Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!mit-eddie!ll-xn!ames!ptsfa!ihnp4!ihlpa!sebruun
From: sebruun@ihlpa.ATT.COM (Bruun)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: How to make an unitialized disk
Message-ID: <6019@ihlpa.ATT.COM>
Date: Fri, 23-Oct-87 15:44:21 EST
Article-I.D.: ihlpa.6019
Posted: Fri Oct 23 15:44:21 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 25-Oct-87 23:52:00 EST
References: <464@aucs.UUCP>
Distribution: na
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories - Naperville, Illinois
Lines: 25
Summary: Any strong magnet will do the job . . .

In article <464@aucs.UUCP>, peter@aucs.UUCP (Peter Steele) writes:
> Here's a simple question: I teach an Intro to Mac course, and one
> thing that I demonstrate is how to format a new disk. After the class
> I end up with 15 formatted disks that I want to use again for the same
> purpose the next time I teach the class. So, I have to "uninitialize"
> them. The only way I've found to do this quickly is by starting to
> reformat them and then boot the machine while the formatting is going
> on. Pretty crude, and in particular slow, but it does the trick--I end
> up with a disk that the Mac want to initialize when I insert it in a
> drive. Does anyone know of a quick and dirty way to do this? I.e., does
> anyone know of a way to "unformat" a disk quickly (or a portion of a disk).

Piece of the proverbial cake, Peter.  Get yourself a bulk tape eraser.
(Try Radio Shack or some such.)  Run the disks over for a couple of
seconds.  Voila!!  Unformatted disks, which the Mac will report to be
"unreadable" just like when you stick 'em in brand new out of the box.
(Any strong magnet will do the job, of course.  I just happen to have
one of these gizmos, so that's what I use.  By the way, should you have
a disk you're having trouble initializing, this will often render it
useable again, at some risk of course!)

Steve Bruun
AT&T Bell Labs
Naperville, IL
ihnp4!ihlpa!sebruun