[geeks] Seagate vendor-unique data?

[Lex Landa]

On Thu, 2012-02-02 at 05:21 +0000, Lex Landa (the name sounds
familiar...) wrote:

[ADVENTish/ZORKish scene]

I forgot a Dark Star scene!

User: Hard drive, are you there?
Drive: Yes, I'm here.
User: Drive, please report your status.
Drive: My heads are parked and I am idle, awaiting further instructions.
User: Okay.  Drive, do you remember that database that I asked you to
write, a few days ago?
Drive: I have no knowledge of such an event.
User: I distinctly remember asking you to write that file.
Drive: That's as may be, but I do not recollect the instruction.
User: Hmm.. erm.. do you have the file, or don't you?
Drive: I have a number of sectors, each containing information.  These
may be part of a file, but I am not worthy of contemplating such a
structure.
User: Ah.. can you read those sectors?
Drive: My heads are parked; I cannot read without the authority of the
host.
User: I'm giving you that command, now.
Drive: I cannot obey that command without the correct authentication.

I ran out of steam here - I didn't get to the 'you are false data' bit.
If that's when a drive stubbornly refuses to obey any further commands,
it's usually time to plug in the SMD workstation and do a bit of 'hard
reprogramming' - or just bin the thing and buy a new one.

Lex