Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!nrl-cmf!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!hplabs!hpda!hpcupt1!williamo
From: williamo@hpcupt1.HP.COM (William O'Saughnessy)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: How to notch 720kb to be 1.44mb
Message-ID: <5930011@hpcupt1.HP.COM>
Date: 4 Aug 88 19:37:04 GMT
Organization: Hewlett Packard, Cupertino
Lines: 64


How to notch 3.5 720kb diskettes to be used as 1.44mb diskettes.

If you are tired of paying $4.70 per diskette for 1.44mb diskettes 
when you can get 720kb disks for $1.30, you might try this technique
for notching 720kb to make them 1.44mb.  This techique is dangerous,
in that it could wipe out your 1.44mb drive.  I tore apart a defective
disk and saw that there is a protective ridge that forms a 90%
seal between where you notch the disk and the actual media.

	    USER   BEWARE !! !! !! 

	    YOU ARE RISKING YOUR 1.44mb DRIVE   !!  !! !!

Now for the technique.  Buy a pair of Radio Shack red handled wire
cutters.( There's nothing magic about them.  They just worked fine
for me.)  Use them to cut a 11/32" by 13/32" piece off the density-
hole corner.  Do not attempt to notch the side of the floppy.
You will just put a lot more strain on the diskette and the result
will not be nearly as neat.  See diagram below.

			 3.5 inch diskette:

		   ____________________________________
		   I       I    media guard   I       I
		   I       I      slide       I       I
		   I       --------------------       I
		   I                                  I
		   I                                  I
		   I                                  I
		   I                                  I
		   I                 O                I
		   I                                  I
		   I                                  I
		   I                                  I
		   I                                  I
Write Protect      I                               i---<------- Cut here.
    Hole ------>   I o                             I  I  13/32"  
		   I                               I  I
		   --------------------------------I--I--------
                                                   I  I
						   /  \
						   11/32"
                                                  /\
						  Cut
						  here.

The above is down right dangerous to your 1.44 mb drive, but if you
like to gamble and save a little money, this is how.  Who knows
maybe someday there will be a booth at computer swaps where they
will use a laser to put a hole in the diskette for 50 cents per disk.

As always no warranties are implied or given for any of the above
information.  Oh, another note, you may want to test this on your
brand of diskettes.  Some may have a tendency to forget after a
few days when recorded at the higher density.



Feel free to repost this info on any other bulletin board.