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Posted by sharx35 on January 6, 2007, 10:43 pm
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> Hi, Steve.
>
> One or two more thoughts...
>
>> Cables look ok.
>
> Can you simply unplug the cables, then plug them right back in again?
>
> It might sound like a useless exercise, but it has often solved problems
> for me. My first computer, the original TRS-80 that I got in December
> 1977, used several "edge connectors", much like the PCI connectors on
> today's motherboards. Often, corrosion would build up on the metal
> "teeth" of those connectors. We often had to give them the "Pink Pearl"
> treatment: We would unplug the connector and "erase" those teeth using a
> rubber eraser that accountants always needed; "Pink Pearl" was a popular
> brand name for those. After erasing, we would plug them in and our erratic
> errors would disappear for a while. Often, we didn't even need to erase;
> just the friction of unplugging and plugging 'em back in cleaned off
> enough corrosion to do the trick.
>
> This trick still works with modern computers sometimes. Not as often as
> in the old days, but sometimes.
We called it "reseating the boards" in old PDP's.
>
>> Haven't run any other HD
>> tests - is there some freeware around for this, or do I need to
>> purchase a program somewhere?
>
> There probably are some free generic test programs. I already mentioned
> the two I used (PowerMax and SeaTools), which are provided free by the HD
> makers. They are targeted at those companies' products, of course, but
> they should work on just about any drive. Do you know who made your
> drive? Have you tried Dell's tech support?
>
> RC
> --
> R. C. White, CPA
> San Marcos, TX
> (Retired. No longer licensed to practice public accounting.)
> rc@grandecom.net
> Microsoft Windows MVP
> (Currently running Vista Ultimate x64)
>
>>>Well, I don't see much in your hardware that should be giving any
>>>trouble.
>>>Are you using a network of any kind?
>>
>> Nope, just my one little ol' desktop. :)
>>
>>>What happens if you unplug the USB HD before trying the backup? What
>>>does
>>>Disk Management say about that drive? Have you used DM to assign a
>>>semi-permanent letter to that drive, or does DM assign it whatever is
>>>available each time you plug it in?
>>
>> It has a permanent drive letter. No change when it's unplugged.
>>
>>>Have you rechecked all your cables and other physical connections, or run
>>>any HD tests?
>>
>> Chkdsk found no errors. Cables look ok. Haven't run any other HD
>> tests - is there some freeware around for this, or do I need to
>> purchase a program somewhere?
>>
>> Thanks again for all your time and effort on this! Obviously, it's
>> not confidence-inspiring to get these error messages - I've been
>> holding off on entering any new data until we can maybe figure out
>> what's wrong...
>
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