Confirmed: Bugs in Norton Disk Doctor
RICHARD RONTELTAP
richard at neabbs.UUCP
Thu Mar 2 10:08:41 AEST 1989
A while ago, someone reported his/her XENIX partition was zapped
by Norton Disk Doctor (NDD). The bugs have been confirmed and
a free upgrade is available now:
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The following messages are from Software Society BBS:
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Date: 01-19-89 (18:27) Number: 6909
To: ALL Refer#: NONE
From: CHARLES KLEIS Read: 01-19-89 (18:46)
Subj: NORTON UTIL. V4.5 PT.1 Status: PUBLIC
The following message relating to bug fixes to Norton Utilities v4.5
was captured from IBMsys forum on CompuServe:
#: 12850 S6/File Utilities [S]
18-Jan-89 22:55:57
Sb: Peter Norton Responds ( 1 of 3 )
Fm: Robert Chappelear 73330,1156
To: all
From: Peter Norton
To: All Norton Utilities 4.5 Users
This responds to all our users who have indicated they have problems
with the latest Version 4.5 of the Norton Utilities. Most of the
complaints have concentrated on the Norton Disk Doctor, specifically,
those involved with running the Disk Doctor with partitioning schemes
other than straight vanilla DOS.
First, let us say that the initial release of the Disk Doctor had a
problem with third party partitioning software when combined with
specific hardware configurations. This resulted in false reports of
problems with a disk, with the subsequent results many of you reported
to us.
The 1/3/89 version corrected these problems. We have tested this
version with every known partitioning scheme, including Golden Bow's
Vfeature Deluxe, On-Track's Disk Manager, Storage Dimension's
SpeedStor, and Priam's Partition Software. And while the Disk Doctor
always gave appropriate warnings and asked for user permission before
changing anything on the disk, we have added extra safety precautions
that make it doubly sure that a user will not inadvertently press "Yes"
when a "No" was the appropriate answer.
Continued.....
Date: 01-19-89 (18:29) Number: 6910
To: ALL Refer#: NONE
From: CHARLES KLEIS Read: 01-19-89 (18:46)
Subj: NORTON UTIL. V4.5 PT.2 Status: PUBLIC
Continued: > Sb: Peter Norton Responds ( 2 of 3 )
It is important to note that NDD does not "erase" or "destroy" data.
Under certain partitioning schemes and configurations, the Disk Doctor
mistakenly changed those bookkeeping records needed to access the data,
NOT the data itself. Most users who have contacted us were walked
through the steps needed to put the appropriate bookkeeping information
(Partition Table or Boot Record) back into place, hence allowing all
data to be accessed again.
Other bugs corrected in the 1/3/89 version include:
1. LD /T
- Gave incorrect size results.
2. NDD
- Didn't work correctly with some third party partioning
software.
- Reported that the drive type was wrong when using some third
party cache software or partitioning software.
3. NCC
- Would not allow the saving of the setup file if one already
existed.
- Would not work properly on some EGA display adapters which
did not allow the cursor emulation to function correctly.
- Setting the Time/Date on some AT-class machines would not
function correctly.
4. INSTALL
- Didn't allow installation in the root directory of the hard
disk.
- If the PATH command was the first command in the AUTOEXEC.
BAT file, then INSTALL would not be able to find it and would
try to add another PATH statement.
Continued.....
Date: 01-19-89 (18:32) Number: 6911
To: ALL Refer#: NONE
From: CHARLES KLEIS Read: 01-19-89 (18:46)
Subj: NORTON UTIL. V4.5 PT.3 Status: PUBLIC
Continued: > Sb: Peter Norton Responds ( 3 of 3 )
5. NI
- On some EGA adapters, a few of the programs would not run or
would hang the system.
6. SI
- Did not recognize IBM PS/2 Model 70 correctly.
- On some '286 computers, the Computing Index was higher than
on previous versions of the Norton Utilities.
We have read all of your complaints about getting through to tech
support. Due to PNCI's explosive growth, we are currently
shortstaffed. PNCI is actively hiring more tech support personnel and
if you are interested, please let us know. As for parties, please rest
assured we do not go to parties when there is work to be done. And
yes, we do have office parties--that's part of how we keep our morale
and team spirit so high.
If you have a technical question, please call (213) 319- 2020. Our
customer service department has a list of all people who have called
requesting the maintenance release; they began shipping January 13,
1989. If you have called and haven't received your copy or know of
anybody else who needs an updated version, you can get them free by
calling (213) 319-2010. Please specify if you need 5 1/4 or 3 1/2 inch
disks.
We would like to close by apologizing to all the users who have had
trouble with the DISK DOCTOR. Like everyone else, sometimes we're in
top form, sometimes we're not. This particular piece of software is
really quite revolutionary, as it is the first ever program that not
only diagnoses disk problems, but reports them AND fixes them. Like
any brand new software, there were some bugs. We have now corrected
all problems reported to us. And if any new problems come up we want
you to let us know about them right away. We appreciate your
input--help us make our programs just as good as they can be.
Peter Norton
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Richard
(...!mcvax!neabbs!richard)
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