Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!ogicse!plains!bakke
From: bakke@plains.NoDak.edu (Jeffrey P. Bakke)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Why do 2.0 meg diskettes only hold 1.44 meg ??
Message-ID: <6799@plains.NoDak.edu>
Date: 13 Nov 90 21:30:53 GMT
References: <11290@hubcap.clemson.edu> <1990Nov1.194908.12296@watdragon.waterloo.edu>
Organization: North Dakota State University, Fargo
Lines: 19

In article <1990Nov1.194908.12296@watdragon.waterloo.edu> ccplumb@spurge.uwaterloo.ca (Colin Plumb) writes:
> In article <11290@hubcap.clemson.edu> chrisb@hubcap.clemson.edu (Chris Behrens) writes:
> > The subject says it all...   But is there a way to utilize the full 
> > 2 meg, or is this taken up by the DOS formatting ??
> 
> Basically, no.  The actual capacity is 16,000,000 bits (slightly under
> ... Explaination about extra information and gaps, etc...

In addition to all the needed sector markings, gabs and other informatio
that must be included on a disk in order to utilize it, it must also be
realized that the original media is never "perfect" in that any errors on
the media or faults on the disk surface are taken care of by formatting which
simply allows some extra room to account for possible errors.
-- 
Jeffrey P. Bakke                      |   There are a finite number of
  INTERNET:   bakke@plains.NoDak.edu  |   jokes in the world...         
  UUCP    : ...!uunet!plains!bakke    |     The overflow began 
  BITNET  : bakke@plains.bitnet       |   decades ago. 
"I am not a number, I am a free man!" - The Prisoner