Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!amdahl!pyramid!weitek!sci!raymund
From: raymund@sci.UUCP (Raymund Galvin)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: More storage on a miniscribe 3650
Summary: this might make your drive UNRELIABLE
Keywords: 3650 2090
Message-ID: <23022@sci.UUCP>
Date: 27 May 88 22:59:35 GMT
References: <3189@bsu-cs.UUCP>
Organization: Silicon Compilers Systems Corp. San Jose, Ca
Lines: 20

In article <3189@bsu-cs.UUCP>, jbwaters@bsu-cs.UUCP (J. Brian Waters) writes:
> The background...A few weeks ago in INFOWORLD a very respected IBM hacker,
                                                                     ^^^^
> STEVE GIBSON, in his TECH TALK column was extolling the virtues of the
> Miniscribe 3650.  Among the topics was the fact that the 3650 actually leaves
> the factory with 852 cylinders NOT 809. This got the wheels turning.....

 <text deleted - described how to use the extra cylinders>

> Brian Waters              <backbone>!---\ 
>                                    ihnp4!{iuvax|pur-ee}!bsu-cs!jbwaters
>                                               uunet!---/

Do you back up your files often?   Those extra tracks that you are using
are the inner most tracks which are the least reliable tracks on a disk drive
(too many flux changes squeezed into not enough space).  If the manufacturer
claims that all 852 cylinders work reliably, use all 852 tracks; however, if
the manufacturer only gaurantees 809, they probably have found the last 43
cylinders to be unreliable.

Ray Galvin