Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!cbnewsl!hojo
From: hojo@cbnewsl.att.com (HC Johnson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Q: spectre and 69MB harddisk
Summary: spectre will work on any disk
Message-ID: <1990Sep28.195230.9880@cbnewsl.att.com>
Date: 28 Sep 90 19:52:30 GMT
References: <1363@tnosoes.izf.tno.nl>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 29

In article <1363@tnosoes.izf.tno.nl>, joep@tnosoes.izf.tno.nl (Joep Mathijssen) writes:
> I just installed a 69MB harddisk and know I'm wondering if
> it's still possible to use Spectre on this (non-atari) harddisk?
> 
> Has somebody already tried this? What's the spectre limit?
> 
> I'm still using tos 1.0, but I'll get 1.4 in 2 weeks. The
> harddisk is a Rodime 3085S (?!) and the controller a 3000S.
> 
> 
spectre will use any partition on any hard drive.
(There is some folk lore on the position ( 0 1 2 3 etc.
Use the last one on your hard disk).

Your favorite partition program may make them all TOS.  Don't
worry, Spectre will redo it its own way.

One thing to remember.  Most of the formatters assume the partitioner will
map out bad sectors.  Spectre (ala MAC) will not do this.  If your partition
has bad sectors in it bad things will happen later if its in specter format.

(I solved this for controllers using the Adaptec 4000 and 4070 by writing my
own formatter, and giving the adaptec the bad sector list.  It maps them out
at the lowest level, leaving the partitions error free.).

Howard Johnson
ATT BELL LABS
att!lzsc!hcj
hcj@lzsc.att.com