Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcsun!ukc!icdoc!sot-ecs!efp90 From: efp90@ecs.soton.ac.uk (Pritchard EF) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc Subject: Re: Reading & Writing PC format disks Message-ID: <7247@ecs.soton.ac.uk> Date: 20 Mar 91 11:45:15 GMT References: <2941@izar.cs.exeter.ac.uk> <1991Mar18.014040.1976@demon.co.uk> Sender: news@ecs.soton.ac.uk Lines: 57 sie@fulcrum.bt.co.uk (Simon Raybould) writes: >In article <1991Mar18.014040.1976@demon.co.uk> harry@demon.co.uk (Harry Broomhall) writes: > In article <2941@izar.cs.exeter.ac.uk> cca@cs.exeter.ac.uk (Clive Carmock) writes: > >Does anyone know of a utility to read and write 720K 3.5" PC > >(DOS) format disks on an upgraded Amiga 500 with twin drives? > > > >I have heard of MessyDos, but cannot find a UK supplier. > > > >If there is a PD program, is it available via the network? > > >> BTW - MessyDos currently does not work with ADOS 2, but as >> you are talking about A500 this should not be a problem. Otherwise >> it is a fabulous prog, and a real life saver. >> Regards, >> Harry. >I have messydos and dos2dos. I have had nothing but trouble with messydos. >I was intending sending 3 sets of source to c.s.a today but messydos has >mad a REAL mess of the PC disks. It has attempted to cram 740K onto the >disk and the PC can't read any of the files. >I personally do not have the time to wade through the docs to find the reason >for this and will be going back to Dos2Dos with which I have had no problems. >If there is some obvious reason why all my disks get corrupted by MSH then >let me know and I'll give it another try. >-- >Simon J Raybould (sie@fulcrum.bt.co.uk) // {o.o} > \X/AMIGA \-/ >=========================================================================== >British Telecom Fulcrum, Fordrough Lane, Birmingham, B9 5LD, ENGLAND. What is the BlocksPerSector variable set to in your Mountlist? When I first got MesstDOS it was set to 9, which is what it should be according to the IBM formatted disks, but I found that it did not work, the drive just spun and did nothing. I changed this parameter to 8, and LO! it worked. WHY? Maybe the problem is this? My major bugbear with MessyDOS is that it always throws a requestor at me every time I swap to a AmigaDOS disk saying 'MessyDOS disk has read/write error' which you then have to cancel, and then a 'Not a DOS disk requestor' which you have to cancel as well. This can crash some applications such as the AZ editor. I have a single floppy system, and my friend with another drive and an A590 does not have this problem. The requestor problem also means that I cannot do single drive disk to disk copies, as DOS gets confused and says 'You MUST replace volume MessyDOS in unit 0'. E.F.Pritchard. efp90 Footnote: Recently I changed the BlocksPerSector back to 9 (for some reason I am not quite sure of) and it still read alright, after hearing of your problem I think I might change it back...