Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!uwmcsd1!mrsvr!roth
From: roth@mrsvr.UUCP (The Unknown Programmer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Disk inserted???
Summary: Need a special program
Message-ID: <502@mrsvr.UUCP>
Date: 14 Oct 88 21:52:40 GMT
References: <55969UH2@PSUVM> <3278@nicmad.UUCP> <955@psuhcx.psu.edu>
Distribution: na
Organization: GE Medical, MR Center, Milwaukee
Lines: 35

In article <955@psuhcx.psu.edu>, wcf@psuhcx.psu.edu (Bill Fenner) writes:
> In article <3278@nicmad.UUCP> brown@nicmad.UUCP (Mr. Video) writes:
> |In article <55969UH2@PSUVM> UH2@PSUVM.BITNET (Lee Sailer) writes:
> |<Will someone suggest a way to test for the absence of a floppy from
> |<a BAT file that doesn't generate the Abort, Retry, Ignore message.
> |
> |With 360K diskette drives, it can't be done.  I don't know how to do it
> 
> Actually, it's rather simple.  At least, it is on other machines, I'm not
> sure if the IBM floppy controller can do this (I would hope it would.)


Mr. Video is right - the status of a diskette drive cannot be
determined using BAT language.  A special program that sets
an exit code the BAT program interprets is required.
What one needs is a function that traps DOS critical
errors to avoid "abort, retry, ...".

I have a version of access() for MS C (written using MASM 5.1)
that performs the needed function (no pun intended 8-).
You would need to write a very simple program that a BAT program
would call.  The program would use exit(0) if the drive is OK,
else exit(1) (or anything other than zero).

For a free copy of my access() function, mail a note to:

{uwvax, rutgers} uwmcsd1!lakesys!deanr

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=================opinion by: Dean A. Roth======================
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