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Thread ID: 53689	2005-01-24 20:53:00	Can software kill a hard drive?	FoxyMX (5)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
317626	2005-01-25 04:58:00	on a side issue.... any one know WHY some isp's reguard spybot as an evil program and it must be uninstalled? had a few complaints from XTRA customer that their help desk won't do anything untill they uninstall it :( I had an issue with Spybot and Ad-Aware. With a particularly nasty trojan, removing all default entries actually damaged connectivity to the net. Specifically, it regarded my DNS settings as an attempted hijack and modified them which resulted in ADSL internet dying. If i didn't go through and read what I removed properly, the resulting mess on my internet would've been too much for a non computer literate person to deal with, let alone a helpdesk. Lo.	Lohsing (219)
317627	2005-01-25 05:06:00	<Rubs hands together with relish> Tomato, Old English or Mustard? And why are you rubbing your hands with relish? To add spice to your life?	godfather (25)
317628	2005-01-25 05:17:00	<Rubs hands together with relish> I am soooo looking forward to this battle - they won't know what hit them. pressf1.pcworld.co.nz Thanks everyone, I'll keep you posted. pressf1.pcworld.co.nz Thanks for your resolution to keep us posted. There is software that will destroy a hard drive but in this case I would think it is very unlikely.	Elephant (599)
317629	2005-01-25 05:39:00	DEC made a disk drive (the RK05) which had a heavy "linear motor" to move the heads in and out (travel about 6 inches). The drive weighed about 250 lb, and there might be two of them plus a computer and power supplies in a 7 feet high rack, which was very heavy. Naughty users discovered that a short programme (a dozen or so instructions, entered with a debugger, or from the switch panel of a PDP11) could move the head in and out at a resonant frequency. The whole rack could be made to walk across the room. It's not an urban myth. I have done it. ;) (briefly, with my own machine). The story goes that some people were playing in this way from a remote console. They weren't in the computer room because of the noise. Unfortunately the walking racks managed to get as far as the (inward-opening) door to the computer room. :( But even this wasn't fatal to the drives.	Graham L (2)
317630	2005-01-25 05:52:00	If you search the forum at www.storage review.com you will find that the only software caused problem given any credence is likely to be excessive seeking caused by P2P file sharing and even this takes time. Ordinary hard drives are not designed for this and just wear out.	PaulD (232)
317631	2005-01-25 05:54:00	I had an issue with Spybot and Ad-Aware. With a particularly nasty trojan, removing all default entries actually damaged connectivity to the net. Specifically, it regarded my DNS settings as an attempted hijack and modified them which resulted in ADSL internet dying. If i didn't go through and read what I removed properly, the resulting mess on my internet would've been too much for a non computer literate person to deal with, let alone a helpdesk. Lo. you didn't have an issue with spybot or ad-aware, you had an issue with scumware that had to be removed. Anyhow, The winsock fix after removing the nasties will clear it right up, have had the exact same issue a couple of times recently so it must be a new strain of infection. www.spychecker.com	Metla (12)
317632	2005-01-27 03:39:00	Well that was a bit of a fizzer - after going in for a chat about the warranty the store checked their records, apologised and refunded my friend's money with no fuss at all . :dogeye: Apparently her hubby was told by some twerp that it was "probably some software" that had killed the drive and, due to a communication breakdown between the store and their techie outfit, was asked for the cost of replacement . Not knowing any better, he paid up and got put in the doghouse upon arriving home with it . :D So, all's well that ends well, though I was looking forward to a bit of a scrap . :p Thanks for all the support anyway . :thumbs:	FoxyMX (5)
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