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From: cb@hlwpc.UUCP (C Blesch)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: single sided -> double sided
Message-ID: <688@hlwpc.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 17-Mar-86 09:43:03 EST
Article-I.D.: hlwpc.688
Posted: Mon Mar 17 09:43:03 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 19-Mar-86 00:44:30 EST
References: <3014@gatech.CSNET>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Short Hills, NJ
Lines: 27

> Is there any way of formatting the second side of a disk that has
> one-sided formatting?  i.e. Take a disk from a Mac and "do something" so
> that I can exploit the other 400k on a MacPlus.

I recently read in a local user's group newsletter that you just initialize
the other side of the disk.  It didn't say how, nor do I know how, but
I assume it's possible.  I don't have my double-sided external disk drive
yet, so I've not seen any instructions.

> Yes, the disk is double-sided.

Preceding the above statement in the user's group newsletter was a
statement saying that you could use the other side of all your
single-sided disks when you get a double-sided disk drive.  I asked
my friendly computer-store salesman if this statement was true,
because it meant I could buy boxes of single-sided disks
instead of double-sided disks, at a $10/box savings.  The salesman
said that all disks are double-sided, but that the disk companies don't
guarantee the performance of the second side (i.e. it may have flaws).
Of course, the disk makers keep this fact quiet!   The salesman said
I would probably find that most of the single-sided disks work on
both sides, but I should expect an occasional error.  If I learn to
disable bad sectors, it shouldn't be a problem.

Did everybody else know this already?  Maybe I'm the only one who didn't.

Carl Blesch