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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.)
Depends on what you mean by errors. if you had data that mattered, it's likely that some of that is now gone.
Since you have a rough idea of where is was when the power failed you can start SpinRite a little before that point. If there's any physical damage it should be apparent in the scan (or failure of a scan).
To start at a specific spot - Press the spacebar to select the drive to work on then press 'Enter'. On the next screen press the 'TAB' key to be able to select the starting and ending points for SpinRite to work on. Navigate with the arrow keys.
Physical damage to modern (after mid 90s?) hard disks is exceedingly rare. They automatically park the heads on power off. Put it this way:
Does your drive need a park command before power off? The answer will likely be the same to that question & whether physical damage is possible from a simple power failure.
The complication would be brownout (less than 100% power) before a failure, however any good PSU will kill the power if it detects inadequate power from the wall, and I'd imagine that also holds true for the motherboard, as well as the logic board controlling the hard disk.
Short answer: is physical damage possible from power interruption?
99.999999999% answer: no
Exception: POWER SURGE
While that may sometimes precede a power failure, it is a separate event.
However you should really be using a surge protector, no exceptions.
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