Re: Xcalibur raw files

Hi Helen et al.

} I have a problem with a raw data file in Xcalibur, it looks fine in
} Qualbrowser but when i try to copy it (for backup) I get a "cyclic
} redundancy error", 

One, perhaps naive, question beforehand: Did you quit Xcalibur (and
similar applications) before you tried to copy the file? 

} Now, i know that this is probably due to a bad sector on the hard
} drive or something euqally nasty, 

If the problem is truly related to the harddisk, you may want to do a
full backup of *all* your data right now ... before things get worse.

} One way might be to try and convert the file into another format for
} different MS software... 

(1) Try to convert it to netCDF (aka ANDI-MS) ... in Xcalibur that
should be somewhere under Roadmap View > Tools > File Converter. If,
as you said, the Qual browser does yet not stumble over an error, you
*may* be lucky.

(2) Another way that might save at least part of the file is to
install the Xcalibur SDK (should be somewhere on the Install CD) and
write a script that extracts the data, probably scan-by-scan, and
saves them in plain ASCII text format.

(3) Third possibility that comes to mind: get some Linux rescue disk
or CD (e.g. tombrtbt or Knoppix), boot from it, mount the harddisk
read-only, and try to copy the file using the usual tools like "dd"
or "sdd" to some other place (network, other harddisk, whatever). You
may want to ask someone that knows Linux to assist you, but this is
my safest guess.

} or perhaps to physically edit the file (its 12MB!!) to fix it...

The problem is not the file size - it is that you have to know *what*
to edit in there: AFAIK the Xcalibur data format is not in any way
public, and the read/write routines rely heavily on ActiveX. Thus,
there probably is no way to get "directly" to these data (but if
there is, please let me know ;-).

Cheers + Good Luck,
 
- Joerg
 
 
-- 
joerg.hau(at)swissonline.ch * Lausanne, Switzerland
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