SpinRite 6.1 won't run on Sharp PC-4641 laptop

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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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M

mnc1959

New member
Nov 10, 2023
1
0
Steve said:
Perfect! Thanks for the closure on this one @krquinby !! That's a useful lesson for the future. If someone reports trouble, the first thing we'll have them do is boot with media created by SpinRite's own v6.1 media creator. (And it's important news that the existing SpinRite 6.0 boot prep might be incompatible in some instances. So thanks!)
Click to expand...
Hi Steve,

I just purchased an old Sharp PC-4641 laptop. It has a 720K floppy drive and a 40M hard drive. I thought i would run Spinrite 6.1 over the drive. I don't seem to be able to create 720k bootable media from within Spinrite 6.1 R5. I can create a DOS 5.0, 720k bootable diskette on the machine, can I copy the Spinrite executable across, or how do I create a bootable 720K bootable Spinrite 6.x diskette?

The other issue I keep getting is

the message:

Ilegal V40 Opcode Trapped!! and then the laptop (luggable) locks up.

I would really love to run Spinrite over the the hard drive in this old machine, but having no luck.

I have tried Spinrite 3, 5, 6 and 6.1 so far :-(

BTW Love your work and Security Now.

Cheers, Martin...
 
Hey Martin:

The illegal opcode message strongly suggests that the processor in your laptop is older than the minimal processor target for SpinRite. As SpinRite has moved forward through time I've been nudging its use of more recent instructions forward. This is not generally any problem since I'm still remaining way back. (No one — not one — of the 800 pre-release testers has reported an invalid opcode problem.)

Given the age of that machine, and the small size of its drive, I would try SpinRite 3 or 5, either of which ought to be fine with it. And if you really did want to run SpinRite 6.1 over that 40MB drive, removing it from the laptop and connecting it to a more recent PC would allow that to happen! (y)
 
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