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On 16 November 2010 16:20, Alan McKinnon <alan.mckinnon@×××××.com> wrote: |
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> Apparently, though unproven, at 17:34 on Tuesday 16 November 2010, Grant |
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> Edwards did opine thusly: |
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> |
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>> On 2010-11-16, J. Roeleveld <joost@××××××××.org> wrote: |
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>> >> spinrite claims to make the head do other things than what the drive |
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>> >> firmware makes it do. |
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>> |
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>> I'm afraid I'll have to call bullshit on that. I don't see how some |
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>> bit of PC software can make a drive head move. The firmware on the |
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>> drive controller board is the only thing that can make the head move. |
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>> Does spinrite claim they _replace_ the drive firmware with their own |
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>> custom version? |
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> |
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> Firmware is nothing more than high-level software that wraps low-level |
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> commands on the drive. High and low are to be taken here within the context of |
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> a drive and it's controls, so don't be thinking it's on the same level as |
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> fopen() |
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> |
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> |
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> SOMETHING makes the head move. That something is the servos, and they are |
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> under software control (how could it be otherwise?) If the registers and |
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> commands that control that can be exposed, fine control is possible. The |
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> firmware does not itself define the only things the head can do, in the same |
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> way that a file system does nto define the only things that can be written to |
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> a disk |
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> |
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>> Where does Spinrite's claim they can do override drive firmware? |
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> |
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> I have not read the site in many years - Gibson's prose is simply too much to |
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> bear. What I recall being there may not be there any more. |
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> |
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> I never said that spinrite claims to override (or as you mention below |
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> "replace") the firmware. A sensible reading of what I wrote will show I meant |
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> "bypass" |
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> |
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> In any event it's all moot. Gibson is rather renowned for vast flowery |
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> language and liked to fly off on tangents. spinrite had a very good reputation |
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> years ago but it's possible that Gibson over-inflated his claims. |
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> |
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> Everything I said before is just my understanding of what Gibson claimed his |
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> software could do. It's hard to prove one way or the other for several |
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> reasons, first being that the thing is written in assembler. |
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|
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Gibson's specialism is Marketing. He's not an IT bod, never has been. |
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Most of his writings are spreading FUD and exaggerations which |
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misinform people who do not know better. |
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|
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That said I do not know if spinrite is a good product. |
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-- |
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Regards, |
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Mick |