Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!cuuxb!fmcgee
From: fmcgee@cuuxb.ATT.COM (~XT4103000~Frank McGee~C23~M24~6326~)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.att
Subject: Re: 3B1<->3B2
Summary: might be difficult
Keywords: what compatibilities?
Message-ID: <2328@cuuxb.ATT.COM>
Date: 2 Jan 89 22:00:22 GMT
References: <7047@ihlpf.ATT.COM> <598@whizz.uucp>
Reply-To: fmcgee@cuuxb.UUCP (Frank W. McGee)
Organization: AT&T, Data Systems Group, Lisle, IL
Lines: 32

In article <598@whizz.uucp> bbh@whizz.uucp (Bud Hovell) writes:
>In article <7047@ihlpf.ATT.COM>, gmark@ihlpf.ATT.COM (Stewart) writes:
>> What are the compatibilities between the 3B1 and 3B2?  File
>> formats?  Floppy interface?  Can I write a floppy on a 3B1
>> in 8 or 10 sector format and read it on the 3B2, for instance?
>
>My understanding is that the 3b2 format is different than for the 3b1.

Yes, they are, and the software (and possibly hardware needed to do
this) may be more difficult to do than you might think.  My suggestion
is to purchase one of the commercial packages that lets you read DOS
style disks on 3b2's.  Then use the Unix PC office stuff to write your
data onto DOS formatted disks, and use the commercial package on the
3b2 to read them.  Sorry, don't have any pointers as to who sells the
3b2 software, but I know it exists.

As for the 3b1 writing 3b2 disks, you'll have to have a different
floppy drive to be able to do that (ie, a high density drive like they
put in PC AT's).  The drives that come with the Unix PC have a
formatted capacity of 360K max.  3b2 drives are a 720K format (so there
is no amount of software that can be written that will allow a Unix PC
to write a 720K disk).  However, if you've done the hardware mod to put
a 1.2 MB drive in all you'll have to do is hack the device driver to
allow the 720K format).  The 720K format is double-sided, quad-density,
at 40 TPI if I remember right.

Hope this helps you out,

-- 
Frank McGee
Tier 3 Indirect Channel Sales Support
attmail!fmcgee