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Archiver > SOG-UK > 2000-10 > 0971389406


From: Bill Templeton< >
Subject: Re: [SOG] Bad times are here again
Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2000 23:23:26 +0100


On Mon 2 Oct 2000 (19:16:51 +0100), wrote:
> Having had 2 hard drives fail in the last 5 years, my heart sank this
> morning when my PC emitted rythmic clicking noises as it was switched
> on, and refused to boot. The current hard drive is clearly on its way
> out and will have to be replaced - at least I have my data backed
> up...Admittedly I run my computers longer hours than many people, but
> my point in relating this saga is to warn that it's not a case of 'if'
> your hard drive will fail but 'when' it will. Fortunately replacements
> are increasingly inexpensive, and good software exists to let you
> transfer programs and data from dying hard drives to new ones. The only
> good news in all of this is that failures are often gradual rather than
> sudden. In my case it was just a question of switching on and off 3
> times, and the 3rd time all was well. But be warned, it *will* happen
> to you.

Sadly, this is an inherent fault of PCs, which have the operating system(s) on
the hard disc, which consequently takes a caning owing to continual accessing.
The solution is to use a computer with a ROM-based OS, such as the RiscOS
computers produced formerly by Acorn and now by Castle Technology, Kinetic and
Mico. I have been a devotee of these since 1982, starting with the BBC B and
progressing via the Archimedes to the RiscPC, and have never suffered a hard
disc failure. Admittedly the software base is smaller, but applications are
available for most purposes, and the graphical user interface is far superior
to Windows.
--


Bill Templeton, South Bucks

Chance your ARM - take a risc!

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