SYSRUTH@UTORPHYS.BITNET.UUCP (02/19/87)
It sounds like your disk may no longer be in Files-11 format. It may need to be re-formatted and, if the last track has been wiped out, re-BADded. I don't know how to reformat using VMS utilities. We have only System Industries disks here, and we generally use their EXOR program. This allows direct access to the manufacturer's badblock "file" (on the last track) and also allows us to format the disk very easily. BADBLK.SYS would come with a pre-formatted disk; it is created when the disk is INITIALIZEd, at which time the badblock list is read and placed in that file. I have had more occasion than usual lately to be formatting, badding, and restoring disks, including initialising the bad block list to 0 (due to logic cards bad and finding zillions of "bad" blocks which weren't). BADding is fairly easy, but it takes a long time. ANALYZE/MEDIA is what is needed. If you try doing ANALYZE/MEDIA/NOEXER/OUTPUT DRA0:, it will probably tell you if it thinks the disk is the wrong format, without actually changing anything on the disk. But I'm afraid that if formatting is needed, someone else's experience will have to be relied on. Sorry I can't help you more on this; how about your local Field Service? Surely they'd be willing to answer a simple question on how to format a disk. Ruth Milner Systems Manager University of Toronto Physics SYSRUTH@UTORPHYS (BITNET)