Re: Delete All Your Files

Article View: alt.folklore.computers

Article #4331

Back to alt.folklore.computers Previous Next

#4331

From: jens... Jens Tingleff
Date: Mon, 03 Sep 1990 06:49

23 lines
1695 bytes

da...@near.cs.caltech.edu (Dave Gillespie) writes:

>How many times have we all warned beginning programmers to cross their
>t's and dot their i's:  "Store through an uninitialized pointer, and
>the computer could do anything---it could even run amok and delete all
>your files!"

>Okay, folks:  Have you ever had a bug in an innocent little program
>that really did delete all your files?  Reformat the hard disk?  Send
>rude mail to your mother?  (Well, probably not that.)

While doing a CP/M80 BIOS, and generally bringing CP/M80 up and running,
my system suddenly decided that it was time to zero every bit in the
directory block on my work disk with all the source code on it. I
lost interest and bought another computer.... . I still haven't found the
bug (I stopped working  after the next identical incident...), but the
bug *is* probably very small and innocent.

	Jens
Jens Tingleff MSc EE, Institute of Computer Science, Copenhagen University
Snail mail: DIKU Universitetsparken 1 DK2100 KBH O
"It never runs around here; it just comes crashing down"
	apologies to  Dire Straits

Technical Details

Message-ID: <1990Sep3.064920.3903@diku.dk>

Path: mbox-mo1.pugleaf.net!gmdzi!unido!mcsun!sunic!dkuug!freja.diku.dk!skinfaxe.diku.dk!jensting

References: <DAVEG.90Sep1034307@near.cs.caltech.edu>

Show Full Headers

Complete Article Headers

Path: mbox-mo1.pugleaf.net!gmdzi!unido!mcsun!sunic!dkuug!freja.diku.dk!skinfaxe.diku.dk!jensting
From: jens...@skinfaxe.diku.dk (Jens Tingleff)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Delete All Your Files
Message-ID: <1990Sep3.064920.3903@diku.dk>
Date: 3 Sep 90 06:49:20 GMT
References: <DAVEG.90Sep1034307@near.cs.caltech.edu>
Sender: ne...@diku.dk (The Netnews System)
Organization: Department Of Computer Science, University Of Copenhagen
Lines: 23
Posted: Mon Sep  3 07:49:20 1990
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Reply to Parent Message