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From: aqm@mace.cc.purdue.edu (Steve Weinrich)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: RLL controllers with MFM drives
Message-ID: <3397@mace.cc.purdue.edu>
Date: 23 Oct 89 14:01:23 GMT
References: <none> <2546@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu>
Organization: Purdue University Computing Center
Lines: 34

In article <2546@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu> consp21@bingsuns.cc.binghamton.edu (Ken Hoover) writes:


>  I have a Seagate ST225 in my XT (no flames on my obsolete machine); and
>was wondering if getting an RLL controller for it would allow me to format
>it out to 32 megs instead of the 20 I get now.  My roommate and I were
>puzzling over this one (he has an ST238, and we couldn't find any physical
>differences), so I thought I'd submit it to the net.

 
  I have read most of the replys to this poor man's question, and I 
think that you have missed a point that I believe he was asking...

  Is there a physical differnce? NO. The ST225 physical makeup
is the same as the ST238, the only difference is the quality (haha)
of it's plates. The only reason I know this is that when I sent in
a ST225 for repair, the person I spoke with on the phone said that
they (the re-work shop) could simply put in RLL rated plates and it
would be fine. [This is when I was working for a computer firm as
thier repair engineer] It would only increase the cost by a little
bit, so I said.. fine, do it. Sure enough, we hooked that puppy
up to an RLL and it worked just fine. Of course it did! 

  A perfect analogy for this whole situation is that of the difference
between a 360K disk and a 1.2 Meg disk. Sure, you can throw a 360K
rated disk (Double density) into a 1.2Meg and make it work, but you are
simply playing with fire... think about it, it's like recording your 
favorite albums on the cheapest cassette that you could find. It *WILL*
store it, but then again, how good of a recording were you looking for?

 Ah well, so much for replys... I think I will go back to bed...


   -Steve