Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mcsun!inria!mirsa!avahi.inria.fr!colas
From: colas@avahi.inria.fr (Colas Nahaboo)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.games
Subject: Re: Always-running 3/5" drive
Message-ID: <8490@mirsa.inria.fr>
Date: 23 Jul 90 14:09:15 GMT
References: <3387@leah.Albany.Edu> <10980@chaph.usc.edu>
Sender: news@mirsa.inria.fr
Reply-To: colas@avahi.inria.fr (Colas Nahaboo)
Organization: Koala Project, Bull Research France
Lines: 25

In article <10980@chaph.usc.edu>, bli@aludra.usc.edu (I are a college
student.) writes:

> >1. Is this harmful to the drive?  Because the game supports two
players, we've
> >been up late playing this thing for hours... and the drive keeps running.
> 
> I don't think so, unless the HEAD is actually R/W'ing... 

I think so. On most floppy disk drives, you cannot park the head, and so the
head is in CONTACT with the media as soon as you insert the disk.
(at least it was on the ones I opened). So this will surely erase your disk
and may damage, our at least put dirt on your drive head prematurely.
Try opening your disk drive and inserting a disk, you will see if it is the 
case...

This results from people doing too intricate disk protections, and messing
with timers. My solution: eject the disk when it's not in use, put it back
when in use, and write a irate letter to the editor.

moral: DOWN WITH DISK-BASED PROTECTIONS!

Colas Nahaboo, Bull Research France -- Koala Project -- GWM X11 Window Manager
colas@avahi.inria.fr            Phone: (33) 93.65.77.70, Fax: (33) 93 65 77 66
INRIA - Sophia Antipolis, 2004, rte des Lucioles, 06565 Valbonne Cedex, FRANCE