Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ncis.llnl.gov!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!ucbvax!agate!labrea!rutgers!mit-eddie!ll-xn!adelie!morgoth!jboot
From: jboot@morgoth.UUCP (Jim F. Roberts)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: AT with last floppy memory
Summary: AT not recognizing DISK CHANGE
Keywords: disk, PC-AT, diskette
Message-ID: <499@morgoth.UUCP>
Date: 23 Jan 89 22:29:17 GMT
References: <768@bimacs.BITNET> <371@greens.UUCP>
Organization: Goldberg-Zoino and Assoc., Newton, MA
Lines: 32

In article <371@greens.UUCP>, matthew@sunpix.UUCP ( Sun NCAA) writes:
> In article <768@bimacs.BITNET>, grinberg@bimacs.BITNET (Dennis Grinberg) writes:
> 
>     [verbage about DIR not sensing change of floppy disks]
> 
> 
> 
>     Yes, your symptom is familiar.  Someone [has|is] [used|using] an altered
> [disk|os] on your AT, and your system now thinks that drive A: is a harddisk.
> Watch out, this has cause data loss at a local college due to the directory
> of the first disk being overwritten on the second.
> 

There is another possibility (Aren't there always).  I had the same
problem with a Toshiba 3.5" floppy drive I installed in a WYSE pc286.
According to the folk at Toshiba, the problem lies in the DISK CHANGE
status line.  No matter what jumper settings I used on the drive, the
WYSE would not notice a disk swap (other settings resulted in the
drive never being "ready").  The people at WYSE admitted the problem
was with our BIOS version, and offered to sell us a $50 upgrade (grumble).

I sent the origional poster the following quick fix suggestion:  Every
time you swap disks, type ^C at your DOS prompt.  On my set up, this
seems to tell the WYSE to reread the diskette's FAT, informing DOS of
the diskette change.  I've no idea if this is a generic fix, or is
specific to WYSEs, but it can't hurt to try it out.


-- 
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