07/19/06 Canada migration on hold

[Howru]

Sic Piff on the border patrol!  After a trip that long he can use the exercise.

She didn't get in because they're trying to take over the world too.

http://www.megatokyo.com/index.php?strip_id=200

They don't want the competition.

I was thinking of this: http://www.megatokyo.com/index.php?strip_id=10.  Would she have to face a hockey player or a Mountie?

[Tapewolf]

I'd really like to learn more about your computer, because everyone seems to be assuming it's the hard-drive which very well may not be the case.  It could be as simple as a loose stick of memory.  And even if your hard-drive did get corrupted somewhow, but not physically damged, you could still gets the files transfered to another hard-drive, no problem.

Yes, I jumped the gun on that.  The first step would be to establish whether it's the drive that's failed or anything else.  Follow my suggestion above ONLY if the disk unit itself is physically damaged, i.e. it isn't spinning or is making clicking sounds.  Then, and only then, do you panic and look at data recovery centres.

P.S.  In the happy event that it's some other component failed, or the thing has simply come unplugged, I'd still like to acquire copies of the full-res files in case it does happen.

[Stig Hemmer]

Pesky wannabe illegal immigrants... 

  Uhm, wait, I was joking!  Don't hurt me, please... NO!  NOT my brain! I need it!      Need brains...

[Gornemant]

Yes, I jumped the gun on that.  The first step would be to establish whether it's the drive that's failed or anything else.  Follow my suggestion above ONLY if the disk unit itself is physically damaged, i.e. it isn't spinning or is making clicking sounds.  Then, and only then, do you panic and look at data recovery centres.

P.S.  In the happy event that it's some other component failed, or the thing has simply come unplugged, I'd still like to acquire copies of the full-res files in case it does happen.

if a hard drive is physically (mechanically) dead forget it, do you realize how much those cleanroom recovery cost? I'm being optimistic if I say 5 and add at least 3-4 zeros to it..... unless the data is extremely important and costy, you will probably not see mister regular ever ask for such a thing.

[Snap]

From what it looks like...the hard drive or something got jostled on the trip and it caused the problem.

I'll find out this Friday if the hard drive is even recoverable.

Tapewolf and HazmaT are right. Ive had similar problems once but i got off lightly with only a broken master-boot sektor (which also makes it appear broken). Gornemant is right on the financial issue though.

And I realize that heh...it all sounds so horribly lame and like a real-furry-artist...I really wish Mike didn't try to do a call out for money...cause it sounds so cliche and laughable that "oh look. Amber is in another financial bind, lets get the nice readers to give her more money."

No. No it doesnt. To be precise it sounds more like "My computer broke down and ive lost alot of work" so there now actually is a reason to donate for our favorite artist.

I really am quite a stupid sight...only a month after my last financial hurdle here comes another.

Please stop saying that. Its not even nearly your own fault and you blaming yourself makes me sad (and i dont think im alone here).

I'm just tired...and probably rambling.    The drive was a drain...I havent eaten in 24 hours and I'm not even hungry...my spirits have been curb-stomped and I keep going through my head various what ifs...

You want something cliche and laughable? Here it is: I beg you to calm down, even get some rest.(But i asume the people closer to you do a much better job than me on this)
This has been a heavy impact (but not your fault), and nobody is going to blame you for not updating for the time it takes you to solve it. There is no need to hurry.

I didnt even know I could screw things up so majestically in the span of 1 day.

Theres one huge error in this one, and i hope by now you dont need my help to spot it.

[Tapewolf]

if a hard drive is physically (mechanically) dead forget it, do you realize how much those cleanroom recovery cost? I'm being optimistic if I say 5 and add at least 3-4 zeros to it..... unless the data is extremely important and costy, you will probably not see mister regular ever ask for such a thing.

That's a bit more than I've seen, but I have only been able to get ballpark figures thus far.  Have you actually had the service done?  I note you didn't specify the currency either, although you're probably thinking in terms of euros.  I was thinking in terms of three zeroes maximum, but note that I did say 'get a quote' not 'get it done'.

[Gabi]

I'm so sorry to hear that, Amber. Make sure you don't let anyone format your hard drive until they've rescued every possible byte from it. Insist on that. Some things may be still recoverable. If you have a friend who knows about computers and can take a look at yours, ask him/her first.

What happened to you at the border was frustrating, but you're neither a criminal nor an illegal immigrant, so you should be able to find something that proves it. It reminds me of all the trouble I had to go through to get the US visa.

[Wildy]

Mab here again

Right now momst things are banking on what the computer issue is.  Someone is coming out this Friday to do a full check on it, and then I'll likely know for sure what the issue is.  My biggest estimation is that something either happened on the trip that caused it to get jostled(there was one bump in particular that I recall caused a rather loud thnk), or a quick storm that came through when I was writing to Mason caused it to fry.  I could note that the computer for a bit did turn on and worked for a while...it was when I left to make a phone call and I returned to find it in its danger state.  I dont know the details of the code lingo, but from the sound of it there are several possible factors causing it...each staging from a simple solution to full computer revamp.  Once I know that, i can really set offand give a good estimate of cost damages.

The car repair beforehand and the trip was an extreme  unhappy with my bank.  I had to spend around $50 alone just because of stupid technical issues involving a phone card...just so I could spend five minutes telling Mason's brother I wont be able to make it.

As for the Canada issue, the guard really was zilch in help.  the only number they even gave me was $10,000, which I honestly couldn't say I had that on hand.  A few people have said that the average good amount to have is between $2000-$4000, as what the border is wnating is financial proof that I could afford to leave the country at any point.  They also mentioned that owning my own car can be used as proof as well...but since I dont know details and mybrain is still shot...I dont know by how much.

Right now I can't honeslty give an estimate or a goal because I'm still trying to figure out what all the heck has happened and what I'm suppose to do next.  I suppose first priority is the computer.  Dmoon and friends have been working out a strategy to knock off all the quotas on the list the guard gave me.  (Ten to one though says that when I do retry, the guard I go to will not even give a care and just wave me through)  I have to renew my stickers and get a new lisense, but this time I'll make sure they both match.  Not sure how much that costs yet...not to mention gas and probably should factor food.

Thankfully I think my hosting server at Xepher is more than understanding if I ask to miss a couple month payments.

I need to find out if I need to present the evidence to that particular customs office, or if I can go to any customs and immigration to handle it.  Regardless...with all the events that have happened, my mental facilities are a bit shot and worn as is.  hopefully come the weekend I will have a full outline of what all is needed...but right now I'm in a bit of a daze and cant' think really straight.  Everything is still kinda "doom doom you sucketh Amber doom"

[Vidar]

That's quite a tale of incredible sucktitude. * hugs Amber *

I hope the damage to the pc is limited and easily fixed. Have a trusted & competent computer-geek look at it, if you have one near you.
If the hard disk has failed, be prepared: professional data recovery is (very) expensive.  

A (belated) tip for anyone else hauling their comps anywhere: back everything important up on cd-r's of dvd-r's. Their cheap, and if packaged well (in a cd-case, and cd-case packed in a case surrounded by padding, and not stashed under ass-loads of other stuff) should survive just about any trip to anywhere.

I'm paranoid about damaging my computer-hardware on trips, so whenever I have to haul my pc to anywhere, I do the following:

I remove the hard disk, put it in an anti-static plastic bag, seal it, and carry it in a seperate sturdy, well-padded box.
If the cpu-cooler is on the hefty side and goes over the recomended weight-limit for the processor or the mainboard, I remove that one as well, and give it the same treatment as the hard-disk.
The rest goes into the box the case came in (I keep it around just for when I haul my rig around). It's sturdy, and has styrofoam packing material that fits perfectly around my pc.
when I reach my destination, I check the insides of the pc for any loose memory-modules, connectors and cards, and replug my hard-disk and cpu-cooling.
This was probably more useful before the migration, so yeah, I suck.  

I hope you get the paper-work sorted out quickly.

Also, if the Canadians won't accept "web-comic artist' as a proper job, describe it as 'internet-enabled illustration artist / writer'.

Also, I hope that Canadian border-basterd gets assaulted by polar bears, wolves, eskimo's, seals, trees, hail, snow, ice, marauding french-speaking woodsmen, and mooses.

For now, I'd say get some sleep, call your mom / family / friends for support (that's what they're for), and then try again.

Pesky wannabe illegal immigrants...

Uhm, wait, I was joking! Don't hurt me, please... NO! NOT my brain! I need it! Need brains...

* squashes Stig Hemmer like a bug *

[Rowne]

I have to say that I agree with Netami that you, Amber, shouldn't panic and Hazzy.  Most computer problems actually seem ten times more serious than what they actually are.

[You might've already gone over all this but I'm going over it just for the sake of completeness.]

Based upon the hard drive analysis, I'm guessing that it looks like the hard drive because something's going funky on boot.  Memory can also cause things to go funky on boot, it can even make the computer believe that a hard drive's boot sector is fried.  I've actually seen that, it's as scary as ... fornication.

So I'd say you need to do a few things, Ambs.

First of all, get Memtest on a disk.  The good Memtest.  The worthy Memtest.  The one that's really good at finding problems.

This version of Memtest.

Slap that on a disk, tell the computer to boot from the disk drive and leave it running at least overnight.  If you can go 24 hours without any issues, then it means your RAM and CPU are fine.  If something happens within the first few hours, from personal experiences that's usually the RAM.  If something happens past the overnight mark, that's troublesome because it could be the RAM or the CPU cache.  So that can require a lot of swapping around.

If there is a RAM problem, try removing the sticks one at a time, then two at a time, rebooting each time.  See if you can track down a problem stick.  If it might be a CPU issue, try temporarily replacing the CPU if you can find a friend with a CPU that you can borrow.

If however Memtest turns up nothing at all (eeee!), try snagging a cheap 10gb hard disk from somewhere, they're pittance these days.  I'd even donate the amount for you to buy one, no worries there.  Anyway, get one of those, slap it in and try installing an OS on it.

If you still have problems with the cheap HDD, then the problem is likely elsewhere, in which case you should try putting the HDD in another computer, again you'll need a friend with a computer for this to be tried.

If you determine that the hard drive is fried, then cleanroom extraction might be the only way to get the data back but as Netami said, unless you actually had a magnet sitting next to the HDD, it's very unlikely it's destroyed for good.

Hell, I've seen a friend of mine rebuild a hard-drive by having the damaged disk and another hard drive of the same model and the thing has worked after.  So really, don't sweat it.

To be honest, I'd say that viruses are a greater worry than any physical damage and I doubt you'd have a coincidental strike like that.

I apologize if I'm not making too much sense, the heat here is frying my brain but the long and short of it is (to paraphrase a PC magazine columnist over here); if it isn't broke, don't fix it, if it is broke, don't panic.

So I'll leave it at that and I really hope you don't panic yourself overly about this Amber.  PCs are sturdier things than most people give them credit for.

----

Hm, based on Amber's recent post, that doesn't sound too much like it's hard drive based.  It's too ... intermittant?  It sounds more like a loose RAM stick that finally worked its way out, bad RAM or something related to the CPU's cache, definitely something memory related.

What happens when you boot it up currently, Amber?

----

Oh and I'm assuming memory because frankly, I've been involved with a lot of PC repairs.  I work on PCs for friends and family and I work with a friend who has a store ... but I don't know anywhere near as much as him, I just sit and watch a lot.  The thing is, it seems like 90 per cent of the problems I've seen over that time are memory based.  Memory always seems to be the first thing to go or the most likely thing to be faulty.

It could even be that an electrical surge has damaged the motherboard or something insane like that (since a storm was mentioned) but ... my instincts are screaming memory.

[Gabi]

If the hard disk has failed, be prepared: professional data recovery is (very) expensive. 

There are some cheaper alternatives. You can plug the hard drive to another computer (assuming you can borrow one) and see what you can get out of it. And while you're at it you can run recovery tools like Scandisk, and there was a very good one by Mc Afee, but I'm not sure if it's still available. And there's always the option of using a bootable disk, run the machine from the disk on DOS, Linux or whatever, and retrieve as many important files as possible (it tends to work better than Windows for that purpose).

[xHaZxMaTx]

...PCs are sturdier things than most people give them credit for...

I once dropeed my computer down the last two steps of a flight of stairs and everything worked fine afterwards, so I wouldn't worry about a little bump in the road.

There are some cheaper alternatives. You can plug the hard drive to another computer (assuming you can borrow one) and see what you can get out of it. And while you're at it you can run recovery tools like Scandisk, and there was a very good one by Mc Afee, but I'm not sure if it's still available. And there's always the option of using a bootable disk, run the machine from the disk on DOS, Linux or whatever, and retrieve as many important files as possible (it tends to work better than Windows for that purpose).

They're talking about extensive physical/mechanical damage, to the point where the disk no longer spins or something extravegant like that.

[Gornemant]

if a hard drive is physically (mechanically) dead forget it, do you realize how much those cleanroom recovery cost? I'm being optimistic if I say 5 and add at least 3-4 zeros to it..... unless the data is extremely important and costy, you will probably not see mister regular ever ask for such a thing.

That's a bit more than I've seen, but I have only been able to get ballpark figures thus far.  Have you actually had the service done?  I note you didn't specify the currency either, although you're probably thinking in terms of euros.  I was thinking in terms of three zeroes maximum, but note that I did say 'get a quote' not 'get it done'.

Had that done at my previous job, user was stupid enought not to backup his stuff or save it on the server, revocer was around 34'000 euro (50'000 swiss francs) for the most important files (because yes, they also go "the more files you want restored the more you pay for it).
You have to keep in mind that those clean rooms are pretty costy, there shouldn't be the slightest dust in there, it's a sterilized environnement, (don't remember exactly but I think the drive itself is taken appart in a vacuum). In short that's not something you can do in your garage :p

Though I wouldn't jump on the broken drive too fast either, usually there are symptoms preceding the actual drive "death" (or at least in most cases), usually system instabillity, inaccessible files, extreme slowlyness, loud noise and so on, depending on what's actually broken. That and there can be so many other issues with the computer as stated before.
So for now we'll all just wait since there's already someone else on it with a second computer to plug the hard drive in and check the computer on site.

Rowne, Memtest is not a cpu burner...
and I didn't see one "minimum configuration" yet...

edit:
that and I doubt she's quite in the mood to check the computer now and describe in details what happens when it boots, check connections etc...

[Rowne]

Oh, that reminds me ...

If the hard drive does seem to be okay then I'd definitely recommend buying some kind of backup device.  Even a redundant DVD burner.  There's software that can image to a DVD on a scheduled basis, making daily or even multiple times per day backups.

I know that personally, if I wasn't making daily backups, I would go quite, quite mad.  A backup is truly about the only thing I can rely on.  When data is backed up multiple times, I know that I can rely on at least one of the backup media items to retain my data.

Backing up and even backing up redundantly can be a life-saver.  I know it's a lot of money to be shelling out Amber and I know you're broke right now but I really recommend it.

[Tapewolf]

...PCs are sturdier things than most people give them credit for...

I once dropeed my computer down the last two steps of a flight of stairs and everything worked fine afterwards, so I wouldn't worry about a little bump in the road.

Last week I dropped portable HDD (Unit 01) one foot onto carpet.  Total mechanical failure (i.e. cleanroom job).  Fortunately it was a backup image of the main system, so I just got it replaced, but nonetheless it sucked to be without a backup.  I have two of these now and burn stuff onto DVD as well.

There are some cheaper alternatives. You can plug the hard drive to another computer (assuming you can borrow one) and see what you can get out of it. And while you're at it you can run recovery tools like Scandisk, and there was a very good one by Mc Afee, but I'm not sure if it's still available. And there's always the option of using a bootable disk, run the machine from the disk on DOS, Linux or whatever, and retrieve as many important files as possible (it tends to work better than Windows for that purpose).

They're talking about extensive physical/mechanical damage, to the point where the disk no longer spins or something extravegant like that.

Yes.  On balance, that was a case of jumping the gun.  If it's a controller failure, you can replace the logic with another board from a compatible model, but this is not usually caused by a knock.  If it's intermittent, it's not a head crash (worst case scenario) and the data should be easily recoverable.

If Windows has eaten itself, or the boot block has been mangled etc, someone with another disk drive an a Knoppix boot CD should be able to copy it all off.
I do have a tendency to assume the worst - it's part of my nature.

And yes - do what Rowne says - get a backup device.  Assuming we don't have to have a 'recover Amber's HDD' fund drive, I'll donate the amount I spent on my portable disks (DVDs are a good idea too, mind).

[Sid]

(some of them being things I simply didnt think about taking cause I didnt expect the Spanish Inquisition)

Sheesh. The perfect opening, and nobody is doing the "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!" joke? You guys are lame

If Windows has eaten itself, or the boot block has been mangled etc, someone with another disk drive an a Knoppix boot CD should be able to copy it all off.
I do have a tendency to assume the worst - it's part of my nature.

Minor problems in that category could also be handled by hooking up the old HD as Slave to Wildy's computer. Requires some fiddling with the IDE cables, but it's usually the fastest alternative to check up on a HD. Knoppix is nice and stuff, but despite trying to be as newbie-friendly as Linux can be, it can have some minor speedbumps if you're not used to it. And depending on your connection, downloading the CD image might take "a while", too.

All jokes and smilies aside, I hope your stuff gets sorted out soon. Nobody deserves such a double-blow of suckitude. Especially not in the sectors that are important to you: Living/Home and PC/Art. Wish ya the best!

EDIT: Whoa, who drugged the smiley? O.o

[Netami]

HEY WELCOME TO THE FORUM SID.

I have a feeling her HD is going to be just fine and she isn't going to sell her originals because SOONER OR LATER, someone is going to repost the paypal link and give us a number to shoot for.

[Gornemant]

Minor problems in that category could also be handled by hooking up the old HD as Slave to Wildy's computer. Requires some fiddling with the IDE cables, but it's usually the fastest alternative to check up on a HD.

Wildy's computer: in fact an Apple laptop 

[xHaZxMaTx]

Last week I dropped portable HDD (Unit 01) one foot onto carpet.  Total mechanical failure (i.e. cleanroom job).

Hmm...  No offense, but it must've been pretty crappy.  I dropped my MP3 player out of my friends truck door (2ft) onto asphalt and had some scratches on the cover.  Dumb-luck, I guess.

As for getting a backup device, I would just get another hard-drive, preferably USB.

[Sid]

HEY WELCOME TO THE FORUM SID.

I have a feeling her HD is going to be just fine and she isn't going to sell her originals because SOONER OR LATER, someone is going to repost the paypal link and give us a number to shoot for.

Thank you!
And the Paypal link is on the site ("Feed the Mows - PAYPAL"), though... unless I'm missing something here... never tried it myself, so it's a possibility.

Minor problems in that category could also be handled by hooking up the old HD as Slave to Wildy's computer. Requires some fiddling with the IDE cables, but it's usually the fastest alternative to check up on a HD.

Wildy's computer: in fact an Apple laptop 

*facefaults* That was HER laptop on those AC photos? Argh... of course... she mentioned using a Mac... damn, I can be slow sometimes... *slightly jealous of Wildy's mobile power*
Well, it's still possible that she has an external drive case (the IDE-to-USB sort). I use one myself (hooked up to a Mac Mini that is about equally un-upgradable as a laptop) and can say that it can read FAT32 at the very least. Not sure about NTFS, though *frowns*

Not-really-EDIT:
Wow, so this is the Anti-Ninja thingy people talked about... o.o

[Vidar]

Last week I dropped portable HDD (Unit 01) one foot onto carpet.  Total mechanical failure (i.e. cleanroom job).

Hmm...  No offense, but it must've been pretty crappy.  I dropped my MP3 player out of my friends truck door (2ft) onto asphalt and had some scratches on the cover.

As for getting a backup device, I would just get another hard-drive, preferably USB.

That's great for daily backups of your data, but not so great for transporting over large distances, as Ambers hard disk so aptly demonstrated. For packing large quantities of data for a long trip, there I would use only 1 option: dvd-r's. They're more shock-resistant then hard disks. Remember: hard disks have moving parts, and are made to survive sitting in a pc-case that sits somewhere on a desk, not made for travel, bumping around a lot, or much movement at all.
Dvd's don't have this problem: no moving parts.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

if a hard drive is physically (mechanically) dead forget it, do you realize how much those cleanroom recovery cost? I'm being optimistic if I say 5 and add at least 3-4 zeros to it..... unless the data is extremely important and costy, you will probably not see mister regular ever ask for such a thing.

Interesting. Watching a geek mailing list I'm on, recently someone was suggested ~1500 GBP to recover data from a disk.

But yeah - it depends on how dead it is, and how urgently you want the information back. If you're willing to pay, you can strip information back to 50 or more levels of deleting files off the disk on the same physical space. That's kinda expensive, tho it does explain why the military idea of a "cleaned disk" is dropping thermite on it and waiting for it to melt... :-)

[Zedd]

  Seems like everyone I know is having problems....But I do hope everything will get better soon or else i have to punch fate in the....Well where it is...Sides rember Amber I just hope things will get better soon....Many hugs and wishes...
                                                      Love Zedd 

[Gornemant]

well I'm not that far away with 5K X3

[Snap]

Hm, so the harddisk got bumped (or fried), then WORKED for a few minutes and then just shut down? Ive never heard of that before. Considering that harddisks turn at rates of 7000 rpm, thats sounds unlikely to me.
Which makes me wonder about your definition of dead:

Does it react to the power switch?

Do the fans turn?

Doesnt it complete booting (with some cryptic message) ?

Are you able to reach the BIOS (del during the bootup)?

I dont know the details of the code lingo, but from the sound of it there are several possible factors causing it...each staging from a simple solution to full computer revamp.

If it helps to make you less desperate, could you possibly give any more information?

What do you mean with "danger state"?

Oh, and ive had several "serious" error messages for quite a while, but it ended up being just some buggy media player i installed messing things up. So heads up, the nerd patrols going to translate all that code lingo, if you let em have it.

[Gabi]

They're talking about extensive physical/mechanical damage, to the point where the disk no longer spins or something extravegant like that.

In that case, yes, but Amber said she managed to start it once. I doubt the damage is so extensive. Moreover, I wouldn't be so sure if the problem is the hard disk. It could be the power source, the cooler, the microprocessor, the motherboard... the last 2 are very expensive, but at least once you get the money, you can get something that completely replaces what you lost.

And yes, I strongly recommend making backups of everything that can't be replaced, especially art (all forms of art, I mean).

[Gornemant]

I'll just repeat myself

So for now we'll all just wait since there's already someone else on it with a second computer to plug the hard drive in and check the computer on site. That and I doubt she's quite in the mood to check the computer now and describe in details what happens when it boots, check connections etc...

geeez

[Gabi]

Okay, take it easy! We were just trying to help! >_>

[Gornemant]

Okay, take it easy! We were just trying to help! >_>

I know, though you do realize the cacophony of a dozen tech guys + random geeks that fix the familly computer every now and then trying to fix a computer that's too far away for them to go to anyway

[ShadesFox]

Random interjection here.  I once knew of someone who had an issue with his hard disk.  He put it in the freezer for a day and when he hooked it back up it was fine.  No idea how the freezer helps.