26 May
2000
26 May
'00
4:49 a.m.
When people receive complete systems (with software, manuals, etc.) do you
make any attempt to document the state of the system when you received it?
For example, do you record what programs were on the hard drive, what
peripherals were included, what the system was used for (either what you
were told, or could infer), etc?
It seems to me that increasingly, social historians and museums are more
interested in _how_ an artifact was used than in the thing itself. But
often , especially when I receive multiple examples of the same system, I
mix and match parts and programs to suit myself, and lose track of which
disk drive came with which CPU, which software was originally installed on
each, etc. Information is obviously being lost here.
I'd be interested to know what other list members are doing, and how
important you think the information being lost is.
Regards,
Mark Gregory
26 May
26 May
5:15 a.m.
I try and keep all parts together as I got them and I document each
piece with serial numbers, part numbers, dates printed on the labels,
and any other information that I can get off the units themselves. I
also write any important information given to me by the person I get
the item from. Sometime I learn important historical information from
the person if they are the original owner. When I get the museum going
I would like everything to be in factory shipped order. and working if
possible. I use a zip drive to store all this information on so that I
do fill up my main system's hard drive.
John Keys
----- Original Message -----
From: Mark Gregory <mgregory(a)vantageresearch.com>
To: <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org>
Sent: Friday, May 26, 2000 11:49 AM
Subject: Documenting how old computers were used
When people receive complete systems (with software,
manuals, etc.) do
you
make any attempt to document the state of the system
when you received
it?
For example, do you record what programs were on the
hard drive, what
peripherals were included, what the system was used for (either what
you
were told, or could infer), etc?
It seems to me that increasingly, social historians and museums are
more
interested in _how_ an artifact was used than in the
thing itself. But
often , especially when I receive multiple examples of the same
system, I
mix and match parts and programs to suit myself, and
lose track of
which
disk drive came with which CPU, which software was
originally
installed on
each, etc. Information is obviously being lost here.
I'd be interested to know what other list members are doing, and how
important you think the information being lost is.
Regards,
Mark Gregory
7:29 a.m.
possible. I use a zip drive to store all this
information on so that I
do fill up my main system's hard drive.
John Keys
NEVER trust a Zip drive with important info, I hope you've got a backup of
the data on other media. Yes, this is the voice of experience speaking.
Thankfully it wasn't that important of data in my case.
If anyone wants to know what I'm talking about research the 'Click of Death'.
My PowerMac G4/450 came with a Zip Drive, I've never bothered sticking any
of the many disks I've got in it.
Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/ |
8 a.m.
At 12:29 PM 5/26/00 -0700, you wrote:
NEVER trust a Zip drive with important info, I hope
you've got a backup of
the data on other media. Yes, this is the voice of experience speaking.
Thankfully it wasn't that important of data in my case.
The "Click of Death" kills the drive but I've not heard that it actually
killed the media. References?
--Chuck
29 May
29 May
12:31 a.m.
Zane H. Healy
If anyone wants to know what I'm talking about
research the 'Click of
Death'.
Anyone read the latest on the click of death? After a year (or two) of
admitting there is a fault, Iomega telephone support are blaming the
problem on non-standard hardware (anything that is not WinDOS or Mac). It is
this type of ignorance that really irritates me...
BTW, the link is on ANN, http:///www.ann.lu.
--
Gareth Knight
Amiga Interactive Guide
http://amiga.emugaming.com
31 May
31 May
5:04 a.m.
Check www.grc.com for
Trouble in paradise
He states that there is no single cause for the click of death because
various kinds of damage will lead to the click. The drive will
start to click on a seek track zero which it cannot find.
This can be caused by things like damaged cartridges and harsh handling or
plain wear.
He also has a utility to assess if your drive is going down
the road to death
Sipke de Wal
----- Original Message -----
From: Gareth Knight <gaz_k(a)lineone.net>
To: <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org>
Sent: Monday, May 29, 2000 2:31 PM
Subject: Re: Documenting how old computers were used
Zane H. Healy
If anyone wants to know what I'm talking
about research the 'Click of
Death'.
Anyone read the latest on the click of death? After a year (or two) of
admitting there is a fault, Iomega telephone support are blaming the
problem on non-standard hardware (anything that is not WinDOS or Mac). It is
this type of ignorance that really irritates me...
BTW, the link is on ANN, http:///www.ann.lu.
--
Gareth Knight
Amiga Interactive Guide
http://amiga.emugaming.com
26 May
26 May
6:32 a.m.
When people receive complete systems (with software,
manuals, etc.) do you
make any attempt to document the state of the system when you received it?
For example, do you record what programs were on the hard drive, what
peripherals were included, what the system was used for (either what you
were told, or could infer), etc?
I dump the drive contents to a network server and periodically burn a CDR.
Too often in an older system the priceless element is the software.
I have a pair of IIci macs with MARS compression cards in them, that I have
left intact so I can later figure out what they do. I have MANY more cards
etc. though that I have little hope of ever making work again (DOME imaging
systems etc.).
1:48 p.m.
On Fri, 26 May 2000, Mark Gregory wrote:
It seems to me that increasingly, social historians
and museums are more
interested in _how_ an artifact was used than in the thing itself. But
often , especially when I receive multiple examples of the same system, I
mix and match parts and programs to suit myself, and lose track of which
disk drive came with which CPU, which software was originally installed on
each, etc. Information is obviously being lost here.
I'd be interested to know what other list members are doing, and how
important you think the information being lost is.
In fact, this is a subject I have been thinking about recently and I'm
hoping to commission a talk for the next VCF. Any takers?
I keep the systems I receive intact, as long as they came from the
original owner. If I purchase something from a flea market or thrift
store, it is usually already separated from the of the unit, and even if
not, the context is lost. So I don't have problems with separating those
pieces or mixing and matching them with other systems.
As far as any books I receive with a computer, I have decided to separate
those out into my library, but note whom they came from. The same would
go for software.
Sellam International Man of Intrigue and Danger
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looking for a six in a pile of nines...
Coming soon: VCF 4.0!
VCF East: Planning in Progress
See http://www.vintage.org for details!
28 May
28 May
8:06 a.m.
At 06:48 PM 5/26/00 -0700, you wrote:
On Fri, 26 May 2000, Mark Gregory wrote:
Hmmm... that starts to sound interesting... Perhaps a topic.
-jim
BTW: (unmerciful ping) Talked to Dag lately? B^}
---
jimw(a)computergarage.org
The Computer Garage - http://www.computergarage.org
Computer Garage Fax - (503) 646-0174
It seems to me that increasingly, social
historians and museums are more
interested in _how_ an artifact was used than in the thing itself. But
often , especially when I receive multiple examples of the same system, I
mix and match parts and programs to suit myself, and lose track of which
disk drive came with which CPU, which software was originally installed on
each, etc. Information is obviously being lost here.
I'd be interested to know what other list members are doing, and how
important you think the information being lost is.
In fact, this is a subject I have been thinking about recently and I'm
hoping to commission a talk for the next VCF. Any takers?
29 May
29 May
5:51 a.m.
At 01:06 PM 5/28/00, you wrote:
At 06:48 PM 5/26/00 -0700, Sellam wrote:
Oopsie... that reply was intended for Sellam rather than the list...
-jim
---
jimw(a)computergarage.org
The Computer Garage - http://www.computergarage.org
Computer Garage Fax - (503) 646-0174
On Fri, 26 May 2000, Mark Gregory wrote:
Hmmm... that starts to sound interesting... Perhaps a topic.
-jim It seems to me that increasingly, social
historians and museums are more
interested in _how_ an artifact was used than in the thing itself...
In fact, this is a subject I have been thinking about recently and I'm
hoping to commission a talk for the next VCF. Any takers?
8972
days inactive
8977
days old
9 comments
9 participants
participants (9)
-
cmcmanis＠mcmanis.com -
foo＠siconic.com -
gaz_k＠lineone.net -
healyzh＠aracnet.com -
jimw＠agora.rdrop.com -
jrkeys＠concentric.net -
mgregory＠vantageresearch.com -
mikeford＠socal.rr.com -
sipke＠wxs.nl