Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!rutgers!cbmvax!drysdale
From: drysdale@cbmvax.commodore.com (Scott Drysdale)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.hardware
Subject: Re: Can IBM 3.5 in. H Density drives be used as Amiga drives (r
Message-ID: <17620@cbmvax.commodore.com>
Date: 15 Jan 91 19:02:05 GMT
References: <9101141608.AA00815@lilac.berkeley.edu> <38043@cup.portal.com>
Reply-To: drysdale@cbmvax.commodore.com (Scott Drysdale)
Distribution: na
Organization: Commodore, West Chester, PA
Lines: 38

In article <38043@cup.portal.com> Radagast@cup.portal.com (sullivan - segall) writes:
>>
>>Due to no response from my last query, I'll try again.  Can I take a 3.5 in.
>>IBM style high density floppy disk drive and stick it in my a2000 as a
>>second internal drive?
>>
>No.
>
>You can use a 720k 3.5" drive, but not very easily.  To use this drive,
>you will have to sand off the connector key, and attach it upside down
>(relative to the way IBM drives are keyed.)  Assuming the terminating 
>resistors are removed, and the drive select is set to 1, it will then 
>work marginally well as a df1:.  Unfortunately since it doesn't recognise
>the Amiga identify request, it won't autoconfigure.  Fortunately, the 
>identify response for a 3.5" drive is all 1's (ie: 0xffffffff).  To 
>get your amiga to recognize the drive you will have to leave the drive
>empty whenever the machine is rebooted.  Some programs (especially 
>copiers) won't work well with this setup.  
>

but you *can* use a standard pc-compatible 3.5" 720K drive as an amiga drive.
that's what the amiga drives are, guys.  get a manual for the drive, and fool
with the jumpers.  i forget what brand of drive i was using or what jumpers
had to be changed, but when first attached it wouldn't do disk change detection,
and there was a jumper related to disk changes.  moved that, it detected disk
changes.  next problem was trying to copy disks, and it turned out to be a
motor on/ready signal/select signal problem, and a jumper changed fixed that.

>                           -Sullivan_-_Segall (a.k.a. Radagast)

  --Scotty
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