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Spinrite 6.1 Alpha Release 8
Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2022 12:01 pm
by FlyingPenguin
So I got on the GRC user groups and figured out how to download the latest alpha release (you need to run a power shell script and use your Spinrite license as a command line argument). From all reports it's running fine with just a few issues in edge cases.
So happens I have a 2TB laptop HDD drive I just pulled from a family member's laptop and replaced with an SSD because it was mind numbingly slow. This despite the fact the drive has only seen a few hours use on it. This is a 6 year old laptop, but she set it up 6 years ago, immediately forgot her password, and never used it again. Laptop is fine, except I had to update the BIOS before it would install the latest version of Win10, but that HDD was was holding it back. I had already wiped all the partitions, so I didn't have to worry about the Spinrite Alpha possibly corrupting any data.
I wanted to run a level 4 scan on the drive (read and re-write every sector) to refresh it and use it for archive purposes, but Spinrite 6 doesn't support drives over 1TB, and it would also take several days on Spinrite 6 even if it could.
So anyway, running the level 4 on it now. Original estimate was 12 hours but it's gone up to 20 as the drive is hitting a lot of seek errors. That's still a heck of a lot faster than the days it would have taken Spinrite 6.
Re: Spinrite 6.1 Alpha Release 8
Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2022 12:09 pm
by Losbot
Nice to see that he's still working on that project.
Re: Spinrite 6.1 Alpha Release 8
Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2022 9:12 pm
by Executioner
Can we download this version?
Re: Spinrite 6.1 Alpha Release 8
Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2022 10:01 pm
by FlyingPenguin
You can but it's a bit techie. For the life of me I can't find the page where I found the instructions, but I could give you the link to download the PowerShell script that downloads it and type up some instructions. You need to provide it with your Spinrite 6.0 license. The alpha will be registered to your license.
I'll see if I can post that tomorrow.
Fair warning: I wouldn't use it on a drive with any important data. It's still an alpha, although mostly stable. It also has no installer. You need to put it on a flash drive that boots to DOS or FreeDOS. I just put it on one of my existing Spinrite flash drives and exit out of Spinrite 6.0 to DOS and then run the alpha (different file name) from the command line.
Re: Spinrite 6.1 Alpha Release 8
Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2022 11:09 pm
by Executioner
LOL - still using DOS. I always had better luck using a MS DOS boot disk.
Re: Spinrite 6.1 Alpha Release 8
Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2022 10:08 am
by FlyingPenguin
Looks like Steve has a page on his website to download the latest alpha. Just enter your license number:
https://www.grc.com/prerelease.htm
Re: Spinrite 6.1 Alpha Release 8
Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2022 11:11 am
by Executioner
Got it thanks for the link.
Re: Spinrite 6.1 Alpha Release 8
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2023 8:27 pm
by FlyingPenguin
UPDATE: He's on alpha release 19 now. He feels it's very close to final. Just tweaking a few things that involve edge cases.
That download link still works:
https://www.grc.com/prerelease.htm
Re: Spinrite 6.1 Alpha Release 8
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2023 10:00 pm
by Executioner
Thanks for the update. Downloaded it.
Re: Spinrite 6.1 Alpha Release 8
Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2023 9:24 am
by FlyingPenguin
Alpha 29 is now available. Steve says this is basically the final release code for the DOS version, minus the integrated FAQ and a Windows app that will be part of the final release. I have been using it since Alpha 6 with zero issues on a variety of drives. Steve's Beta will likely be final from the sound of it.
There's been a lot of people testing it, and Steve has spent a ridiculous amount of time and money buying old hardware to test compatibility issues. For instance, there was a 14 year old AMD mobo that refused to work properly with Spinrite that one of the testers reported, and Steve had to find one on Ebay to figure it out. Turned out to be a flaw in that AMD chipset and he had to write a workaround just for that chipset.
From his show notes for the last Security Now podcast:
It is with no small amount of pride, a feeling of accomplishment and some pent up relief, that I can finally assert that, as far as I know, the work on the business end of SpinRite 6.1 – its DOS executable – is finished. There are presently no remaining known bugs, great or small. Last
Sunday afternoon I announced the availability of the 29th alpha release to GRC’s 696 registered
SpinRite 6 owners who have been testing 6.1, and I suggested for the first time that the code we
all now have likely would and certainly could, with few changes, be moved into beta status to
soon become SpinRite 6.1’s shipping code.
6.1 contains a great many new features, one of them being an integrated FAQ which explains
the choice of SpinRite’s five redefined operating levels, its many command-line options, and
other useful tidbits. So, while the dust settles on this latest alpha, I’m currently writing that FAQ.
That’ll give some time for any testers who may have become bored with the seemingly endless
interim development releases to give this proposed-final code one last check.
Once we have the finished DOS code, that code, along with the very first work I did to create
GRC’s InitDisk USB drive prep utility, will be integrated into an updated SpinRite Windows app
and then we’ll have v6.1.
Any new purchasers of SpinRite will automatically be receiving 6.1. But, since I want to let this
new code breathe a bit, I plan to hold off on announcing it to all of SpinRite’s past purchasers
until it’s had a bit more time among a wider audience. So, as soon as the official upgrade path is
established, I’ll be inviting all of this podcast’s listeners, many of whom have previously
purchased SpinRite, to update to v6.1. Then, once it appears that it’s going to be clear sailing,
I’ll begin the process of informing everyone who owns 6.0.
So, no new action needs to be taken by anyone who hasn’t already jumped onto testing the
pre-release code. I just wanted to note that the project had achieved a significant milestone
Re: Spinrite 6.1 Alpha Release 8
Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2023 2:58 pm
by Executioner
Thanks for the update. I have no idea if I will get a notice because I don't remember what email I used back in the day. I don't know if there is some way to update that on his site.
Re: Spinrite 6.1 Alpha Release 8
Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2023 5:39 pm
by FlyingPenguin
You can just email them. They're real good about that. Email on this page:
https://www.grc.com/purchasing.htm
Re: Spinrite 6.1 Alpha Release 8
Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2024 2:00 pm
by FlyingPenguin
Release Candidate for 6.1 is available in both the DOS executable, like previous pre-release versions, and in the form of a Windows installer that makes a bootable USB.
It still has an expiration date since it's a release candidate only: May 1, 2024
In all likelihood this is the final version, unless some unexpected bug crops up. He's mainly busy now writing up documentation and letting this version get pounded on by the community for a while.
https://www.grc.com/prerelease.htm
Re: Spinrite 6.1 Alpha Release 8
Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2024 7:20 pm
by Executioner
Yeah I just downloaded the newer version yesterday. I wish there was an option to check hard drives via a USB connection.
Re: Spinrite 6.1 Alpha Release 8
Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2024 10:54 am
by FlyingPenguin
That's going to have to wait for 7.0. He has to completely abandon DOS in order to access USB and M.2 via UEFI. Hopefully it won't take long as he's already written a lot of that code (it's part of the flash drive tester he wrote) and he wrote 6.1 with an eye towards migrating most of that code over to 7.