Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!tektronix!reed!percival!jamesd
From: jamesd@percival.UUCP (James Deibele)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: 1.2MB drive
Summary: TEAC drives work fine
Message-ID: <1287@percival.UUCP>
Date: 30 Jun 88 05:11:40 GMT
References: <8362@bellcore.bellcore.com>
Reply-To: jamesd@percival.UUCP (James Deibele)
Organization: Percy's UNIX, Portland, OR.
Lines: 28

In article <8362@bellcore.bellcore.com> jef@djinn.UUCP (Jonathan E. Flamm) writes:
>I know that there are problems with diskettes written on 1.2MB drives
>when they are read on 360KB drives ( I believe it has to do with only
>1/2 of the track being written due to the narrow track width).  Is there
>software available that will RELIABLY write 360K diskettes on 1.2MB drives
>so they can be reliable read on 360K drives.
>I know that there is no problem with the new 3 1/2 1.44MB and 720K formats.
>

Hmmm.  I was just reading Steve Gibson's column in (MIS)InfoWorld (that used
to be the popular derogatory name for it, back when it covered systems outside
the Macintosh-IBM axis; now that every article is for the Management 
Information Systems types (you know, the ones with the polyester shirts and
rayon ties who don't buy dozens of C and UNIX books) it seems sadly 
appropriate.) that he has to use a 360K, 1.2MB, 720K, and 1.44MB to get 
reliable reads and writes.  I don't know about the 3 1/2 drives, but I've
had very good luck with a TEAC 1.2MB drive writing (and even diskcopying)
diskettes that were formatted on a 360K drive.  I've read that you should
always format on a 360K first if possible, and personal experience has shown
this to be a good idea.  They're the only brand that I know for sure will
work, but there may be others.


-- 
James S. Deibele   jamesd@qiclab or jamesd@percival
TECHbooks: The Computer Book Specialists   (800) TECH-BKS
3646 SE Division  Portland, OR  97202      (503) 238-1005
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