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Re: Weird Problem on an old Macintosh

  • To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
  • Subject: [mg40713] Re: Weird Problem on an old Macintosh
  • From: Technicians <jeffa at NOSPAM.chem.usyd.edu.au>
  • Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2003 04:06:50 -0400 (EDT)
  • Organization: The University of Sydney, Australia
  • References: <b75o15$287$1@smc.vnet.net>
  • Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com

Thanks to both Eric & Selwyn. I know of the aging disc problem but had 
forgotten it. The discs are physically undamaged but I cannot vouch for 
the actual condition of the surface.

Eric, your suggestion about contacting Wolfram. I've never heard of this 
kind of service before. Every software supplier I've ever dealt with 
don't want to know you once you've parted the old hard earned.

I'll let the group know how I go.


Technicians wrote:
> I am helping out a retired friend with a registered version of 
> Mathematica v2.1
> 
> Yes; I know it's old but so is his computer, (a Macintosh SE20HD). It 
> worked for him so he kept using it. The inevitable happened and the old 
> beast went belly up just as he had a deadline.
> 
> No prob he thought, "I'll reinstall it on another machine and work from 
> the backups of my work". The other machine is also old, a Macintosh LCI, 
> and working with compatible system software. The first disc in the drive 
> coughs up a "This disk is unreadable:" dialogue. It never read a floppy 
> disc again. Okay, he's unlucky, the floppy drive has died.
> 
> This is where I come in; when he referred to me for help. I'm definitely 
> no expert but I'm no slouch either. I've got a spare floppy drive, an 
> old working Macintosh Classic I which I use as a diagnostic machine in 
> such circumstances, the skills/software to test his Mathematica discs 
> and change the drive over. But, when I put the first of the Mathematica 
> discs into the drive of the Classic "this disk is unreadable:" etc! nor 
> can I read any other floppy now either.
> 
> I cannot see how locked 800k floppies can be back written with code to 
> prevent reinstallation (the way some of those older protection schemes 
> worked) nor do I believe (as my friend does) that there is malicious 
> code to 'kill' attempted reinstalls on the discs. But after having two 
> different machines go belly up with the same discs I am beginning to wonder.
> 
> Anyone got any ideas or seen a similar type of problem? I am NOT trying 
> to get around any copy protection scheme that may be there but I AM 
> trying to find out if there any history of such problems. And if there 
> is any cure/fix.
> 
> 

	



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