Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!ima!johnl From: johnl@ima.ima.isc.com (John R. Levine) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: Re: 3.5" disk drives and diskettes Summary: maybe Message-ID: <2987@ima.ima.isc.com> Date: 6 Dec 88 16:14:59 GMT References: <10208@watdragon.waterloo.edu> Reply-To: johnl@ima.UUCP (John R. Levine) Organization: Not much Lines: 17 In article <10208@watdragon.waterloo.edu> jjboritz@violet.waterloo.edu (Jim Boritz) writes: >In the new world of 3.5" floppies the high density diskettes have an >additional hole on the side opposite the protect hole. My 3.5" drive will >not even think about formatting at 1.44Meg unless this hole is present. My >question is, "Can I punch holes in my 720K diskettes and use them at >1.44Meg?" My PS/2 has a 1.44MB drive that doesn't care whether or not a disk has the extra hole. Although the oxide for the DD and HD disks is different, I find that more often than not I can format and use a 720K disk at 1.44MB. Doing so runs the disk/drive combination way out of spec, so I'd use it only for stuff that you wouldn't be heartbroken to lose. (I use mine for my usenet archives.) -- John R. Levine, Segue Software, POB 349, Cambridge MA 02238, +1 617 492 3869 { bbn | spdcc | decvax | harvard | yale }!ima!johnl, Levine@YALE.something Kids spend more time with their parents than parents spend with their kids.