Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
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From: smsmith@hpuxa.acs.ohio-state.edu (Stephen M. Smith)
Subject: Re: 386, AMI & dos Format.......
Message-ID: <1991Apr29.155657.1836@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
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Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1991 15:56:57 GMT
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chaz@chinet.chi.il.us (Charlie Kestner) writes:
>eh1b+@andrew.cmu.edu (Eric David Hornchek) writes:
>>The problem is that all three drives refuse to format floppys.They all report
>>sector 0 bad and refuse to continue...
>  Ignore the bogus "sector blah bad", answer "yes" to the "format another"
>question, do NOT change disks, and just hit "enter" when it queries you.
>  Apparently it's some kind of brain-death regarding AMI's BIOS and HD
>drives.  They'll format okay, it's just that they'll give you that stupid
>message on every un-formatted disk.

I've noticed that this happens on the NEC 286 machines at school.
I don't know what BIOS they are using, but you have to try them
a couple times when you format unformatted 3.5" disks.  When they
finish formatting the first disk and ask "format another?",
you have to put the next disk in FIRST before answering yes or
it will come up with the same error message--even though you are
prompted to put the second disk in before it starts formatting
it.  Strange.