lee@minnow.sp.unisys.com (Gene Lee) (10/18/89)
Does anyone have some software that I can run which would reconfigure the floppy drive in my pc AT compatible to ignore write protect tabs. The bottom line is that I want to copy programs to floppies for distribution and have a bunch of floppies laying around that don't have slots cut in them. Please mail you responses, thank you. Gene W. Lee
lee@minnow.sp.unisys.com (Gene Lee) (10/18/89)
Does anyone have some software that I can run which would reconfigure the floppy drive in my pc AT compatible to ignore write protect tabs. The bottom line is that I want to copy programs to floppies for distribution and have a bunch of floppies laying around that don't have slots cut in them. Please mail you responses, thank you. Gene W. Lee Gene Lee UUCP: ...!pyramid!pwcs!minnow!lee Unisys Corporation ...!amdahl!ems!minnow!lee Phone: (612) 635-7147 CSNET: lee@minnow.SP.Unisys.Com If not for the courage of the fearless manager, the paycheck would be lost.
unkydave@shumv1.uucp (David Bank) (10/19/89)
In article <1454@minnow.sp.unisys.com> lee@minnow.sp.unisys.com (Gene Lee) writes: > > >Does anyone have some software that I can run which would reconfigure >the floppy drive in my pc AT compatible to ignore write protect tabs. > >The bottom line is that I want to copy programs to floppies for >distribution and have a bunch of floppies laying around that don't >have slots cut in them. > >Please mail you responses, thank you. > > Gene W. Lee I know you asked for an E-Mail response, but just to clear the air on this net group, I'm also Posting one. You simply cannot do what you want. The write-protect tab is a HARDWARE inhibition. It is not software (OS) or firmware (BIOS) based. The write-protect tab interrupts a circuit. Without that circuit, the write-voltage never reaches the floppy's read-write head and consequently no writing is possible. If write-protects were able to be overridden by software, that'd make them pretty useless against viruses and Trojan horses, now wouldn't it??? In order to do what you want, you'll have to PHYSICALLY modify your floppy drive. Either that or get a disk duplicator that doesn't have such a feature. Unkydave unkydave@shumv1.ncsu.edu bank@cslimg.ncsu.edu
c9h@psuecl.bitnet (10/31/89)
In article <1455@minnow.sp.unisys.com>, lee@minnow.sp.unisys.com (Gene Lee) writes: > Does anyone have some software that I can run which would reconfigure > the floppy drive in my pc AT compatible to ignore write protect tabs. > > The bottom line is that I want to copy programs to floppies for > distribution and have a bunch of floppies laying around that don't > have slots cut in them. > > Please mail you responses, thank you. My God! Do you know what the existence of such a program would mean? There would be *NO* way to protect your disks from viruses! Impossible! Any "smart" virus would be able to simply bypass the write-protect facility of your disk drive. This is dangerous, and I am glad that it is *NOT* available! BTW: I do not know of any disk drive that will physically permit you to write to a write-protected disk. In fact, many of them have physical locking mechanisms to prevent this.
schriste@uceng.UC.EDU (Steven V. Christensen) (11/01/89)
c9h@psuecl.bitnet writes: >In article <1455@minnow.sp.unisys.com>, lee@minnow.sp.unisys.com (Gene Lee) writes: >> Does anyone have some software that I can run which would reconfigure >> the floppy drive in my pc AT compatible to ignore write protect tabs. >> >... I do not know of any disk drive that will physically permit you to >write to a write-protected disk. In fact, many of them have physical locking >mechanisms to prevent this. The write-protect is just a mechanical or optical sensor for the slot in the side of the disk. If you get in there, it shouldn't be too hard to bypass it. I had an Apple ][ drive in which I added a switch on the back, and a yellow led on the front, to tell me when I had the switch set in the write-always mode. -- Steven V. Christensen U.C. College of Eng. schriste@uceng.uc.edu
tcm@srhqla.SR.COM (Tim Meighan) (11/01/89)
In article <62764@psuecl.bitnet> c9h@psuecl.bitnet writes: > Does anyone have some software that I can run which would reconfigure > the floppy drive in my pc AT compatible to ignore write protect tabs. You can't disable the write-protect hardware of the floppy disk controller with software. (It's a good thing, too!) This is accomplished by modifying a floppy DRIVE to pretend that the write-protect tab is not present; this is how 5 1/4" distribution floppies that have no cut-out in the sleeve are written to. Note that such a modified drive is extremely dangerous in a home computing environment and may one day cause you much grief. Be sure you know what you are doing. Tim Meighan SilentRadio "Get me Premier Kisoff on the hotline!"
wb8foz@mthvax.cs.miami.edu (David Lesher) (11/01/89)
# > Does anyone have some software that I can run which would reconfigure # > the floppy drive in my pc AT compatible to ignore write protect tabs. # > This is very easy to accomplish. Just open up the floppy, and arrange a small toggle switch to override the detector. I use a double throw switch. Center (off) follows the tab. Up write protects all disks. Down (momentary) OVERRIDES an existing tab. Of course to scope out how to install one takes some minor knowledge of a black art that uses the devil's own tools such as a scope, soldering iron, pull-up resister and screwdriver. If you one of those folks that thinks all tools come with binders of documentation, stick to church... -- A host is a host & from coast to coast...wb8foz@mthvax.cs.miami.edu no one will talk to a host that's close..............(305) 255-RTFM Unless the host (that isn't close)......................pob 570-335 is busy, hung or dead....................................33257-0335
davidsen@crdos1.crd.ge.COM (Wm E Davidsen Jr) (11/02/89)
In article <62764@psuecl.bitnet>, c9h@psuecl.bitnet writes: | BTW: I do not know of any disk drive that will physically permit you to | write to a write-protected disk. In fact, many of them have physical locking | mechanisms to prevent this. Back in the days of 8" floppies I hacked a drive with a 3 position switch such that in one position the write circuit was disabled by forcing the write protect "ON", in the 2nd position the write protect line followed the sensor (normal operation) and in the last position the write protect was strapped "OFF" so I could write the disk with a tab in it. I had appropriate red, yellow, and green indicators, too. Another note, back when disk vendors put in metal write protect tabs, some drives detected the write protect by *reflecting* light off the surface, rather than passing light through the notch. This didn't cause a security problem because on 8" disks, like mag tape, the tab is an *enable*, and the default is write protect. This meant that using black tabs wouldn't let you write the disk. On 5-1/4" the sense of the notch was switched to default write enable. -- bill davidsen (davidsen@crdos1.crd.GE.COM -or- uunet!crdgw1!crdos1!davidsen) "The world is filled with fools. They blindly follow their so-called 'reason' in the face of the church and common sense. Any fool can see that the world is flat!" - anon