hope@gatech.CSNET (Theodore Hope) (03/14/86)
Is there any way of formatting the second side of a disk that has
one-sided formatting? i.e. Take a disk from a Mac and "do something" so
that I can exploit the other 400k on a MacPlus. Yes, the disk is double-sided.
--
Theodore Hope
School of Information & Computer Science, Georgia Tech, Atlanta GA 30332
CSNet: hope@gatech ARPA: Hope%GATech.CSNet @ CSNet-Relay.ARPA
uucp: ...!{akgua,allegra,amd,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo,ut-sally}!gatech!hopecb@hlwpc.UUCP (C Blesch) (03/17/86)
> Is there any way of formatting the second side of a disk that has > one-sided formatting? i.e. Take a disk from a Mac and "do something" so > that I can exploit the other 400k on a MacPlus. I recently read in a local user's group newsletter that you just initialize the other side of the disk. It didn't say how, nor do I know how, but I assume it's possible. I don't have my double-sided external disk drive yet, so I've not seen any instructions. > Yes, the disk is double-sided. Preceding the above statement in the user's group newsletter was a statement saying that you could use the other side of all your single-sided disks when you get a double-sided disk drive. I asked my friendly computer-store salesman if this statement was true, because it meant I could buy boxes of single-sided disks instead of double-sided disks, at a $10/box savings. The salesman said that all disks are double-sided, but that the disk companies don't guarantee the performance of the second side (i.e. it may have flaws). Of course, the disk makers keep this fact quiet! The salesman said I would probably find that most of the single-sided disks work on both sides, but I should expect an occasional error. If I learn to disable bad sectors, it shouldn't be a problem. Did everybody else know this already? Maybe I'm the only one who didn't. Carl Blesch
gwe@cbdkc1.UUCP ( George Erhart x4021 CB 3D288 RNB ) (03/18/86)
In article <688@hlwpc.UUCP> cb@hlwpc.UUCP (C Blesch) writes: >I asked >my friendly computer-store salesman if this statement was true, >because it meant I could buy boxes of single-sided disks >instead of double-sided disks, at a $10/box savings. The salesman >said that all disks are double-sided, but that the disk companies don't >guarantee the performance of the second side (i.e. it may have flaws). >Of course, the disk makers keep this fact quiet! The salesman said >I would probably find that most of the single-sided disks work on >both sides, but I should expect an occasional error. If I learn to >disable bad sectors, it shouldn't be a problem. This is truly amazing ... a computer-store salesman that tells the truth instead of lying to just to sell a few more boxes of floppies!!! Where is this guy???? PS. A friend of mine recently ordered ~600 SS/DD 3.5" floppies for $1.55 a piece. We were able to format all of the ones we tried (~30) as DS/DD without a single problem. (The were the same light tan colour of the disks Apple sends their System software out on! We believe that they are the tan Sony disks ... but with bulk orders, you never know.) -- George Erhart at AT&T Bell Laboratories Columbus, Ohio 614-860-4021 {ihnp4,cbosgd}!cbdkc1!gwe
explorer@tekig5.UUCP (Wayne Knapp) (03/25/86)
In article <688@hlwpc.UUCP> cb@hlwpc.UUCP (C Blesch) writes: >I asked >my friendly computer-store salesman if this statement was true, >because it meant I could buy boxes of single-sided disks >instead of double-sided disks, at a $10/box savings. The salesman >said that all disks are double-sided, but that the disk companies don't >guarantee the performance of the second side (i.e. it may have flaws). >Of course, the disk makers keep this fact quiet! The salesman said >I would probably find that most of the single-sided disks work on >both sides, but I should expect an occasional error. If I learn to >disable bad sectors, it shouldn't be a problem. The reason for this is that when floppy disks are manufactured, they are tested to be certified as either SS or DS diskettes. But most of the disks pass the DS certification, so the manufacturer ends up with mostly DS grade diskettes. But there is a greater demand for SS diskettes, so the manufacturer often sells DS diskettes as SS product. So what you may buy in the store labeled SS may actually be certified for DS usage. Then again, it may not be.