Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

["William Johnson" <lonestarnot AT hotmail.com>]

> From: "pawelka" <pawelka AT intrex.net>
> Date: Tue, 15 May 2001 13:18:44 -0400
>
> Some of us never learn that lesson...
>
> ---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
> From: "Stella L." <thumb_nails AT yahoo.com>
> Date: Tue, 15 May 2001 07:14:01 -0700 (PDT)
>
> I had problems trying to teach my students to get in
> the habits of periodically saving and backing up their
> files and all. Somehow they only learn when they lose
> a file or two.


Ouch!
 Caught red-handed, by a virus!
  ... and far too many days from my last backup.

Suspect: a Compressed Image Library (.CIL) file. (clip art)

I suffering temporary insanity and managed to delude myself
into thinking that code from a MAJOR SW vendor was safe.  WRONG!
I didn't recover from that delusion until _after_ I'd
EXECUTED the self-extracting library.
 (I don't know of any virus scanners that will catch it)


To be explicit, the evidence is circumstantial.
But when I tried to save the flyer with the clip art, both my
floppy (A:) and primary HD (C:) reported "full or busy".
So I tried to reboot.
  ... the system -- which worked continuously since July'98
      -- has not been past a blinking cursor since.

My current plan is to unplug the HD and put it in my Linux box
so I can mount it and check it.  But I'm not sure _precisely_
how to do that.

Is that even the right course?
Are there tools which would facilitate that?  (low-cost tools?)
Are there other things I should try first?
  e.g. how do I eliminate the possibility of a dead CMOS battery?
       or is that even a common consideration any more?

Are there online guides to this type of recovery you'd recommend?

I'm currently using my wife's Win98 box, but I've been warned:
 "Desktop changes may be hazardous to your health.  Consequences
  may include, divorce, castration, or mysterious combustion."

Combined with the potential loss of telework income,
that makes recovery a real priority.




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