NWA-PCUG Newsletter Article, July 2008
How SPINRITE Saved My Life
By Ira Wilsker, APCUG Director;
Columnist, The Examiner, Beaumont, TX; Radio & TV Show Host

Iwilsker@apcug.net
(click to email author)


WEBSITES:
http://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm

Spinrite (http://www.grc.com) did not really save my life in a literal sense, but it did rescue my computer. Late last night, immediately after installing an early beta (pre-release) version of some security software I am testing for a major software company, my computer was very sluggish; it was difficult to open any files, and very frustrating to use, so I went to Start – Turn Off Computer – Restart to reboot my computer. The shutdown process was inordinately slow, and when the computer restarted, a white font on a black screen said “No bootable partition in table”. I knew I was in trouble.

I routinely beta test pre-production hardware and software for a variety of manufacturers and publishers, typically under an “NDA” (non-disclosure agreement). I am fully cognizant that the process of testing such hardware and software carries a variety of risks, and that the products will not likely be as polished as a final product, and will not likely perform as desired. Part of my job as a beta tester is to report bugs and problems to the proper recipient in order for the bugs to be fixed prior to a public commercial release. Being well aware of the risks, I frequently create restore points on my computer (Start – All Programs - Accessories – System Tools – System Restore) so I can go back to a previous date in case things go wrong, a process I have utilized many times. I also maintain two distinct backup copies of the data on my hard drive, rotating between two external USB hard drives, with a backup utility called Shadow (http://www.AllTheWeb.com) and typed in the phrase “No bootable partition in table”. The results displayed on the first search page did not belay my fears that something was terribly wrong on my hard drive, but there was a glimmer of hope as I saw that there had been some great successes in resolving the problem and overcoming that specific error using a hard drive utility popular with geeks, Spinrite (http://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm). I knew that I had a copy somewhere, as I had written this column on Spinrite a few years ago. I have a large plastic storage box adjacent to my desktop computer, which contains hundreds of CDs and floppies. I was in no mood to go software hunting in that forest of titles. I knew that Spinrite was a download, so there must be a copy on my now useless hard drive. Fortunately for me, I keep all of my downloaded software files in one of two directories on my hard drive, those directories being explicitly backed up by Shadow to both of my external USB hard drives. A glimmer of hope accompanied my smile as I connected one of my external drives to my other computer, and quickly located my registered copy of Spinrite.

Spinrite (download a registered copy for $29 to $89, price depending on eligibility), when run from Windows, can be used to create bootable media containing the diagnostic and repair utility. The actual diagnostic and repair program is designed to be run from a bootable device or media, such as a floppy, CD, DVD, or USB flash drive, and not under Windows. The original Spinrite file itself is small, only 140k, and written totally in assembly language. The recovery utility is a bootable file containing a freeware operating system, FreeDOS, which can be used to boot any compatible computer (there are online references about Spinrite being used to repair hard drives from Mac’s and TiVo’s that had been connected to or installed in a PC for the purposes of repair). Since my working computer did not have a floppy drive, I decided to make a bootable CD from the backup copy on the external drive. I ran Spinrite, selected the button to create an ISO or IMG file, and then used the Roxio software that came with my computer to create the bootable CD. It should be noted that the ISO file should not simply be burned to a CD in order to make it bootable, but the ISO file needs to be placed on the CD with the “Copy” utility, and selecting the ISO file to be so installed. The process took less than two minutes. It should be noted that this bootable file is quite small, about 1 meg, and will easily fit on just about any compatible device.

With bootable CD in hand, I walked across the room to my sickly computer, placed the Spinrite CD in the drawer, and turned on the computer, allowing it to boot from the CD. A screen briefly appeared showing that it was running on FreeDOS, followed by the Spinrite menu on a screen very reminiscent of an old DOS program. I read over the choices and descriptions, and selected option #2, the repair and recovery option. Spinrite recognized my hard drive and its partitions, and presented the technical information about my hard drive. Following the onscreen prompts, Spinrite started to diagnose each track and sector on my hard drive, indicating on a simple graphical display what it had found, and that it was running an algorithm to correct and recover any errors found. While running, a selection of other screens was presented to show additional information in other display formats. After several minutes, an error was detected on my hard drive, which Spinrite promptly fixed. After about 30 minutes, Spinrite had completed its diagnosis and repair. I was presented with a screen that said to remove the CD from the drive, and then to “Press ESC to reboot”, which I eagerly complied with. Seconds later, the ubiquitous Windows welcome screen appeared, and my computer booted normally! Much relieved, my desktop computer was now alive and well.

After I assured myself that all was well, I proceeded to use the original copy of Spinrite on my now repaired hard drive to create multiple bootable rescue devices, including floppies, CDs, and even a small USB flash drive. I have stored these rescue devices where I can easily find them if the need should arise ever again.

In addition to keeping current backups of all of the critical files on a drive, it would also be a good practice to periodically run the Spinrite diagnostic utilities. By performing this task, hard drive problems can be identified and likely repaired before the drive crashes, sparing the user of the stress and anxieties that I went through. With my late night tension now relieved by Spinrite, I could get a good night’s sleep. Thank you Spinrite.

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