How to run SpinRite 6.1 on a Linux drive

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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.

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R

Rog7

Member
Aug 4, 2025
24
0
I have a Humax PVR on which is recorded hundreds of hours of TV but the drive can no longer be read by the PVR. There are a couple of programmes on the drive which I'm desperate to recover, so I turned to SpinRite which I have used before. I also have a SATA to USB adapter.

However, the Humax drive, a 500GB Seagate, is Linux formatted and neither SpinRite nor my Win10 desktop recognises it when attached.

How can I use SpinRite on this Linux drive?
 
It shouldn't need to be recognized as a file system, but it needs to be recognized as a piece of hardware. If it's not acting as a HDD to the system, then it's already too far gone to be worked on by anything but a recovery company that will do very expensive hardware replacement to get at the content. It's also possible the drive has proprietary aspects, and won't work on a general PC platform in any case.
 
PHolder said:
It shouldn't need to be recognized as a file system, but it needs to be recognized as a piece of hardware. If it's not acting as a HDD to the system, then it's already too far gone to be worked on by anything but a recovery company that will do very expensive hardware replacement to get at the content. It's also possible the drive has proprietary aspects, and won't work on a general PC platform in any case.
Click to expand...
SpinRite lists my 3 SSDs plus 2 more items in red text saying they are not compatible. I assumed these to be other devices I have on the PC.

I did find a site that mentioned a driver which would make the Linux HDD visible to Windows and was hoping someone here had experience of this on SR.
 
Rog7 said:
SpinRite lists my 3 SSDs plus 2 more items in red text saying they are not compatible.
Click to expand...
That would, in my experience, be unusual. Sounds like your motherboard might use an unusual means to connect these devices... a fairly rare controller maybe (something like SCSI or enterprise RAID maybe?)
 
Not s spare 'slot', but the primary - physically remove all drives that we
do NOT want to test.

Simplify, simplify, simplify.

That leaves ALL slots open, then we install the ONE drive we want to
test, there is no confusion or risk to any drives we're not testing today.
 
Last edited:
peterblaise said:
Not s spare 'slot', but the primary - physically remove all drives that we
do NOT want to test.

That leaves ALL slots open, then we install the ONE drive we want to
test, there is no confusion or risk to any drives we're not testing today.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I'll remember that when I come to do this next month when my family has gone back home.
 
Endless, eh? I have drives that are sitting in a
stack for more than a year as I "plan"
( hahahaha ) to get to them someday ... soon
... really!

Good luck - and good patience.
 
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