jms@tardis.Tymnet.COM (Joe Smith) (07/17/89)
Recently, I have been seeing problem with the LED on the floppy disk not
going out. The disk stays selected, but is not reading or writing.
Sometimes putting a floppy in the OTHER disk would clear up the problem,
but not always. It seems to have started after I installed a hard disk.
Sound familiar?
I found the answer in Amazing Computing, Vol 4 #2, Feb, 1989, page 38.
Central Coast Software, creators of DOS-2-DOS and QuarterBack, found a bug in
the trackdisk.device. When the system is polling all empty drives to check if
a new floppy has been inserted, sometimes it releases a different floppy
drive that should still be busy. The task accessing the disk waits patiently
for a signal that never arrives.
The workaround is to keep disks in all floppy drives at all times.
(The harddisk made it more likely for me to have a floppy in one drive but
not one in the other.)
--
Joe Smith (408)922-6220 | SMTP: JMS@F74.TYMNET.COM or jms@tymix.tymnet.com
McDonnell Douglas FSCO | UUCP: ...!{ames,pyramid}!oliveb!tymix!tardis!jms
PO Box 49019, MS-D21 | PDP-10 support: My car's license plate is "POPJ P,"
San Jose, CA 95161-9019 | narrator.device: "I didn't say that, my Amiga did!"lee@sed170.HAC.COM (John Lee ) (07/20/89)
In article <429@tardis.Tymnet.COM> jms@tardis.Tymnet.COM (Joe Smith) writes: <Recently, I have been seeing problem with the LED on the floppy disk not <going out. The disk stays selected, but is not reading or writing. <Sometimes putting a floppy in the OTHER disk would clear up the problem, <but not always. It seems to have started after I installed a hard disk. < <Sound familiar? < <I found the answer in Amazing Computing, Vol 4 #2, Feb, 1989, page 38. <Central Coast Software, creators of DOS-2-DOS and QuarterBack, found a bug in <the trackdisk.device. When the system is polling all empty drives to check if <a new floppy has been inserted, sometimes it releases a different floppy <drive that should still be busy. The task accessing the disk waits patiently <for a signal that never arrives. < <The workaround is to keep disks in all floppy drives at all times. < <(The harddisk made it more likely for me to have a floppy in one drive but <not one in the other.) <-- <Joe Smith (408)922-6220 | SMTP: JMS@F74.TYMNET.COM or jms@tymix.tymnet.com <McDonnell Douglas FSCO | UUCP: ...!{ames,pyramid}!oliveb!tymix!tardis!jms <PO Box 49019, MS-D21 | PDP-10 support: My car's license plate is "POPJ P," <San Jose, CA 95161-9019 | narrator.device: "I didn't say that, my Amiga did!" Curious. On my 1.3 ROM 2000 I have three internal drives (df0: & df1: are 3.5", df2: is a 5.25") and since I frequently boot off RAD:, one or more of my drives are usually empty. I don't have a hard disk, and I have yet to encounter this problem. Are there any other conditions needed before this bug manifests itself? --John Lee ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Raining CATS and DOGS? Join the RATS: Remote Amiga Teleconferencing System +--------+ John Lee | HUGHES | +--------+ ARPAnet: jhlee@hac2arpa.hac.com Hughes Aircraft Company The above opinions are those of the user and not of those of this machine.
jms@tardis.Tymnet.COM (Joe Smith) (07/22/89)
In article <299@sed170.HAC.COM> lee@sed170.UUCP (John Lee (ird)) writes: > ... since I frequently boot off RAD:, one or more of my >drives are usually empty. I don't have a hard disk, and I have yet to >encounter this problem. Are there any other conditions needed before this >bug manifests itself? The bug is coincidence driven. You have to be doing disk i/o at the exact instance DOS is clicking the drives, and even then it only happens sometimes. The problem is also mentioned in the latest issue of Amiga+ (the one with Indiana Jones on the cover). In that article, the bug is described as occuring most often when doing a lot of consecutive floppy writes, such as backing up a hard disk to floppy. -- Joe Smith (408)922-6220 | SMTP: JMS@F74.TYMNET.COM or jms@tymix.tymnet.com McDonnell Douglas FSCO | UUCP: ...!{ames,pyramid}!oliveb!tymix!tardis!jms PO Box 49019, MS-D21 | PDP-10 support: My car's license plate is "POPJ P," San Jose, CA 95161-9019 | narrator.device: "I didn't say that, my Amiga did!"