Getting close to releasing what I believe will be the new standard in storage diagnostics for sysadmins and service people … Let me know what you think!!
The SANtool™ is a multi-platform portable storage diagnostic tool. The SANtool enables the administrator/technician to efficiently diagnose, test, tune, break and/or repair storage peripherals. Unlike traditional software diagnostics there is nothing to license, “install” or remove. Plug the SANtool USB Flash stick into a machine running a supported Windows or UNIX/LINUX operating system, and start using the software. The diagnostics are performed by SANtools® command-line program, (SMARTMon-UX), and controlled via a web browser over a secure (SSL) connection. All HTML, Javascript files, images, the embedded web server, and O/S-specific executables are included on the SANtool. No java runtime, external DLLs, drivers, or web servers are required.
This is picture of the SANtool desktop
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Disk hacking, Failure analysis
Microsoft was told by a federal jury to pay $388 million to a Singapore company for infringing a patented invention used to deter software piracy.
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“AFR and MTBF specifications are based on the following assumptions for desktop personal computer environments: .. 2400 power-on-hours per year” , so reads this screenshot is from the Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 product manual. Read more…
boot-of-death
The link to Seagate data recovery services is https://services.seagate.com/online_request_form.aspx. Fill out the form, and they send you information. If you drop the disk drive off to a UPS store, then they pick up the costs so shipping is free (unless you want to overnight it). The two recovery centers in the USA are in Chicago and Santa Clara. The Seagate (US) 24 Hour Critical Response Number is: Read more…
boot-of-death
The nature and scope of the Seagate 7200.11 boot-of-death problem has been blown way out of proportion, and people are making grossly incorrect assumptions. Seagate recently released a failure analysis report under non-disclosure to some (or all, I don’t know) OEM partners and distributors that describes the issue in great detail. Why under NDA? In my opinion, full knowledge of the problem could potentially create a blueprint for virus writers who want to go beyond just erasing files on targeted machines. So to be safe, full specifics aren’t being disclosed (but you can now find a little more info on Tom’s Hardware if you know where to look).
As part of the manufacturing process, Seagate writes diagnostic information to reserved areas of the disk drives. These bit patterns work with the test equipment and drive firmware to perform diagnostic actions such as placing it in a secure lockdown mode. Read more…
boot-of-death
