Software Killer Often Undetected

CUPERTINO, CA - MAY 1993 - What should personal computer users fear the
most? Recent media alerts focusing on the threat of viruses contaminating
and even destroying computer data have prompted many users to vaccinate
their disks with virus sceening and protection programs. Yet a less
publicized "silent" data killer lurks, often undetected, never arrested,
in the shadows of every disk drive.

Dirty drive heads are a major undiagnosed cause of bad floppy disks. Since
the read/write head affects nearly every aspect of a drive's operation, a
dirty head is a particularly deadly and elusive culprit. "Debris that
becomes lodged in a sensitive region of the head may have an immediate,
noticeable effect on disk quality or could conceivably cause gradual
deterioration of the drive and the floppy disks used in it," says Max
Dunn, President of Micro System Designs.

Disks have a magnetic coating that accumulates on the drive head, even with
normal use. Under humid conditions or with low quality disks, drives can
become clogged after running as few as 50 disks, according to Dunn. Dust
particles and other dirt on the disk surface also contribute to the layer
of residue. Cigarette smoke, which appears as small blobs of tar under a
microscope, will stick to the disk surface and is subsequently transferred
to the drive head. Heavy deposits are visible as a brownish film on the
drive head.

When floppy disks are used in a dirty drive, the residue prevents the
read/write head from making good contact with the disk. The dirt particles
cause erratic operation when the disk is read or written to, including
good disks that are inexplicably rejected or disks that other computers
cannot read. Inconsistent performance or the rejection of a substantial
number of disks - Dunn considers anything over 2-4% to be excessive - are
indicative of extensive deposits on the read/write head.

The only effective remedy is to clean drives regularly. If it has been a
period of months since a drive head has been cleaned and the drive head is
accessible, Dunn suggests using a Q-tip and alcohol to remove any residue.
For inaccessible heads, kits containing standard cleaning disks and
cleaning fluid are readily available.

The first time the drive is cleaned, Dunn recommends running the cleaning
disk for three minutes. Thereafter, the best line of defense is running
the cleaning disk regularly, for approximately fifteen seconds once a
month.

Many users worry that cleaning the drive heads too often will wear them out
since the surface of the cleaning disk is coarser than that of a normal
disk. In fact, Dunn says that operating a drive with a dirty head induces
more wear, because of the abrasive action of the dirt.

Micro System Designs' software duplication program, DiskDupe Pro, features
a special cleaning cycle that moves the drive head back and forth across
the entire surface of the disk as opposed to just using one section of the
cleaning disk surface. "This allows more efficient use of the cleaning
disk and produces a cleaner head," Dunn says.

DiskDupe Pro also duplicates, formats, and compares disks, makes 5" to 3"
conversions, makes customized disks and disk sets, and supports the 2.8Mb
format for the IBM PC and compatibles. It retails for $179 and is
available through Micro System Designs.

Micro Systems Designs Inc
10062 Miller Ave, Suite 104, Cupertino, CA 95014
408-446-2066;  fax: 408-446-2095

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