Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!decwrl!ucbvax!HIS-PHOENIX-MULTICS.ARPA!RStallworthy From: RStallworthy@HIS-PHOENIX-MULTICS.ARPA Newsgroups: comp.sys.misc Subject: Non-IBM 3.5 1.44mb diskette drives Message-ID: <880511234502.687547@HIS-PHOENIX-MULTICS.ARPA> Date: 11 May 88 23:45:00 GMT Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: The Internet Lines: 20 ....{from RStallworthy%PCO@BCO-Multics} RE: Non-IBM 3.5" 1.44 mb Diskette Drives I have recently acquired from PC-Limited a 3.5" 1.44mb diskette drive (apparently made by Sanyo). However, the unit checks for a hole at a certain location on the dikette (near lower right corner) and if the hole is not found then the drive will not read, write or format in high density (1.44mb) mode. I was told by PC-Limited that this is standard. On a PS2 model 80, there is no check for this hole, and it is possible to format and write on diskettes without this hole. Although the diskettes without the hole are almost four times cheaper, I have a friend who has formatted many of these diskettes on his PS2 model 80 all at 1.44mb and all with no bad tracks, and has encountered no problems using these diskettes. Aside from the fact that this looks like a major rip-off my drive appears to be seriously non-IBM-compatible, since I will not be able to read any diskette written on an IBM PS2 (without the hole -- who is going to pay four times the cost to have a hole when they don't need one). I am surprised that I have not heard of this before. Has no one else made this observation?