A dedicated Spinrite machine

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  • BootAble – FreeDOS boot testing freeware

    To obtain direct, low-level access to a system's mass storage drives, SpinRite runs under a GRC-customized version of FreeDOS which has been modified to add compatibility with all file systems. In order to run SpinRite it must first be possible to boot FreeDOS.

    GRC's “BootAble” freeware allows anyone to easily create BIOS-bootable media in order to workout and confirm the details of getting a machine to boot FreeDOS through a BIOS. Once the means of doing that has been determined, the media created by SpinRite can be booted and run in the same way.

    The participants here, who have taken the time to share their knowledge and experience, their successes and some frustrations with booting their computers into FreeDOS, have created a valuable knowledgebase which will benefit everyone who follows.

    You may click on the image to the right to obtain your own copy of BootAble. Then use the knowledge and experience documented here to boot your computer(s) into FreeDOS. And please do not hesitate to ask questions – nowhere else can better answers be found.

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BoneChilling

New member
May 3, 2024
2
0
Finally version 6.1 is out and I feel like I can start scanning all these drives that I've been sitting on seemingly forever. Now that 6.1 is here, I am looking for a dedicated mostly small form factor machine that I can use as a dedicated Spinrite appliance. It should have USB 3 at least with sata ports and it would be clutch if it had at least a somewhat modern M2 port but there are expansion cards for that that would work well.

Anyone have such a machine or recommend one? I am sitting on hundreds of hard drives that go back 20 years.
 
Finally version 6.1 is out and I feel like I can start scanning all these drives that I've been sitting on seemingly forever. Now that 6.1 is here, I am looking for a dedicated mostly small form factor machine that I can use as a dedicated Spinrite appliance. It should have USB 3 at least with sata ports and it would be clutch if it had at least a somewhat modern M2 port but there are expansion cards for that that would work well.

Anyone have such a machine or recommend one? I am sitting on hundreds of hard drives that go back 20 years.
Many folks here (including Steve) have been using the ZimaBoard:


See these posts on needed upgrades (beefier power supply, SATA cables, etc.).


 
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Many folks here (including Steve) have been using the ZimaBoard:


See these posts on needed upgrades (beefier power supply, SATA cables, etc.).



Thanks for the links. I think I'll go with the beefier power supply. I am currently creating a dedicated wishlist on Amazon for all of this. I should have better searched the forums for existing questions like mine.