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From: mark@jhereg.Jhereg.MN.ORG (Mark H. Colburn)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Formatting 3.5" DS/DD to 1.44MB on Zenith 286-LP
Keywords: HD, 3.5" disks, Zenith
Message-ID: <462@jhereg.Jhereg.MN.ORG>
Date: 26 Jan 89 13:35:27 GMT
References: <2004@pembina.UUCP>
Reply-To: mark@jhereg.MN.ORG (Mark H. Colburn)
Organization: NAPS International, St. Paul MN
Lines: 26

In article <2004@pembina.UUCP> mathur@alberta.UUCP (Ambrish Mathur) writes:
>I have recently been using the Zenith 286-LP AT-compatible
>with a 3.5" disk drive and MSDOS 3.3+. I can't seem to
>format a DS/DD 3.5" disk to 1.44MB even with the /t and /n
>parameters. On an IBM PS/2 this is possible (DOS 4.0). 
>While the Zenith system supports 1.44MB for HD disks, it does 
>not seem to allow this for the DS/DD disks although the
>manual vaguely hints this is possible.


I know that some versions of the Zenith 286 machines have a hardware check
in them for high/low density disks.  My Zenith 286 laptop has it.  If you
take a look at a HD disk, you will notice that it has an additional hole in
it on the left hand side (looks kind of like another write protect hole, but
without the slide...)  My machine will check for the existance of that
hole before writing HD disks.  Yours may have the same "feature"...  It has
some advantages and some disadvantages, it just depends what you are doing
and how you are doing it...




-- 
Mark H. Colburn                  "They didn't understand a different kind of 
Minnetech Consulting, Inc.        smack was needed, than the back of a hand, 
mark@jhereg.mn.org                something else was always needed."