Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!wuarchive!mit-eddie!mit-amt!mjkobb
From: mjkobb@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Michael J Kobb)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: 800K floppies on a IIx; FDHD problems?
Summary: External?  Internal?  Apple?  Cutting Edge?
Keywords: 800K floppy IIx FDHD
Message-ID: <1148@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU>
Date: 3 Dec 89 20:52:14 GMT
Reply-To: mjkobb@media-lab.media.mit.edu (Michael J Kobb)
Organization: MIT Media Lab, Cambridge MA
Lines: 32

Greetings,

  I posted this question to comp.sys.mac yesterday, and it seems to have been
swallowed.  Since it's really more relevant to this group, I'll post it here.
Apologies if you see it twice...

  I am about to complete the purchase of a IIx.  It will have one FDHD, and I
will be using an external LaCie hard disk.  What I'm wondering is, is it
possible to use an 800K floppy with this machine?  I really don't want to
spring for another FDHD ($375 + install!), and I thought that an Apple internal
800K ($230+) or, even better, the Cutting Edge external 800K ($140) would suit
my needs adequately.

  So, first:  can the IIx use an 800K drive at all?  If so, I think I'd really
rather do the external (since the Cutting Edge is INEXPENSIVE).  However, since
the IIx apparently doesn't have an external floppy drive connector, I would
need a cable to go from the internal connection and provide me with the
apropriate socket for the drive.

  Has anyone had any experience with using an 800K drive on a IIx?  Does 
anyone know where I can either purchase a cable at a reasonable price, or get
a pin diagram so I can make my own?  Has anyone used the Cutting Edge?

  Finally, do FDHD drives ever cause difficulty for 800K disks?  I used some
of my disks (formatted on my Plus) in a IIx, and then the II that I took them
to wouldn't recognize them. I didn't reformat or anything, just used them.  The
II has never given any further problems, so I figure it must have been the IIx
(which I've been unable to use since then, so I couldn't check).

Thanks in advance,

--Mike