Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!cs.utexas.edu!helios!daugher From: daugher@cs.tamu.edu (Walter C. Daugherity) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next Subject: Re: ED (2.88M) disks for 3$ each Summary: penny wise and pound foolish? Keywords: floppy diskettes Message-ID: <16389@helios.TAMU.EDU> Date: 21 May 91 15:02:42 GMT References: <13209@dog.ee.lbl.gov> <1991May17.160011.8109@wuphys.wustl.edu> Sender: usenet@helios.TAMU.EDU Organization: Texas A&M University Lines: 43 In article <1991May17.160011.8109@wuphys.wustl.edu> rdd@wuphys.UUCP (Rakhal D. Dave) writes: | |MEI/ Micro Center (1-800-634-3478) sells DS/HD disks for 59 cents each (The |price is down from 79 cents earlier) Delivery time is 6 to 8 weeks though. |This amounts to 41 cents/Mbyte. If you make a hole in these disks at the |right place using the ED disk as a template you can convert it to a |2.88 MB disk. (This is true, beleive me). While there may be those who |feel insecure about the stored data after doing this, I do too, I must admit |that after doing this to over 20 disks in the past 4 months I have yet to |face a disk reading problem. What happens on occasion that the disk may |not format at 2,88 MB. In which case plug the new hole with tape and unplug |the old hole and it will work at 1.44 MB. But if the disk does format at |2.88 MB it seems to pose no problem later. 95% of the time the disk will |format at 2.88 MB. If you do this and buy the disk from MEI the cost per MB |is 20 cents. Rakhal. I am certainly interested in saving money, but please consider if the risk is worth it. I have used many brands of floppies over the last 10 years, starting with 8-inchers on a Cromemco Z-80, then 5.25" disks on TRS-80's and PC clones, and now 3.5" disks on PC's, Mac's, and NeXT's. There have been a few major catastrophes where critical data could not be read or recovered, but fewer on name brands not pushed beyond spec. Where do you think 360KB disks come from, anyway? They are the rejects that wouldn't pass testing at a higher density, but work fine at a lower density. I shudder when I see people reformatting a floppy with a physical scratch on one side as a single-sided disk, just to save a dollar. Is your data not worth more? How long will it take you to reconstruct the files if the disk becomes unreadable? Do you really want scraps of plastic from an extra hole getting into your drive? My recommendation is to use the highest-quality disk available, and shop for it at the lowest price: my data and my time are worth it and it's only prudent. -- Walter C. Daugherity Internet, NeXTmail: daugher@cs.tamu.edu Texas A & M University uucp: uunet!cs.tamu.edu!daugher College Station, TX 77843-3112 BITNET: DAUGHER@TAMVENUS ---Not an official document of Texas A&M---