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Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!rutgers!princeton!rocksvax!oswego!ostroff
From: ostroff@oswego.UUCP (Boyd Ostroff )
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Using single-sided disks double-sided.
Message-ID: <404@oswego.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 17-Jun-87 01:17:10 EDT
Article-I.D.: oswego.404
Posted: Wed Jun 17 01:17:10 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 21-Jun-87 10:27:44 EDT
References: <5352@ut-ngp.UUCP> <948@apple.UUCP> <983@killer.UUCP>
Reply-To: ostroff@oswego.UUCP (Boyd Ostroff )
Distribution: na
Organization: Department of Theatre, SUNY Oswego, NY
Lines: 38

In article <983@killer.UUCP> perry@killer.UUCP (Alan Perry) writes:
>In article <948@apple.UUCP>, han@apple.UUCP (Byron Han) writes:
>> In article <5352@ut-ngp.UUCP>, mentat@ut-ngp.UUCP (Robert Dorsett) writes:
>> > Is there anything wrong with formatting disks labeled as single-sided as
>> > double-sided?  I just upgraded to a Mac Plus and the manual says, quite 
>> > explicitely, "Do NOT" format single-sided disks as double-sided disks.  

....etc....

>Just to add my own contribution to this discussion...
> 
> I have been faithfully using Single sided disks for Double sided data ever
>since I got my upgrade (1 year).  I know that the general feeling among those
>
...etc...

Just to add my two bits to the discussion...

We purchased a quantity of Fuji MF1DD (single-sided) disks here at SUNY on
State contract before we upgraded our machine.  Our experience here, as 
well as with my system at home is that we have about a 30% to 40% failure
rate of these disks when formatted as double-sided.  To my knowledge we
have not had any failures of the same disk when formatting single-sided,
so we only use these disks at 400K now.

I primarily use hard-disk based systems and I've decided that the few
pennies saved in buying the SS disks doesn't justify taking any higher
risk, since I use floppies mainly for backups.  If you MUST use SS disks,
then my experience would _strongly_ suggest a strict backup regimen.

We have wondered if, in fact, the SS disks are the ones which *failed*
the DS certification...

-- 
UUCP:      seismo!rochester!rocksvax!oswego!ostroff
US MAIL:   Boyd Ostroff, Technical Director, Department of Theatre
           SUNY College at Oswego, Oswego, NY  13126
PHONE:     (315) 341-2138