[comp.sys.mac.misc] Bad Sectors on diskettes?

sm196103@seas.gwu.edu (Scott Cherkofsky) (02/11/91)

I have been having problems lately with high density disks formatting.  They
are coming out with initialization failed errors.  The reason I reformatted
them in the first place was to combat the copy error - file skipped, 
read/write error.  

I am looking for an application that will fix these diskettes.  I have tried 
using disk first aid but get the error - disk not hfs.  That is stupid, and
tells me that somewhere there is a bad sector and the Mac does know what to 
do about it.

WHY CAN'T THE MAC TREAT BAD SECTORS LIKE OTHER COMPUTERS - LABEL IT AND
DON'T USE IT!

sorry bout that, but this has happened to lots of my EXPENSIVE HD disks.

Scott

P.S.  it is NOT my drive.

Thanx for your help. 















-- 
Scott Cherkofsky			"The experience of going through
sm196103@seas.GWU.edu			 life may be intended as a warning
Mechanical Engineering student		 not to do it again."
Executive Office of the President		-- Ashleigh Brilliant

fmidgley@bird.Princeton.EDU (Frank Murray Midgley) (02/15/91)

  There is a very handy INIT called BAD that does exactly this.  Once the Finder
fails to initialize the disk, BAD puts up a second dialog asking you to reinsert
the disk.  It will block out all bad sectors and leave you with a very usable
disk.  The program is shareware, I think, and should be available from sumex.
-- 
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| fmidgley@phoenix.princeton.edu  |    This space left blank due to a lack    |
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clarson@ux.acs.umn.edu (Chaz Larson) (02/18/91)

In article <6277@idunno.Princeton.EDU> fmidgley@bird.Princeton.EDU (Frank Murray Midgley) writes:
>There is a very handy INIT called BAD that does exactly this.  
>.  It will block out all bad sectors and leave you with a very usable
>disk. 

I can't figure out why something like BAD is needed in the Mac world at all.
Whenever a disk of mine fails to format in the Finder, I just send it back to 
the manufacturer, who is more than happy to replace it with a new one.
Why would anyone need to format such a disk, as opposed to just replacing it 
for free?

A related matter:  There was a lot of talk a while ago about buying bulk disks
and the pricing thereof.  The prevailing sentiment was:
  "If I pay $.79 per HD disk, and half of them go bad, I'm paying $1.48 per
   disk, not $.79!"

If any of my $.79 disks go bad I return them, paying a nominal postage charge,
and recieve new disks.  My cost per disk rises by pennies.

Surely I'm not the only person to think of taking advantage of the "Lifetime
warranty" that is touted in _every_ disk ad I have ever seen.  So, what is the
deal?

chaz





-- 
Someone please release me from this trance.
clarson@ux.acs.umn.edu                                       AOL:Crowbone