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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.
(You may permanently close this reminder with the 'X' in the upper right.)
Not quite. Level 2 does normal reads only - until a read fails. Then L2 invokes DynaStat for data recovery. L2 then attempts to write recovered data, or all zeros for unrecoverable data.
Edit:
Incorrect: "I see L2 generating beaucoup errors when attempting to read/write nonexistent locations on a fake drive." This statement applies to normal non-fake drives, where the firmware tells the truth about what is going on in the drive.
A fake drive, with hacked firmware, would respond with "Success!" to attempts to read to or write from nonexistent locations. Since SpinRite believes what the drive tells it, SpinRite would remain blissfully unaware that a fake drive is lying to it.
find intentionally 'fake' drives, but was designed presuming good
faith on the part of manufacturers.
So there may be fake drives that SpinRite at any Level might assess as
'all good'.
ValiDrive 1 and eventually a new ValiDrive 2 are aimed at intentionally
'faked' storage.
Remember, there are alternative tests, data-DESTRUCTIVE tests, that
just take longer, a LOT longer.
Ah . . . Correct. My previous response was biased by my thinking about normal drives.
I've edited that post to correct it.
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