Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!math.fu-berlin.de!opal!tmpmbx!netmbx!hase
From: hase@netmbx.UUCP (Hartmut Semken)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st.tech
Subject: Re: New mechanism in Megafile 20
Keywords: hard disk Megafile seagate MFM noone reads these anyway
Message-ID: <2203@netmbx.UUCP>
Date: 4 Apr 91 18:52:28 GMT
References: <1991Apr3.000150.16688@cs.ucla.edu> <bx_gzpc@rpi.edu> <1991Apr3.224629.24410@cs.ucla.edu>
Organization: netmbx, Berlin, Germany
Lines: 19

stephen@oahu.cs.ucla.edu (Steve Whitney) writes:
>Thanks for the info, Tim.  Some of the wincap parameters are nice normal
>parameters like number of heads, number of cylinders, etc., but some of 'em
>are weird: test pattern?  (or something like that)  It's different for many
>of the drives listed in the wincap, but I don't understand why.  The ST225
>that was originally in there uses the defaults for all of the parameters
>besides the weird test pattern thing.  

The test pattern is used to test the drive for bad blocks (Physical Unit
Markbad).

These differ for RLL and MFM drives; the "worst" byte pattern - that is
the one hardest to store for the media - should be used here, but it
makes no big difference at all.

hase
-- 
Hartmut Semken, Lupsteiner Weg 67, 1000 Berlin 37 hase@netmbx.UUCP
Hi! (Zaphod Beeblebrox)