Path: utzoo!utgpu!utstat!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!zephyr!tektronix!percival!parsely!bucket!leonard
From: leonard@bucket.UUCP (Leonard Erickson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: ??HELP?? DOS 3.3: How to format 1.44 MB ?
Message-ID: <1448@bucket.UUCP>
Date: 8 Jun 89 04:43:29 GMT
References: <330001@hpbblb.bbn.hp.com> <1439@bucket.UUCP> <14288@watdragon.waterloo.edu>
Reply-To: leonard@bucket.UUCP (Leonard Erickson)
Organization: Rick's Home Grown Unix; Portland, OR
Lines: 43

In article <14288@watdragon.waterloo.edu> trgauchat@rose.waterloo.edu (Terry Gauchat) writes:
<In article <1439@bucket.UUCP> leonard@bucket.UUCP (Leonard Erickson) writes:
<}Well, I run DOS 3.3 ( actually Compaq 3.31) and and the same setup
<}(1.2 meg A, 1.44 Meg B). The only time I have trouble is if the floppy
<}isn't a hd floppy. All HD floppies have a hole opposit the write-protect
<}hole that indicates to the hardware that they are HD disks.
<
<Okay, so the hardware knows the disk isn't an HD -- so why the $^@$*
<didn't they add a DOS error ==> improper media density, or something,
<rather than allowing the format command to run for days pseudo trying
<to format -- only to say 900+k bad sectors when it stops?

If your drive has the media type sensor enabled you *will* get a write
failure error from DOS when you try to format a DD disk at HD. If you 
don't and FORMAT runs, you have the drive set for software density select
and the failure is the poor quality media!

<I think it is an industry conspiracy.  No clearly understandable
<error message was introduced in order to make the format trial
<failure appear to be caused by MEDIA FAILURE!!!  (when in fact,
<it is mearely media encasement failure  :) ).
<
<SO SPREAD THE WORD --> Buy reasonable quality regular density 3-1/2"
<                       diskettes, drill or melt a hole (where conveniently
<                       marked), and you have instant HD diskette.
<
Sorry, but like I said above, if FORMAT is running past Head0, Track0
the bad sector report is *real*. If your drive allows format to run
then you don't have the hardware sensor enabled and melting a hole ain't
gonna help. Compaqs and IBM PS/2 have the sensor *disabled*, so do many
other systems. Good disk will format, bad ones won't. I've got the sensor
enabled because the drive came that way and I've been too lazy to rip
open the machine and move the jumper.

For what it is worth, Sony DD disks seem to work ok at HD. And if you've
got a Toshiba drive, dig out the docs and move the %^%$%& jumper. It's
a lot safer than melting holes in disks (and you only have to do it once)

-- 
Leonard Erickson		...!tektronix!reed!percival!bucket!leonard
CIS: [70465,203]
"I'm all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools.
Let's start with typewriters." -- Solomon Short