Acoustic management from Windows

[NRG = mc²]

Are there any programs out there which will allow one to change the acoustic management on a Barracuda IV from within windows?

Basically, my problem is this: on my machine I'm using right now, there is no floppy drive (or a controller for one at that). The hard drive is NTFS so I can't access it after booting from DOS with the Windows 98 CD, and I don't have a CD writer here to be able to stick it on a CD. So, I need something that can do this from within Windows.

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[Tannin]

Next time, don't be so stupid that you buy a machine without a floppy drive.

 

[Tea]

Tannin! That's a dreadul thing to say. You take that back right away!

 

[Tannin]

Why should I? It's true.

 

[Tea]

That's beside the point. NRG is supposed to be your friend. You are supposed to help your friends out, not say rude and unhelpful things to then.

 

[Tannin]

Oh all right then. I'm sorry NRG. I think I'm jus grumpy this morning. But what on earth are you doing with a machine with no floppy drive?

 

[Tea]

I'm sorry about Tannin, NRG. Just ignore him. Maybe I can think of something.

Under OS/2 you simply make an image file of your DOS boot disc (you can compress it if you like) and store it as a file on your hard drive. Then you boot "DOS from Drive A:" from inside of OS/2. Won't help on a 2K box though.

You can run Seagate's tools online from here: http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools but so far as I know they still haven't enabled accustic management as part of them. Crappy sertvice from Seagate, but (shrug) what can you do? Check it out though, just in cases the new version has improved over the old one.

 

[Tea]

Here is a program which lets you access NTFS volumes under DOS. That would work. Just one small problem: in the fine print of the system requirements, it says "two formatted 1.44 floppy discs". Hmmm.. I think you are stuck.

There is only one thing for it, NRG. Remove the drive and flash it to your desired AM level on a spare machine.

 

[Tannin]

Or just buy a real computer.

 

[Tea]

Sigh.

Oh he's hopeless this morning. I'm sorry NRG. Sometimes I just can't do anything with him.

 

[cas]

Next time, don't be so stupid that you buy a machine without a floppy drive.

Although I remained excited for years after migrating to floppy disks from cassette tape, the device has outlived its usefulness.

In PCs, a traditional floppy controller uses slave DMA over the ISA bridge. The media sense mechanism is broken, and the reliability of the underlying technology is poor.

I have a general solution to energy’s problem, but I am afraid it is not yet ready for prime time.

I agree, that unless he can boot from a usb storage device, he may be better off configuring the drive in another machine. Even so, I am afraid that you will have to count me as one of those “stupid” guys who has bought many machines without floppy drives.

 

[Prof.Wizard]

This is what I call a "one-man thread"... LOL, nice work Tannin/Tea! :mrgrn:

 

[cas]

NRG,

If you really don't want to config the drive in another machine, you could probably create a disk image, set up DHCP/TFTP, and boot to a PXE ram disk over the network.

I have always thought this process was a bit of a hassle, but it should work.

 

[Tea]

I hate to agree with Tannin, but this time he is right. Consider the absurdity of this statement: "the device has outlived its usefulness" in the context of a thread where no-one has been able to provide any other working solution short of using a different computer.

That's the problem with floppies: they are horrible, slow, low-tech things, but they remain an essential tool nevertheless, one that it is foolish to try to do without. Hey - the last time I needed to use my spare tyre was three cars ago, but I wouldn't dream of not having one.

Floppies have indeed outlived their desirability but the need for them (their "usefulness", to use another word) remains. If further proof be required, simply read this thread.

 

[cas]

Consider the absurdity of this statement...

I disagree. The technology is here, now.

Just because there is an installed base of IBM 9020es running on vacuum tubes, does mean that they have not outlived their usefulness. If the FAA finds themselves having to purchase new tubes, it is their fault, and that of their suppliers.

That NRG does not have access to newer technologies, or chooses not to use them is his choice.

I have gotten along famously without floppies for years. They can't be that essential.

 

[cas]

...does not mean...

 

[Mercutio]

Yeah. Probably half my computers don't have one. Why bother?

USB Floppy drives are affordable since the advent of the iMac, though. I have one of those in my travel kit for the rare times I need one. They don't work in DOS (makes them somewhat less than useful), but in conjunction with a CD-R drive it's at least possible to make a bootable CD with one.

I've seen them at big electronics stores for $25, and I've seen whitebox drives for under $10.

 

[Bartender]

I have gotten along famously without floppies for years. They can't be that essential.

CAS, you must admit that your experience has brought you to a level of floppy-free operation that is uncommon for most users. Hence, Tony’s admonition to keep a floppy drive is quite valid. Once the mainstream market achieves your level function, the average solution will be different. Until, floppy drives are an ideal solution for many problems.

 

[Mercutio]

Given the number of machines I see with floppy drives no one knew were even broken, I think that day is closer than you all think.

 

[Bartender]

Given the number of machines I see with floppy drives no one knew were even broken, I think that day is closer than you all think.

Mercutio,

Would you say that more floppy drives are broken or that more floppy diskettes are unreadable and require a format? I've noticed how often floppy media is negatively altered by slight variations in temperature and humidity.

 

[Mercutio]

Nope. I said broken drives and I meant it. I know there are lots of people getting rid of P2-400-class machines with floppy drives that were never used.

It's not like it's every machine or anything. But every fifith or sixth box I try to fix, I run into "Whoops, I never use the floppy drive!", and my boot floppy comes out caked with dust or spider webs or something.

 

[Bartender]

Sad to hear about. The beloved floppy, becoming moth-ridden, and downtrodden. Considering the few dollars they cost, Buck still includes them in the systems he sells.

 

[Mercutio]

A clearly misguided soul. The best option, of course, is to include a bootable CD-ROM with new systems. Customers are less likely to lose it, expose it to magnets, or worst of all, throw it out with the packing. People think CDs are important, after all.

Floppies REALLY need to join QIC-80s and Bernoulli drives on the rubbish bin of computer history.

 

[Bartender]

Buck is an advocate for bootable CD media, but for posterity, the floppy stays.

Windows XP seems so easy to install with a bootable CD drive, why would you run in otherwise?

 

[timwhit]

When I work as a tech (every couple weeks or so), almost every utility or tool is on a floppy disk. Norton Disk Doctor, Partition Magic, Easy Drive...all on floppies. It's just easier. Every computer has a floppy drive that comes in to be fixed.

Lots of computers don't have bootable CD-ROM drives, especially older machines. Some machines that come in to be fixed don't even have CD-ROMs at all.

Almost every machine is already configured to boot from a floppy, you don't have to go into the bios and change it to boot of the CD. Some BIOS’s will allow you to boot from a CD but the CD-ROM won't support it. CDs get scratched and then you have to burn a new one. If one of the floppies gets busted, then all we do is format any disk laying around and write the image back to it.

Want to get the newest version of F-prot on a computer? Gonna burn it to a CD? What a waste, why not just put it on a floppy. Oh you burned it to a CD, now you have to have a boot disk with CD-ROM drivers on it. What a pain in the ass.

I like floppies. I never save anything important on them. Actually I never save anything on them. But, when I want to fix a machine they make more sense than any other medium.

Sorry for babbling, it's late.

BTW, If you think that everyone has new computers from the last 3 or 4 years at the oldest then you are in a dream world. In the last couple months I have seen 286's, Mac Classics, a couple Tandy's, and the first Compaq portable computer with built in CRT (what a sweet piece of as...oh sorry).

 

[Barry K. Nathan]

and I don't have a CD writer here to be able to stick it on a CD

Note to Tannin: This, not the lack of a floppy drive, is the real kicker IMO. If NRG had a CD writer, he'd be able to just download Seagate's AAM utility, put it onto a bootable MS-DOS CD (thanks to floppy emulation), and run that. I've actually done this with IBM Drive Fitness Test and IBM Feature Tool.

I still use floppy disks sometimes, especially when I'm booting something that will fit onto a 720K floppy (that's right, I have several hundred 800KB floppies left over from my Apple IIgs days which I've reformatted as 720K for PC use). I don't have quite as many working 1.44MB floppies as I have 720K floppies, and I'd like to avoid buying more floppies if I don't have to, so if it's larger than 720KB I tend to burn it onto a bootable CD instead.

 

[cas]

My first real job in the “computer industry” was as a technician. All day, I worked on IBM 5150s, and sold ISA ram cards. I understand that as a technician it is your job to look backwards at your installed base.

As an engineer, it’s my job to look forward. The last machine I designed had support for USB mass storage class devices in rom, where it belongs. The customer had originally insisted on a floppy drive. Eventually we were able to convince him that USB was more flexible, and made more sense.

Or course, the device could also boot over the network.

If you own a vintage machine, great. Crank up those Disk ][s, and enjoy. If not, listen to the advice I gave our customer. The floppy drive is dead. A higher proportion of machines shipped today have USB ports, than floppy drives. Let it go.

Also, if you happen to be one of those lame vendors who insist on shipping DOS tools, please join the 21st century, and develop a stand alone application. Not everybody has a DOS license.

While I am ranting, when can we ditch BIOS for EFI? Flash is cheap. It is time to move on.

I have great admiration for the efficient market that the x86/PC industry represents. I reap the benefits the resultant price/performance ratio every day. Even so, I would be lying if I claimed not to envy the control that Apple enjoys.

 

[NRG = mc²]

But what on earth are you doing with a machine with no floppy drive?

Couldn't be avoided... this is a small portable computer that doesn't have any room for a floppy drive.

I checked out Seatools yesterday, no luck...

Remove the drive and flash it to your desired AM level on a spare machine.

Aint no spare machine

boot to a PXE ram disk over the network.

Network? Who says I've got a network?!

Seems I'll have to live with it till I get back to my normal machine in 2 months...

Thanks anyway