Disasters and Recovery

From: D. Peschel <dpeschel_at_u.washington.edu>
Date: Sun Jan 17 18:21:57 1999

Eric Smith and Tony Duell wrote:
> > Why not? Which parts would degrade? I think most modern systems have
>
> Just about all of them :-(
>
> A lot of hard drives store HDA parameters (bad blocks, servo settings,
> etc) in an E2PROM on the logic board. It's programmed for that particular
> HDA. SO I think that will be long-gone. Ditto other bits of silicon will fail

Obviously, modern technology (since roughly 1975, as far as computers are
concerned) was not made to last 100 years or even 10.

> The motor and positioner bearings will probably stick. Sure you _can_
> dismantle the HDA in a clean room and re-lubricate, but re-aligning the
> drive will not be trivial

Perhaps the only alternative would be to put _dis_assembled parts in the
time capsule, and leave detailed directions for assembly. A statement like
"These are the best directions we could find. Note that the 1979 computer
is a lot easier to work with. Note how technology has changed in 20 years."
would be an effective (if not encouraging) comment for the people in 2100!

I wonder if the hard drive and motherboard manufacturers would have any
sympathy for people who are making time capsules and give out their
proprietary information? Probably not but it's worth a shot. :)

-- Derek
Received on Sun Jan 17 1999 - 18:21:57 GMT