Path: csiph.com!v102.xanadu-bbs.net!xanadu-bbs.net!feeder.erje.net!eu.feeder.erje.net!newsfeed.datemas.de!rt.uk.eu.org!aioe.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: "Rod Pemberton" Newsgroups: comp.lang.forth Subject: Re: Go Forth And Prosper Date: Wed, 28 May 2014 04:56:29 -0400 Organization: Aioe.org NNTP Server Lines: 37 Message-ID: References: <7ecf883f-c724-442c-b1d4-d0756a54f267@googlegroups.com> <1ba4c2c0-9409-4d3c-8f7c-d215bc95156d@googlegroups.com> <60b8cb21-eeb7-421b-a4b0-8c8a190e063f@googlegroups.com> <7xy4xpb148.fsf@ruckus.brouhaha.com> <7xwqd9cehn.fsf@ruckus.brouhaha.com> <3151858b-9164-46d7-b15d-e9a5b95614ab@googlegroups.com> <7xegzgl7d2.fsf@ruckus.brouhaha.com> <3ef8188c-f7c4-4181-a029-1b36811870d5@googlegroups.com> <7xppj0jp4m.fsf@ruckus.brouhaha.com> <7xha4cjo7c.fsf@ruckus.brouhaha.com> <7xlhtmpgfs.fsf@ruckus.brouhaha.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: CNsg4fVcCsvs3UaOgZtQCw.user.speranza.aioe.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1; format=flowed; delsp=yes Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Complaints-To: abuse@aioe.org User-Agent: Opera Mail/12.16 (Linux) X-Notice: Filtered by postfilter v. 0.8.2 Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.forth:30877 On Wed, 28 May 2014 02:26:15 -0400, Paul Rubin wrote: > David J writes: >> Easy. Indiscriminate writing to boot blocks, disk controllers, >> configuration files, registries, etc, will hopelessly scramble a PC. > > I don't think that would physically damage the PC though--just the > software and files. You'd boot from a floppy, reformat the hard drive > and restore from backup (you did have backups didn't you), and be back > to where you were. Overwriting partition table on some computers can render the computer *permanently* unuseable. E.g., certain computers had a private partition with software which worked together with the BIOS. If that partition was wiped, the machine wouldn't boot. The software to restore or recreate such partitions isn't available. I don't recall at the moment if these were Hewlett-Packards or Compaqs, but I think it was HP ... About the only other way to harm an IBM compatible PC's hardware via software was to set the wrong video mode for the monitor and blow a fuse. Of course, that was only with early monitors. Overwriting to the partition tables can be a problem if you didn't back them up. For some filesystems, they can be recreated, but not for others. The worst one though is registry corruption on Windows. Without backups of the registry, the only way to restore the missing info is to re-install *everything*. Unfortunately, Windows comes pre-installed on most computers along with a whole bunch of software. You may find that you have the OS re-install disks, but find the computer manufacturer failed to provide a license key. They typically fail to provide the re-install disks for the custom hardware drivers, and other pre-installed software too. Rod Pemberton