But what's this? "Oh %@&#! What's an unrecoverable disk error? Why can't I open this file? Where did it go? What did I do to deserve this? [Insert religious deity of your choice], please help me!"
Sound familiar? If not, consider yourself lucky. If so, you've probably met me, or one of the group of nine other students who help people solve computer problems at the Computer Help Desk (CHD). Whether you've found yourself uttering obscenities over disk disasters or not, it's worth a few minutes of your time to read this article. Dare I say, it could save your entire IQP or MQP.
I've been with the CHD, which was created three years ago by Jim Kendall of the College Computer Center, since its inception. And without a doubt, the thing I've come to hate the most about my job is telling people, on a DAILY basis, that I can't recover the data on their project disks. I feel like a doctor who must tell somebody that a loved one has died on the operating table, because quite often, there is absolutely nothing we can do for these people. If there's a serious disk error, at best we can recover a very small percentage of the data. Occasionally, if the error is minor, we can save more of the data.
The problems range from bad file allocation tables (the tables that tell the computer where it stored the data on your disk have been corrupted) to cross-linked files (two or more files are trying to share the same space on a disk). The first can, at times, be easy to fix, but the second means that you will definitely lose one or more of the files. In addition, we see our share of virus-ridden disks, which can be simple or difficult to repair depending on the virus.
Of course, we see a multitude of other problems, but let's cut to the chase. I don't want to sit here and tell you about all the nasty things that can happen to your disks. Suffice it to say, the problems exist. The good news is that many of them can be prevented if you follow some simple guidelines*. I'm going to elaborate on some of them here. PLEASE, don't just glance these suggestions over and forget about them. You should DO these things.
Here it goes:
1) First and foremost, SCAN your DISKS for viruses!!! As soon as you sit down at any computer, scan its hard drive BEFORE working on it. When you're done scanning it, SCAN YOUR FLOPPY DISKS as well. After all, it's best to know whether there is a virus on the computer's hard disk or on your floppy disk BEFORE you write pages and pages of material. In addition, you can help to prevent the rampant spread of viruses to other computers.
The staff of most lab facilities on campus scan their computers for viruses each morning. If any appear, the machines are reformatted and downloaded with software from scratch. However, at any time during the day, if somebody uses a virus-infected disk in a clean computer, it will become infected again. Then innocent people will come in and use that computer and their disks get infected. Then they use other clean computers and infect those too. Get the picture? Scan your disks, not only for yourself, but for EVERYBODY.
So how do you scan a disk? Well, in the interest of conserving paper, I'm not going to answer that question in this forum. To be honest, it's easier to explain in person anyway. If you don't know where to find the software or how to use it, please don't hesitate to visit the Computer Help Desk in order to ask. You can also ask lab monitors, or friends, or even that nerd sitting next to you! They'll probably know.
Oh, and one more thing -- WPI has a site-license for the McAfee Scan program, which means that if the computer in your dorm room is connected to the Novell network, you can access Scan and use it for FREE!
2) Save what you are working on every ten minutes, or whenever you do something brilliant. Sometimes, programs like Microsoft Word will do this for you automatically. If they don't, make sure to do it for yourself.
3) Make multiple backup copies of what you're working on, and store them in different places. If you have project partners, make sure they get a copy of the material. Don't depend on one disk!
You'd think having multiple disks would be an obvious suggestion, but when people come into the CHD looking for help with a disaster disk, one of my first questions is usually, "Do you have a backup?" The answer is almost always, "No." Do yourself a favor. It's worth the extra $0.30-$1 to make yourself a backup disk. Arm yourself!
4) Keep your disks away from anything magnetic -- including stereo speakers, computer monitors, and TV sets for good measure.
5) Make sure to take your time and format important disks correctly. If you don't know the difference between a double density and a high density disk, then find out. If you format one as the other, you could have severe problems.
In addition, check newly formatted disks (and old ones) with a disk utility program such as Norton Utilities to make sure that they're ok before using them. Disk utility programs will check the boot sector (if one exists), the file allocation tables, etc. They'll also perform a physical scan of the diskette to ensure that it has no physical defects. It's worth the minute or two it takes to do this, especially with disks you'll be using for project work.
If you don't own this software or you don't know how to use it, come down to the CHD and we'll help you. We have the current version of Norton Utilities.
6) When you're working on a computer in the labs, it's possible to work from the hard disk, but when you leave, make sure to copy your files onto your own floppy disk! Don't depend on the files being on the hard disk the next day, because the computers are formatted and downloaded on a regular basis. I've seen many people lose their work for this reason, so be careful.
7) It also doesn't hurt to ftp, or transfer, copies of important files to your account on WPI's Unix network. If you ever lose your disks, you'll always have the network copies of your files. Once again, if you don't know how to do this, contact the CHD for help.
8) Make hardcopies (printouts) of what you're working on every few hours. It helps to have these in case, for instance, a virus destroys all of your data.
9) If you ever do have a problem, take care of it right away, even if it is minor. Minor problems can turn into big problems later. If you don't know how to fix the problems, come to see us at the CHD. That's what we're here for.
10) Burn incense, cast spells, and wear garlic around your neck. Say kind, nurturing things to your disk and it will be your friend. Also, this prayer, which was found on the Internet, seems to work for some of my friends:
If you have any questions about this article, or any computer software/hardware related question for that matter, please contact the Computer Help Desk. Inform yourself. Take a few minutes to prevent disk disasters and save yourself the pain. Our hours are 9am-6pm Monday-Friday. We can be reached in the following ways.
Visit us We are located in B21 in Fuller Labs. It's on the basement floor.
Call us You can reach us at 831-5888. Leave voice mail if we are not there.
Email us Our email address is box5888@wpi.
* DISCLAIMER: [My lawyer told me to say this.] The Computer Help Desk CANNOT GUARANTEE that you will be 100% protected against disk disasters -- NOBODY can. Sometimes life is cruel. Believe me, I know. I'm pretty careful about these things and I've lost stuff myself. But if you follow the advice in this article, it will DEFINITELY up your chances of winning the war against viruses and other nasties that want to destroy your disk.