloy: If your PC is more than two or three years old read this ! [h] Re: Alloy: If your PC is more than two or three years old read this ! ["] Re: Alloy: If your PC is more than two or three years old read this ! ["] Re: Alloy: If your PC is more than two or three years old read this ! [B] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 03 Sep 2001 11:16:24 +0000 From: "Tim Hudson" Subject: Alloy: Hitch Hikers on Wed / Stick Bass / The Human drum machine Hi everybody, HITCH HIKERS BROADCAST THIS WEDNESDAY ON BBC RADIO 4 BBC Radio 4 will be transmitting all 12 episodes of the original radio scripts of the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams starting this Wednesday at 6.30p.m. U.K. time [ 19h30 European time]. Not sure if these are being web cast - but I would think the answer would be yes. Given Douglas's obsession with Technology - it would seem a most fitting tribute. So I do hope that those who have never heard the original radio series might be able to tune in and enjoy the extraordinary adventure For homesick Brits its something to curl up and enjoy with some tea / toast and marmite and drift back to those long lost days of yore. CHAPMAN STICK BASS..... I cant believe that one of the Alloy list has a chapman stick bass guitar !! - Thats just so amazing ! I always remember Tony Levin 'wrestling' with his at Guildford Civic hall with King Crimson during their Discipline Tour. What amazing sounds. I'd love some samples! I seem to recall it had a strange body strap type of arrangement which necessitated strapping it to the front of your chest and opened thigh ! Now thats what I call rock and roll. I dont recall any women ever playing the stick bass but maybe there were? This begs the question was it the sexiest/daftest instrument ever made ? Does anyone else [ probably crackers !] know any istruments that are strapped to your groin or elsewhere ? From sexually 'displayed' istruments to masochistic hidden ones..... THE HUMAN DRUM MACHINE I remember seeing John Ottway stuff his clothes full of drum triggers and beat himself up on stage to do the drum solo in his song 'body talk'. Basically he was wired as a human drum machine and at the appropriate point he would start jumping up and down hitting himself all over and rolling around on stage to trigger the drum samples..... In the spirit of the age {copyright Hawkwind)...his drum solo would last the obligatory ten minutes.... by the end of which either the equipment or himself was close to death and most of the punters had found the bar and then he'd leap up all truipmphant - like something out of spinal tap and procede to do another of his more popular songs.....'HeadButts' which necessitated him headbutting his microphone mercilessly during each chorus. Funny thing is - and no jokes intended - these were his 'greatest hits' Thats commitment for you. I dont know what happened to his partner Wild WIlly Barret or his other peers such as John Cooper Clarke but the last I heard John Ottway was still touring this show performing 'Body talk' wired as the human drum machine. Where are the entertainers in todays generation ? To close on Thomas Dolby...... I picked up the line that the animal rights activists complained that x thousand animals were blinded by scientists in one of the recent alloy postings. I had never thought that Toms song could have been a reference to this. The question is - was it ever supposed to be a reference to the testing of products on animals? Or is this just a bit or revisionist wishful thinking from someone? to close: my one and only cosmetics joke Why did Elizabeth Arden ? Because Max Factor sorry it wasn't something more pithy - frankly - all my jokes suck. have a great Monday Tim p.s. I think Marys Dolby Limerick is the best so far - -- Tim Hudson tim_hudson@zdnetonebox.com - email ___________________________________________________________________ To get your own FREE ZDNet Onebox - FREE voicemail, email, and fax, all in one place - sign up today at http://www.zdnetonebox.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 03 Sep 2001 16:18:48 +0000 From: "Tim Hudson" Subject: Alloy: If your PC is more than two or three years old read this ! Hi, A warning to all PC users on the Alloy list: If you have a PC that is more than a few years old - you should check to see if it uses a CMOS battery to back up the PC drive configuration data in RAM. If you do have such a PC - dont forget to change the battery every few years - they last between two and five years. Ive just lost all the settings for my PC and now have a dead battery and unbootable PC at home. Ive lost access to my hard disc. I did n't write down the CMOS configuration settings [ a big mistake ] and now I have all my data and files plus a huge familly tree database made by my brother on my hard disc which I cant access. In other words unless I can recover the correct hard disc config settings I have lost access to many years of data. I need to buy a new 3.6 volt replacement battery and poke around with the CMOS settings in the hope I will by chance hit upon the right settings and find a setting that matches my hard disc [ there's several to choose from in a drop down list but non of them look likely]. This could take days of experimentation as my hard drive was n't listed in the possible options. My understanding is that the newer generation of PC dont store the vital configuration data in volatile RAM anymore - they use a different method. Normally you get a few boot problems which indicate that your CMOS battery is low but mine just blew without warning! So if your PC is more than about three years old - do bear in mind this could also happen to you. The phrase dont put all your eggs in oner basket comes to mind.. Moral of the story: Check if your PC writes its CMOS configuration data to non volatile or battery dependent RAM, if its the non volatile storage [modern PC's] you should be OK but if your PC is more than two or three years old you should back up and write down the CMOS drive config settings on paper so that when your 3.6 volt battery goes below 2volts and dies, as mine has - you wont have the same nasty surprise. Ive got a gigabyte of unacessable data collected over years on a hard drive the system wont recognise just because my CMOS battery flaked out. I'm going to get it back - but the permutations are such that it could take hours and hundreds of resets to find the right combination of settings. And each re boot takes about two minutes to perform so its not going to be any fun at all I'm stuffed - except for trial and error now. Its a tough lesson to learn All my settings have now gone to the great digital graveyard of forgotten memory. Oh for a ghost in the machine. Or a piece of paper where I'd written the bloody settings down. Bad hair day ! Tim. Any advice on determining the correct CMOS hard disc controller settings appreciated. Ive no idea how the disc was formatted - does anyone know of any tools that can read the disc and give me the correct config settings back ? What would be a typically normal format setting for a 1 gig hard drive about five years ago for Windows 95 ? Is there a magic CMOS default hard disc controller setting which will work with most hard disc types? Who invented a system where despite plugging the PC into the mains the whole boot procedure is dependent upon config data in battery dependednt RAM.......? I thought these sort of operating system power supply system problems were solved after they ran out of power to boot the guidence computers on Appollo 13 ? Conclusion: The difference between 3.6 volts and 2 volts can ruin your day. The thing is these CMOS batteries are in use 24 hours a day even when you dont have your PC switched on because they power the clock chip that your Operating system subsequently checks on power up. So this will happen to you if you have an old generation PC. Its just a question of when. You could switch on your old trusty PC tomorrow and find it wont boot - - which could - be an expensive problem if you are self employed or expected to complete company work urgently. Also just getting a 3.6 volt CMOS battery is a job in itself. I wonder how many Alloy folk have low CMOS batteries too ? - - Tim Hudson tim_hudson@zdnetonebox.com - email ___________________________________________________________________ To get your own FREE ZDNet Onebox - FREE voicemail, email, and fax, all in one place - sign up today at http://www.zdnetonebox.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Sep 2001 17:25:42 GMT From: hubcity@exit109.com Subject: Re: Alloy: If your PC is more than two or three years old read this ! > Any advice on determining the correct CMOS hard disc controller settings > appreciated. Ive no idea how the disc was formatted - does anyone know > of any tools that can read the disc and give me the correct config settings > back ? Open up the PC and look at the label on the hard drive. If you're *really* lucky, the settings will be printed there. If not, do what I do: type the manufacturer and model number into Google, and cross your fingers. You should be able to get CMOS settings and jumper settings (the latter is helpful if you decide to physically move that hard drive over to another PC so that you can copy the data to a more current system.) - -Sean Carolan ALTROK.com (www.altrok.com) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Sep 2001 11:38:38 -0600 From: "Keith Stansell" Subject: Re: Alloy: If your PC is more than two or three years old read this ! Hi Tim, It doesn't not sound as if your hard drive lost any information, your old PC is just having trouble reading it. I would guess if you put the hard drive in a newer PC (perhaps as a secondary drive) it will automatically detect the settings and be able to read it fine. You may also check to see if your bios can automatically detect the hard drive. Seems that most built within the past 5 or so years can. You may also be able to determine what settings to use for the drive by looking at the label on the hard drive. I think the magic numbers you need are the number of cylinders, heads and sectors or something like that. You may also find a model number and then locate the info on web site for the drive manufacturer. Here is a page with some settings for old Maxtor hard drives: http://www.maxtor.com/products/DiamondMax/7000seriesIDE/QuickSpecs/42037.htm - - Keith . - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tim Hudson" To: Sent: Monday, September 03, 2001 10:18 AM Subject: Alloy: If your PC is more than two or three years old read this ! > > Hi, > > A warning to all PC users on the Alloy list: > > If you have a PC that is more than a few years old - you should check > to see if it uses a CMOS battery to back up the PC drive configuration > data in RAM. > > If you do have such a PC - dont forget to change the battery every few > years - they last between two and five years. > > Ive just lost all the settings for my PC and now have a dead battery > and unbootable PC at home. Ive lost access to my hard disc. > > I did n't write down the CMOS configuration settings [ a big mistake > ] and now I have all my data and files plus a huge familly tree database > made by my brother on my hard disc which I cant access. > > In other words unless I can recover the correct hard disc config settings > I have lost access to many years of data. > > I need to buy a new 3.6 volt replacement battery and poke around with > the CMOS settings in the hope I will by chance hit upon the right settings > and find a setting that matches my hard disc [ there's several to choose > from in a drop down list but non of them look likely]. > > This could take days of experimentation as my hard drive was n't listed > in the possible options. > > My understanding is that the newer generation of PC dont store the vital > configuration data in volatile RAM anymore - they use a different method. > > Normally you get a few boot problems which indicate that your CMOS battery > is low but mine just blew without warning! > > So if your PC is more than about three years old - do bear in mind this > could also happen to you. > > The phrase dont put all your eggs in oner basket comes to mind.. > > Moral of the story: > Check if your PC writes its CMOS configuration data to non volatile or > battery dependent RAM, if its the non volatile storage [modern PC's] > you should be OK but if your PC is more than two or three years old you > should back up and write down the CMOS drive config settings on paper > so that when your 3.6 volt battery goes below 2volts and dies, as mine > has - you wont have the same nasty surprise. > > Ive got a gigabyte of unacessable data collected over years on a hard > drive the system wont recognise just because my CMOS battery flaked out. > > I'm going to get it back - but the permutations are such that it could > take hours and hundreds of resets to find the right combination of settings. > And each re boot takes about two minutes to perform so its not going > to be any fun at all > > I'm stuffed - except for trial and error now. > > Its a tough lesson to learn > > All my settings have now gone to the great digital graveyard of forgotten > memory. > > Oh for a ghost in the machine. > > Or a piece of paper where I'd written the bloody settings down. > > Bad hair day ! > > Tim. > > Any advice on determining the correct CMOS hard disc controller settings > appreciated. Ive no idea how the disc was formatted - does anyone know > of any tools that can read the disc and give me the correct config settings > back ? > > What would be a typically normal format setting for a 1 gig hard drive > about five years ago for Windows 95 ? > > Is there a magic CMOS default hard disc controller setting which will > work with most hard disc types? > > Who invented a system where despite plugging the PC into the mains the > whole boot procedure is dependent upon config data in battery dependednt > RAM.......? > > I thought these sort of operating system power supply system problems > were solved after they ran out of power to boot the guidence computers > on Appollo 13 ? > > Conclusion: The difference between 3.6 volts and 2 volts can ruin your > day. > > The thing is these CMOS batteries are in use 24 hours a day even when > you dont have your PC switched on because they power the clock chip that > your Operating system subsequently checks on power up. > > So this will happen to you if you have an old generation PC. Its just > a question of when. > > You could switch on your old trusty PC tomorrow and find it wont boot > - which could - be an expensive problem if you are self employed or expected > to complete company work urgently. > > Also just getting a 3.6 volt CMOS battery is a job in itself. > > I wonder how many Alloy folk have low CMOS batteries too ? > > > - > Tim Hudson > tim_hudson@zdnetonebox.com - email > > > > ___________________________________________________________________ > To get your own FREE ZDNet Onebox - FREE voicemail, email, and fax, > all in one place - sign up today at http://www.zdnetonebox.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Sep 2001 11:40:52 -0600 From: "Keith Stansell" Subject: Re: Alloy: If your PC is more than two or three years old read this ! One last thought - also make sure you didn't loosen the HD cable when you were getting the battery out. - -Keith - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tim Hudson" To: Sent: Monday, September 03, 2001 10:18 AM Subject: Alloy: If your PC is more than two or three years old read this ! > > Hi, > > A warning to all PC users on the Alloy list: > > If you have a PC that is more than a few years old - you should check > to see if it uses a CMOS battery to back up the PC drive configuration > data in RAM. > > If you do have such a PC - dont forget to change the battery every few > years - they last between two and five years. > > Ive just lost all the settings for my PC and now have a dead battery > and unbootable PC at home. Ive lost access to my hard disc. > > I did n't write down the CMOS configuration settings [ a big mistake > ] and now I have all my data and files plus a huge familly tree database > made by my brother on my hard disc which I cant access. > > In other words unless I can recover the correct hard disc config settings > I have lost access to many years of data. > > I need to buy a new 3.6 volt replacement battery and poke around with > the CMOS settings in the hope I will by chance hit upon the right settings > and find a setting that matches my hard disc [ there's several to choose > from in a drop down list but non of them look likely]. > > This could take days of experimentation as my hard drive was n't listed > in the possible options. > > My understanding is that the newer generation of PC dont store the vital > configuration data in volatile RAM anymore - they use a different method. > > Normally you get a few boot problems which indicate that your CMOS battery > is low but mine just blew without warning! > > So if your PC is more than about three years old - do bear in mind this > could also happen to you. > > The phrase dont put all your eggs in oner basket comes to mind.. > > Moral of the story: > Check if your PC writes its CMOS configuration data to non volatile or > battery dependent RAM, if its the non volatile storage [modern PC's] > you should be OK but if your PC is more than two or three years old you > should back up and write down the CMOS drive config settings on paper > so that when your 3.6 volt battery goes below 2volts and dies, as mine > has - you wont have the same nasty surprise. > > Ive got a gigabyte of unacessable data collected over years on a hard > drive the system wont recognise just because my CMOS battery flaked out. > > I'm going to get it back - but the permutations are such that it could > take hours and hundreds of resets to find the right combination of settings. > And each re boot takes about two minutes to perform so its not going > to be any fun at all > > I'm stuffed - except for trial and error now. > > Its a tough lesson to learn > > All my settings have now gone to the great digital graveyard of forgotten > memory. > > Oh for a ghost in the machine. > > Or a piece of paper where I'd written the bloody settings down. > > Bad hair day ! > > Tim. > > Any advice on determining the correct CMOS hard disc controller settings > appreciated. Ive no idea how the disc was formatted - does anyone know > of any tools that can read the disc and give me the correct config settings > back ? > > What would be a typically normal format setting for a 1 gig hard drive > about five years ago for Windows 95 ? > > Is there a magic CMOS default hard disc controller setting which will > work with most hard disc types? > > Who invented a system where despite plugging the PC into the mains the > whole boot procedure is dependent upon config data in battery dependednt > RAM.......? > > I thought these sort of operating system power supply system problems > were solved after they ran out of power to boot the guidence computers > on Appollo 13 ? > > Conclusion: The difference between 3.6 volts and 2 volts can ruin your > day. > > The thing is these CMOS batteries are in use 24 hours a day even when > you dont have your PC switched on because they power the clock chip that > your Operating system subsequently checks on power up. > > So this will happen to you if you have an old generation PC. Its just > a question of when. > > You could switch on your old trusty PC tomorrow and find it wont boot > - which could - be an expensive problem if you are self employed or expected > to complete company work urgently. > > Also just getting a 3.6 volt CMOS battery is a job in itself. > > I wonder how many Alloy folk have low CMOS batteries too ? > > > - > Tim Hudson > tim_hudson@zdnetonebox.com - email > > > > ___________________________________________________________________ > To get your own FREE ZDNet Onebox - FREE voicemail, email, and fax, > all in one place - sign up today at http://www.zdnetonebox.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Sep 2001 10:42:20 -0700 (PDT) From: Brian Clayton Subject: Re: Alloy: If your PC is more than two or three years old read this ! On Mon, 3 Sep 2001 hubcity@exit109.com wrote: > > > Any advice on determining the correct CMOS hard disc controller settings > > appreciated. Ive no idea how the disc was formatted - does anyone know > > of any tools that can read the disc and give me the correct config settings > > back ? > > Open up the PC and look at the label on the hard drive. If you're > *really* lucky, the settings will be printed there. If not, do what I > do: type the manufacturer and model number into Google, and cross your > fingers. You should be able to get CMOS settings and jumper settings > (the latter is helpful if you decide to physically move that hard > drive over to another PC so that you can copy the data to a more > current system.) Also, unless your computer is VERY ancient, there is every chance that your BIOS will have a "Detect/Configure IDE drives" option which will automatically detect your drive's geometry. Only PCs from the 80's that dealt with MFM and RLL drives had to be configured manually--by the time IDE drives became mainstream, autodetection was pretty common. You mentioned a "gigabyte of data", so I'm guessing the drive must be no more than 5 or 6 years old. (And I doubt you have a SCSI drive, since they are controlled through a controller card, not the motherboard; so you wouldn't have a problem at all right now.) Good luck, BC - -- "No one can predict with certainty what the ultimate meaning will be of mastery of space." -- John F. Kennedy, May 25th, 1961 ------------------------------ End of alloy-digest V6 #233 ***************************