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From: bill@hp-pcd.UUCP (bill)
Newsgroups: net.micro.pc
Subject: Re: MS/PC DOS?
Message-ID: <15200043@hpcvlo.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 27-Oct-86 12:40:00 EST
Article-I.D.: hpcvlo.15200043
Posted: Mon Oct 27 12:40:00 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 30-Oct-86 22:36:29 EST
References: <985@husc2.UUCP>
Organization: Hewlett-Packard - Corvallis, OR
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Nf-ID: #R:husc2:-98500:hpcvlo:15200043:000:1053
Nf-From: hpcvlo!bill    Oct 27 09:40:00 1986


> There is one, very large and very important difference that I am aware of.
> MS-DOS and PC-DOS store their hard drive's directories in different
> sectors on the disk. If you mix the two, you can end up writing files with
> one right over the directory of the other, or vice versa. Bad news.
>
> In general, they are about the same, and as long as you just stick to one
> or the other, you're fine. (Floppies seem to be data compatable, as each
> can find files written by the other.)
>
> Jeff Kesselman

I know of a few differences between PC- and MS-DOS, but this is the first
I've heard of hard disk incompatability.

I thought that DOS -- both PC and MS -- is supposed to read the BPB from
the boot sector of whatever disk it's talking to, and from its information
determine the size and location of key structures on the disk.  That's
why your floppies work interchangably.  Are you saying IBM is doing
something differently, or that Microsoft has messed up?

bill frolik
hp-pcd!bill
Hewlett-Packard Portable Computer Division
Corvallis, Oregon