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From: boyd@cs.unca.edu (Mark Boyd)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
Subject: Re: DS HD floppies
Message-ID: <1991Jun18.225904.23782@rock.concert.net>
Date: 18 Jun 91 22:59:04 GMT
References: <chris.3717@genly.UUCP> <1991Jun18.050747.26870@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu> <13217@uwm.edu>
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Organization: University of North Carolina at Asheville
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While the difference in coercivity is large for 5.25 inch disks, about
a factor of two if I recall correctly, the difference is on the order
of 10 % for 3.5 inch disks. I suspect that is within manufacturing
tolerances! 

If you try to format a 360 K to 1.2 M, you will get lots of bad blocks,
almost all on the inner tracks. If you try to format 720 K as 1.44, you
will get good disks. That is my experience and the experience of
everybody I know who has tried it.

	Mark

PS I find that my swiss army knife makes an adequate 720K to 1.44M
disk converter. Of course I consider my swiss army knife to be the
ultimate tool!