I never had an issue with boot manager or CMOS seeing it in the near 8 months I've had it... not until Friday afternoon: when it effing-well died without warning. 

However, it's funny you mention how some Seagate drives have issues with the 'boot manager missing'... the new 500 gig I got didn't show the new installation of Vista Home Premium in the boot preferences screen.  Luckily, I was still able to boot up cos I had changed Win 7 to the default OS/it's HDD to first boot when the previous drive died   Anyhow, I fixed it by installing a 3rd party boot manager proggie and added the new OS that way... once detected I removed the app and I'm in business.

Yeah, I'll look into it... who knows, I might be able to save myself a bit of cash if I can get it running again and/or retrieve the data.  Funny thing is, when I disconnect/reconnect the powere adapter, I can hear it firing up and physically running... so that would suggest the platters are fine and rather that it's a circuitry thing. 

Oh well. I'll soon find out.

For sure, losing yours the way you did would have sent me ballistic and looking for blood.  Sadly, we're on opposite sides of the World, otherwise I'd have loaned you my spare rig until you could replace yours.... which hopefully will be very soon now.  While it can be useful in the short term to access reference materials, etc, it'd have to be a pain in the arse having to go out to use public machines in libraries and the like on a daily or regular basis  So here's hoping you're soon set up again with a rig of your very own again

Look at Newegg.com first, buddy!

They're one helluva lot cheaper in most cases!

After recovery I reformatted disk and it has never crashed since but I no longer trust it really and don't use firewire for backups and storage either.

I just hate it when sh!tty things happen to really good people.

Looks good Po!

And I hate it when people do shitty things.

If the manufacturer hadn't kept my external drive overseas for six months and not sent it back with the issue unresolved, I'd have moved on sooner and would have had a new external drive for my backups months ago, meaning I would not have the issue of having to recover data from a sick or terminal HDD.

So yeah, I hate it when people do shitty things... like it takes 6 months to decide to do nothing! 

Won't buy any of their crap again.

Yup, still looks good and in keeping with the theme idea... I like it. 

I hear ya, Po`.  I too suffer with neck, back and shoulder pain (hips and knees as well) so I know what it's like to have days when things don't come together so well because of it. Worse still, due to a big gov't hullabaloo about prescription drugs, I'm having difficulty finding a doctor these days who will prescribe halfway decent pain relief... paracetamol as best offer is hardly adequate, but that's another story.

So anyway, go at your own speed and don't worry about taking your time with this, there are no deadlines and we appreciate your efforts in difficult circumstances.

Yup, it's pathetic orright... I might just as well be popping M&M's.  I also suffer with restless leg syndrome and muscle cramps at night when trying to sleep... I used to be able to get Antenex (a derivative of Valium) to help with that, but not any more. Instead I get told to walk more... yeah, right, being that I'm often mobility challenged due to chronic back and hip pain, I have more chance of moving mountains.  Besides, I used to suffer with restless legs back when I was still reasonably active, so it's more likely the result a nuerological condition caused by spinal issues.

Just like every other scumbag who wanted to stay in power, rigged the vote so he couldn't lose... even though he most likely did.  I see civil war erupting there soon if he doesn't use his Republican Guards to wipe out all those who are against him, which is likely, so it'll be overtones of Saddam Hussein all over again.  Israel is pretty adept at looking after itself, so hopefully your son(s) will be safe.

  ..did you by any chance tick the box that said 'Volunteer for medical experiments'..?

wow...

I like the idea of bowls. I have to experiment and see how it would work.

Tim strikes from the sea!

@syd...Truth? Every attempt at a treatment is, in effect, an experiment....hopefully based on knowledge and experience.

I'm hoping Po' sees more success than he has in the past. At least they're trying...

@ starkers:

Best treatment? Mirapex or Ropinarole....starts really low dose at supper, then increasing until symptoms disappear....or you turn into a radish.

'Trying'???????

Sigh.

I called them when the stuttering started. I 'stuttered' the problem to a 'nurse practitioner' who put me on hold to relay it to the doctor. She then told me told me to come by (it was 4:15pm) to get a 'free' sample of lyrica. I got there at 5:55. The sample was a 'card' for a free sample. I get to the pharmacy. They can't fill it because there is no perscription to go with it. I call the now 'closed' doctors office. The answering service listens to me stutter out the problem. They say the will have the doctor on call contact me. 20 minutes later MY doc calls. The one who has been giving me the shots every three months for three years and perscribed vicodin, oxycontin, toradol, avinza, and neurontin...and now lyrica.

'What's the problem?'

stutter stutter

"Excuse me..have you always had this stutter?"

stutter stutter stutter

"I see. And what are you taking again?"

stutter

"How many times a day?"

stutter

"Are you taking anything else?"

stutter = 'No, because you told me NOT to. That the other meds you had me on were not for my pain"

"Oh. Well, you should take them if you're in pain."

stutter

"Well, I'm in my car. Stop the neurontin.."

stutter stutter

"You shouldn't stop it cold turkey, you're right. But that stutter isn't good."

stutter

"I will phone the lyricas in to the pharmacy in the morning."

stutter

I get the lyrica the next day. I take it that night. I don't sleep. All the pain is back. And now there is new pain. The doc's office calls. Tammy, the N.P. wants me to come in a week from yesterday.

I go in. The stutter is gone. The pain is back and surreal. Tammy comes in. "How are you?"

"I've lost 20 pounds in the past week. All I want to do is sleep. I hurt.."

"Where?"

"Look at the little pictures you had me mark."

"There are X's every where>"

"Right. I also ran two red lights yesterday and I can't sleep or concentrate."

"Maybe we need to double the dose on the lyrica'"

"I can't. I won't. I can't."

"Well, you're chart says you had your last shot in January. Maybe it's time..."

"April. I had it in April."

Waving the page in my face. "It says here it was January."

"April."

She leaves and the doctor comes in. Wearing his lead apron cause he has the conveyor belt of pain going today. We go over it all again. Tammy comes back.

"I need pain meds that work. I have a friend who tried this patch..."

"No."

Tammy says, again, it's been since January...I say April. The doc confirms April. Tammy waves the chart at him. Tammy must die.

I ask about an implant that 2..TWO people I know have had success with. Now, I am alreay being told I am too young for surgery. After my last visit in April, when I was told this again, it occured to me...I have 20 MORE YEARS of this shit to look forward to.

The doc says...of the implant..."It's not a cure. You could never get another MRI once it's in. AND...to be blunt, it costs $20,000 and the insurance company will never approve it until you have tried everything else....

wait for it....

including surgery..which you are too young to have"

"I see. So what do I do about this pain I am in."

"Tell you what.." he looks at Tammy..."Let's get him in here next week." Turns to me "And we'll do a double nerve block."

I bite my tongue to keep the tears from rolling out my eyeballs. The thought of the needles...the 'bee stings'..now there will be multiple...and then the cramps and aches as he injects me and I feel it in my groin, legs, toes..the pressure..all doubled this time. Not being ablke to walk for two days because it will all hurt and ache and not want to move..all doubled. He also adds that he will start me on topomax and tramidol..one for the pain and one for the headaches. He leaves with Tammy. A minute later someone new comes in with my instructions for the double nerve block. As she reads them, Tammy comes back with the headache script. I ask 'What about the pain medicine?"

"This is for pain."

"No, this is for the migraines."

"It's for both."

"No, he said one for the headaches and one for the pain."

"Have you ever tried something or other"

"What is that?"

"It's for depression."

"No."

"Have you taken anything for depression?"

"No."

"Never?"

"No"

"Maybe.."

"No. You see, the last doctor that went that route said there was nothing wrong with me. A month later I was having an emergency spinal fusion when I became suddenly paralized TWICE from the waist down.. A year later, a second doctor ..a pain management doctor said there was nothing wrong with me. When I begged for a mylogram he rolled his eyes and said fine but it will show nothing and I will be on anti-depressants."

"What happened with that?"

"It showed severe stinosis at the other end of my spine and he rolled his eyes and sent me here where I have been coming for the past three years to get nerve blocks and epidorals. So do not try to give me anti depressants. Get rid of my pain and I won't be depresed."

"I will have the doctor phone something in before he goes."

"Thank you"

Po'...check your pm...sorry...had to lie down for a min...and just woke up. I have a rather large herniated disk and after 3 plus hrs trip to see another group of patients and supper, I fell asleep... . Thankfully, I don't require pain meds. Just a little rest.

starkers-  

"Dunno if it's a cultural thing (natural healing and all that) but it's nigh on impossible to get one to write a prescription these days."

At the risk of sounding culturally insensitive....rubbish. They're supposed to treat your pain. You are the patient. The one who's suffering. If they refuse to do so, inquiries should be made as to the propriety of their practice. As for the rest? Well, we've spoken in the past, and if people weren't getting hurt, I'd think it was a Laurel and Hardy routine. Same with Po'. Sounds like Abbot and Costello's "Who's on first..." routine. Again...I'm not laughing. Not at all. Quite the opposite.

I can only wish either I was there, or you here. Both of you.

As bad as our system is, that crap wouldn't have happened to you...never has to any of my patients. And I've never let a patient go with Tylenol and transcendental meditation. What utter tripe.