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From: chuck@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM (Chuck Rissmeyer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: 3.5" High-Density Woes
Keywords: penny wise, pound foolish
Message-ID: <1482@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM>
Date: 28 Aug 89 18:32:05 GMT
Organization: NCR Comten, Inc.
Lines: 31



When I got my Toshiba ND356 1.44 3.5" drive, it didn't come with the proper
instructions.  I installed it the best I could.  I found that Mr. Egghead's
DSDD disks would format at 720k just fine.  I also purchased a box of Kodak
HD 3.5 for $16.00.  I couldn't pass up that offer; the box said HD.  Well
I opened the Kodaks, but the disks themselves said DSDD.  Since I got them at
a good price anyway, I thought that I should just be careful the next time.
But wait, theses DSDD disks wouldn't format at 720K (My AT BIOS at the time
did not support 3.5" drives by the way).  I brought my Kodaks to a friend whose
drive did not look for the hole, and he formatted them at 1.44 without problem.
I updated my BIOS to one that supported 3.5" floppies, and changed my drive
jumpers to look for the 1.44 meg hole.

Why wouldn't my old BIOS and driver software format the Kodak DSDDs at 720k
but would format the Egghead DSDDs at 720K? The jackets were the same (no
strategically placed holes).  The answer has to be media density.  I think 
the Kodak disk were HD disk in DD jackets, and my drive sensed the media.

Since this episode, I have not tried to reproduce the original scenerio, but
I found that even the Kodak DSDD disks can format at 1.44Meg without problem.
Also, my new bios and drive configuration allow me to format the Kodaks at
720k or 1.44 meg (provided I punch the hole in the jacket for 1.44).

Needless to say, I buy nothing but Kodaks, and none of their disks have 
formatted with bad sectors at 1.44 meg.

All standard disclaimers apply, and I am in no way affiliated with Kodak
or Mr. Egghead.

chuck@stpaul.NCR.COM