Installing an Old Harddrive?

This is a pretty interesting development, however:
I don't know why I didn't do this before, but performing a dir /ah on the
maxtor drive as a slave in XP yields:

05/31/1994 06:22 AM 40,774 IO.SYS
05/31/1994 06:22 AM 38,138 MSDOS.SYS
09/20/1995 04:56 AM 8,472,576 386SPART.PAR
09/30/1993 06:20 AM 64,246 DBLSPACE.BIN
05/31/1994 06:22 AM 66,294 DRVSPACE.BIN
05/31/1994 06:22 AM 512 DRVSPACE.MR1
07/05/1996 12:50 AM 112,671,232 DRVSPACE.000
12/17/1994 04:55 PM 109 DRVSPACE.INI
01/05/2005 11:37 PM DIR System Volume Information

Most definately compressed with drivespace then.. all your data is contained in
DRVSPACE.000.. You either need to boot from that drive or setup a dos boot disk
with drivespace so you can mount your drive and copy the data..

Regards,
Chris

On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 09:20:00 -0500, "Zip" wrote:

When bringing up the system with only the Maxtor HD and a bootitNG floppy, a
single partition is found.

Now I think I remember...which BootIt has verified...

The compression program...DriveSpace, which you are running on that
drive...creates a hidden file...not a hidden partition. But its
always a good idea to know for sure that nothing else is on the drive.

Also, the bootit
creation of the EMBR fails on HD0, and reading the manual, this is
indicative of write-protected media. Could this drive somehow be write
protected?

I doubt it. But we'll know soon enough. We're gonna write to it.

I sure didn't do it, but that might explain why it won't boot.

You don't write when you boot...you only read.

Or
maybe whatever physical component responsible for disk writes is now
inoperative? I've been tentative to test write to the Maxtor, for fear of
ruining the data somehow.

Reading ahead...we need to create an autoexec.bat file and a
config.sys file...and put them on the hard drive...so that we can load
the drivers for the compressed volume.

Too bad you don't have a program similar to R-studio...that can bring
back deleted files. You could just get those from the drive.

This is a pretty interesting development, however:
I don't know why I didn't do this before, but performing a dir /ah on the
maxtor drive as a slave in XP yields:

F:\dir /ah
Volume in drive F has no label.
Volume Serial Number is 1D91-5DCC

Directory of F:\

05/31/1994 06:22 AM 40,774 IO.SYS
05/31/1994 06:22 AM 38,138 MSDOS.SYS
09/20/1995 04:56 AM 8,472,576 386SPART.PAR
09/30/1993 06:20 AM 64,246 DBLSPACE.BIN
05/31/1994 06:22 AM 66,294 DRVSPACE.BIN
05/31/1994 06:22 AM 512 DRVSPACE.MR1
07/05/1996 12:50 AM 112,671,232 DRVSPACE.000
12/17/1994 04:55 PM 109 DRVSPACE.INI
01/05/2005 11:37 PM DIR System Volume Information
8 File(s) 121,353,881 bytes
1 Dir(s) 8,509,440 bytes free

Does this help us at all?

Yup...tremendously. I think all we need is to create an autoexec and
a config...to put on the drive.

The bad news! I don't remember exactly what to put in them. I'll
hafta do some research. Maybe someone else can jump in here who has a
better memory than me. lol

It seems unlikely that there would be a hidden
partition on this drive, as all data (size-wise) is now accounted for. Or is
this faulty logic?

You have all you need. Again, all you need to do is load the
drivers...which happens at boot-up time...from the autoexec and
config.

And...what makes you think there's any files on the drive? Are you
simply guessing?

Well, this is only circumstancial evidence of course, but:

I guess I have empirical evidence now.

Yup...ya done good!! lol

Again, thanks...

Welcome.

I'll do some research...you can to. And maybe someone will jump in
here.

Basically, we need to create an autoexec and a config with
Notepad...then put those files on the hard drive. That should pretty
much do it. The drive should then boot...with all the info that
you've been looking for.

Then we can go on to phase 2...moving that info to the media of your
choice.

I'll try to get back to you later today.


Have a nice one...

Trent©

Budweiser: Helping ugly people have sex since 1876!

On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 09:20:00 -0500, "Zip" wrote:

Things you can do while we're searching...

Find the file...drvspace.sys...from somewhere...and copy it to the
Maxtor drive.

Create a file in Notepad...name it 'config.sys'...copy it to the
Maxtor...put this one line in the file...

device=drvspace.sys

Then boot the Maxtor drive...see what happens.

You won't hurt anything...but it might just work with that.

Make a note of any error messages you may get.


Have a nice one...

Trent©

Budweiser: Helping ugly people have sex since 1876!

"Trent©" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 09:20:00 -0500, "Zip" wrote:

F:\dir /ah
Volume in drive F has no label.
Volume Serial Number is 1D91-5DCC

Directory of F:\

05/31/1994 06:22 AM 40,774 IO.SYS
05/31/1994 06:22 AM 38,138 MSDOS.SYS
09/20/1995 04:56 AM 8,472,576 386SPART.PAR
09/30/1993 06:20 AM 64,246 DBLSPACE.BIN
05/31/1994 06:22 AM 66,294 DRVSPACE.BIN
05/31/1994 06:22 AM 512 DRVSPACE.MR1
07/05/1996 12:50 AM 112,671,232 DRVSPACE.000
12/17/1994 04:55 PM 109 DRVSPACE.INI
01/05/2005 11:37 PM DIR System Volume Information
8 File(s) 121,353,881 bytes
1 Dir(s) 8,509,440 bytes free

Does this help us at all?

Yup...tremendously. I think all we need is to create an autoexec and
a config...to put on the drive.

The bad news! I don't remember exactly what to put in them. I'll
hafta do some research. Maybe someone else can jump in here who has a
better memory than me. lol

This has been my problem as well. I started a thread in alt.msdos related to
this question yesterday, but that's not the most active group. And as far as
I know, the bootdisks at bootdisk.com don't offer support for compressed
volumes.

Here is a config.sys and autoexec.bat from an old 386 SX 25 AST laptop that
miraculously decided to power up:

autoexec.bat:

LH /L:1,13984 C:\DOS\SHARE.EXE /L:500
@echo off
LH /L:0;1,45456 /S C:\dos\SMARTDRV.EXE
@ECHO OFF
PROMPT $p$g
PATH C:\WINDOWS;C:\DOS
SET TEMP=C:\DOS

config.sys

DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS
BUFFERS=10,0
FILES=8
DOS=UMB
LASTDRIVE=K
FCBS=16,8
DEVICEHIGH /L:1,12048 =C:\DOS\SETVER.EXE
SHELL=C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM C:\DOS\ /p
DOS=HIGH
rem DEVICEHIGH /L:0;1,9424 /S =C:\DOS\INTERLNK.EXE
STACKS=9,256
DEVICEHIGH /L:1,39568 =C:\DOS\DRVSPACE.SYS /MOVE

There is a reference to drvspace, but I'm not sure if the laptop is using
it.

I'll do some research...you can to. And maybe someone will jump in
here.

Basically, we need to create an autoexec and a config with
Notepad...then put those files on the hard drive. That should pretty
much do it. The drive should then boot...with all the info that
you've been looking for.

Sounds simple enough. A few things still bother me, though:

1) Out of all the files on the hard disk, why are 'autoexec.bat' and
'config.sys' missing? You made a reference to R-studio, but I just don't
think these files were deleted. This HD has never been out of my control,
and not powered up since.. hmmm... Jul/96 according to the file dates.
Furthermore, I just noticed that WinXP will not show the following files,
for whatever reason: 'autoexec.bat', 'config.sys' and 'command.com'. I have
a bootdisk from bootdisk.com in the A: drive, and WinXP does not show these
3 files (WinXP is set to show hidden files), even though they can be found
outside of WinXP. Perhaps something like this is masking the presence of
autoexec.bat and config.sys on the Maxtor?

2) We know the HD is compressed with drvspace, but there are seemingly a few
files that are uncompressed. Why can't this small collection of files be
found with a DOS boot disk? I understand I need to load the drvspace drivers
to get access to all the files, but these uncompressed files should be
accessible with a simple DOS boot disk, right? They aren't.

I feel like we may be getting close! =)

Thanks...

On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 11:47:13 -0500, "Zip" wrote:

The bad news! I don't remember exactly what to put in them. I'll
hafta do some research. Maybe someone else can jump in here who has a
better memory than me. lol

This has been my problem as well. I started a thread in alt.msdos related to
this question yesterday, but that's not the most active group. And as far as
I know, the bootdisks at bootdisk.com don't offer support for compressed
volumes.

Here is a config.sys and autoexec.bat from an old 386 SX 25 AST laptop that
miraculously decided to power up:

I don't think we even NEED either of these...but I thought it might be
easier to have them.

Create them per below. I forgot that we've got to invoke drvspace.


autoexec.bat:

PROMPT $p$g
PATH C:\;a: (that's a colon after the c:\)
drvspace

We shouldn't need all the rest. You've got a modern machine...and
we're not loading all that much. So you shouldn't need any LH
entries. And you don't have those on that drive anyway.


config.sys


DEVICE=C:\DRVSPACE.SYS

Just make sure you have drvspace.sys on the drive.


There is a reference to drvspace, but I'm not sure if the laptop is using
it.

Do a search for it. If its there, copy it to the Maxtor.


Sounds simple enough. A few things still bother me, though:

1) Out of all the files on the hard disk, why are 'autoexec.bat' and
'config.sys' missing? You made a reference to R-studio, but I just don't
think these files were deleted. This HD has never been out of my control,
and not powered up since.. hmmm... Jul/96 according to the file dates.

Obviously, SOMETHING happened since then...since the drive doesn't
boot. Memory is the 2nd thing to go!! lol

Normally, the program and the drivers are loaded by autoexec and
config...as part of the boot process. That process mounts the
compressed volume...and its then a regular, automated boot.

In my prior post, I forgot to tell you that you need to start the
drivespace program...from the 'drvspace' command in the autoexec.

Furthermore, I just noticed that WinXP will not show the following files,
for whatever reason: 'autoexec.bat', 'config.sys' and 'command.com'. I have
a bootdisk from bootdisk.com in the A: drive, and WinXP does not show these
3 files (WinXP is set to show hidden files), even though they can be found
outside of WinXP. Perhaps something like this is masking the presence of
autoexec.bat and config.sys on the Maxtor?

Got me! lol I have no idea how the guy from bootdisk.com does things.
But I don't think so. For grins, you might want to open up
drvspace.ini with Notepad...just to see what's in there.

A boot disk is normally only a system disk. I didn't know that he
included an autoexec and a config on the disk. That may be part of
your problem. Take a look at them...see what they say.


2) We know the HD is compressed with drvspace, but there are seemingly a few
files that are uncompressed. Why can't this small collection of files be
found with a DOS boot disk? I understand I need to load the drvspace drivers
to get access to all the files, but these uncompressed files should be
accessible with a simple DOS boot disk, right? They aren't.

Which files?

I feel like we may be getting close! =)

Its hard to remember all this stuff sometimes. I've got a hard time
figuring out how the CoffeeMate got out of the cupboard and into the
refrigerator! lol

This thing might even simply resolve itself once you get drvspace.sys
put on the drive.

Thanks...

Welcome.


Have a nice one...

Trent©

Budweiser: Helping ugly people have sex since 1876!

"Trent©" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 09:20:00 -0500, "Zip" wrote:

Things you can do while we're searching...

Find the file...drvspace.sys...from somewhere...and copy it to the
Maxtor drive.

Create a file in Notepad...name it 'config.sys'...copy it to the
Maxtor...put this one line in the file...

device=drvspace.sys

Then boot the Maxtor drive...see what happens.

You won't hurt anything...but it might just work with that.

Make a note of any error messages you may get.

Same thing: "Boot disk error. Please insert a system disk and press enter"

Someone on alt.msdos brought up a good point. There is a mysterious
directory that has shown up on the drive over the past few days: "System
Volume Information", probably as a result of me trying to browse the drive
in WinXP. This directory name, however, should not be possible on a FAT
formatted drive. Could its presence be prohibiting the drive from booting,
and furthermore, prohibit the drive from being recognized from a DOS 6.X
bootdisk? This would make sense.

On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 12:41:29 -0500, "Zip" wrote:


"Trent©" wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 09:20:00 -0500, "Zip" wrote:

Things you can do while we're searching...

Find the file...drvspace.sys...from somewhere...and copy it to the
Maxtor drive.

Create a file in Notepad...name it 'config.sys'...copy it to the
Maxtor...put this one line in the file...

device=drvspace.sys

Then boot the Maxtor drive...see what happens.

You won't hurt anything...but it might just work with that.

Make a note of any error messages you may get.

Same thing: "Boot disk error. Please insert a system disk and press enter"

Someone on alt.msdos brought up a good point. There is a mysterious
directory that has shown up on the drive over the past few days: "System
Volume Information", probably as a result of me trying to browse the drive
in WinXP. This directory name, however, should not be possible on a FAT
formatted drive. Could its presence be prohibiting the drive from booting,

No...not that I know of. Its not NEEDED, of course. But it shouldn't
be hurting anything.

and furthermore, prohibit the drive from being recognized from a DOS 6.X
bootdisk? This would make sense.

If you think so, simply delete it.

For the present time, forget about what I said about hunting for
drvspace.sys. I don't think we need it...although I recall running it
with my drives. But I think we can ignore it for the time being.

Have you made a backup Ghost of that drive?...to another partition on
a good drive? If you have that capability, it might not be a bad
idea.

What I'm thinking of next...and this may NOT be a good idea...is that
we could do a FDISK/MBR on that drive. But I don't remember if that
will hose up the drive or not. So don't do it yet.

Recap for us how you've got the drive set up now. Are you running any
autoexec or config?

One final thought...

Do you have the BIOS set to 'auto'? If so, that could be part of the
problem. See if the drive has the parameters (heads, cylinder, etc.)
on the top of the drive. If not, see if you can Google for them. We
may want to set the BIOS to those actual numbers...instead of 'auto'.

What files are on that floppy boot disk that yer usin'? Do you have
drvspace.bin and scandisk on that floppy? Don't you have a 98 rescue
disk that you can boot to?


Have a nice one...

Trent©

Budweiser: Helping ugly people have sex since 1876!

On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 12:41:29 -0500, "Zip" wrote:

I don't recall...

When you boot into that F drive, did you try changing over to the C
drive? Just do a...

c: enter

see what happens.


Have a nice one...

Trent©

Budweiser: Helping ugly people have sex since 1876!

On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 12:41:29 -0500, "Zip" wrote:

Here's a pretty good link...

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache...=en&lr=lang_en

Watch the wrap.

You might try #6.

I'm guessing you haven't run a scandisk on it yet.


Have a nice one...

Trent©

Budweiser: Helping ugly people have sex since 1876!

"Trent©" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 12:41:29 -0500, "Zip" wrote:

Have you made a backup Ghost of that drive?...to another partition on
a good drive? If you have that capability, it might not be a bad
idea.

Not sure what a backup Ghost is, but I have copied all the files from the
Maxtor to the WinXP drive to be on the safe side. I'm beginning to think
there may be a physical problem with the Maxtor. 8 of the 9 files copied
correctly, but when trying to copy 386SPART, I get the message: "Cannot copy
386SPART: The drive cannot find the sector requested.

What I'm thinking of next...and this may NOT be a good idea...is that
we could do a FDISK/MBR on that drive. But I don't remember if that
will hose up the drive or not. So don't do it yet.

Sounds fun...

Recap for us how you've got the drive set up now. Are you running any
autoexec or config?

Earlier Tests:

1) Removed "System Volume Information" directory, as well as all data
created after 1/1/05, and tried to boot the Maxtor as a master single -
"Boot disk error. Please insert a system disk and press enter."

2) Created a bootdisk with autoexec.bat and config.sys as specified above.
Only drive recognized is A:. I tried initiating 'drvspace' at the end of
autoexec.bat, but that initiates a menu GUI to create a new compressed
drive. I'm not sure it's necessary, or even helpful, for getting at an
already compressed volume.

I was going to try and put these autoexec.bat and config.sys directly on the
Maxtor, but as I said above, I think there is a physical problem with the
disk prohibitting it from booting, and I think the bootdisk approach is
probably best.

One final thought...

Do you have the BIOS set to 'auto'? If so, that could be part of the
problem. See if the drive has the parameters (heads, cylinder, etc.)
on the top of the drive. If not, see if you can Google for them. We
may want to set the BIOS to those actual numbers...instead of 'auto'.

I will check this out.

What files are on that floppy boot disk that yer usin'?

SYS.COM
COMMAND.COM
ATTRIB.EXE
CHKDSK.EXE
DELTREE.EXE
EMM386.EXE
FDISK.EXE
LABEL.EXE
MEM.EXE
MSCDEX.EXE
QBASIC.EXE
UNDELETE.EXE
CD2.SYS
EDIT.HLP
UNDELETE.INI
C.BAT
HIMEM.SYS
CONFIG.SYS -{DEVICE=A:\DRVSPACE.SYS}
AUTOEXEC.BAT -{PROMPT $p$g PATH C:\;a:}
MOUSE.@@@
CD3.SYS
EDIT.EXE
EDIT.INI
DOSKEY.COM
UNFORMAT.COM
TREE.COM
FIND.EXE
RESTORE.EXE
SETVER.EXE
SCANDISK.EXE
SHARE.EXE
XCOPY.EXE
QBASIC.HLP
MOUSE.INI
SCANDISK.INI
MOUSE.SYS
CD4.SYS
CD1.SYS
FORMAT.COM
MOUSE.COM
DRVSPACE.SYS
CONFIG.BAK
AUTOEXEC.BAK
IO.SYS
MSDOS.SYS
DRVSPACE.BIN
DRVSPACE.INI

Do you have
drvspace.bin and scandisk on that floppy?

Yes.

Don't you have a 98 rescue
disk that you can boot to?

Not off hand, but I'll bet bootdisk.com offers one.