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From: pes@bath63.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: reading IBM-PC floppies.
Message-ID: <1191@bath63.ux63.bath.ac.uk>
Date: Thu, 21-May-87 12:41:34 EDT
Article-I.D.: bath63.1191
Posted: Thu May 21 12:41:34 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 23-May-87 08:16:43 EDT
References: <282@nikhefh.UUCP>
Reply-To: pes@ux63.bath.ac.uk (Paul Smee)
Organization: AUCC c/o University of Bath
Lines: 26
Keywords: IBM-PC, Atari-ST, floppies


Haven't tried this one.  Persistent rumour has it, though, that you can swap
disks between IBM-PCs and the ST providing:

  1 - You've *really* got the same disks; and

  2 - You format the disks on the IBM.

From study of the IBM docs and the Atari disk software, it looks like that
should be true.  Issue (1) has to do with the fact that most 3rd party
5-1/4 inch drives for the ST are 80-track drives, while most 5-1/4 incd
drives for the IBM are 40-track drives -- and so they are not compatible.
However it is said to be possible to get 40 track, or switchable 40/80
track, drives for the ST; and some of the top-line IBM models use 80-track
drives.  The IBM 3-1/2 inch drives are *supposed* to be 80-track, like the
ST's, but we haven't actually seen one yet.  Issue (2) has to do with the
fact that the ST appears to know more about the PCdos/MSdos family of
disk formats (which both use) than the IBM does; the IBM is more insistent
on having its own particular flavour.

I'd expect file-by-file copying to work, though (on the ST); but probably not
'whole disk' copying (dragging Drive A icon onto Drive B icon).

We're hoping to try this soon as we can come up with a compatible pair of
drives (issue 1 above) -- probably within a month (given I'm about to go away
for 2 weeks)...