Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!csd4.csd.uwm.edu!mamba
From: mamba@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Paul A Deisinger)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Is this odd?
Message-ID: <1487@uwm.edu>
Date: 14 Dec 89 08:24:29 GMT
References: <3309@hub.UUCP>
Sender: news@uwm.edu
Reply-To: mamba@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Paul A Deisinger)
Organization: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Lines: 30

In article <3309@hub.UUCP> dougp@voodoo.ucsb.edu writes:
>-Message-Text-Follows-
>In article <814@jc3b21.UUCP>, fgd3@jc3b21.UUCP (Fabbian G. Dufoe) writes...
>>     A trick that I've used successfully with disks that wouldn't format
>>clean is to pass them over a bulk tape eraser.  That seems to erase more
>>from the disk than the format command does.  I guess the disk drive doesn't
>>have nearly as high a level as the bulk eraser.
>Format will only clean up the actual tracks, if there is spurious data
>inbetween tracks, this can show up in the read signal and cause problems
>this can occure if the disk was not erased after it was certified by
>the manufacturer. The bulk eraser works because it erases the entire
>disk, not just the tracks that the head actualy moves to.

Wouldn't this have the sideaffect of magnetizing the metal hub and shutter
on the disk?  This would be *very* bad I would think.

Putting magnetic things near diskettes and any computer equipment is somthing
I have always reguarded as a Big NONO.  Perhaps the bulk eraser you use is
not strong enough to magnetise the hub?  The eraser I have is quite old, and
goes back to being used on reel-to-reel tapes, I can pick up a three pound
weight with it....  think a more modern one would work out ok on diskettes?
(I have about 25 diskettes that have become "trashed", these are disks that
once were fine but now will not validate after formatting).


--
  Paul Deisinger                     "Me wa kuchi hodo ni mono o ii"
  Joe Pantuso                        "Bushi wa kuwanedo takayooji"
  mamba@csd4.csd.uwm.edu<-- easy to reach and read every day.
 joe@lakesys.lakesys.com<-- only get's read every week or two.