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From: lim@iris.ucdavis.edu (Lloyd Lim)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: Drilling holes in DS/DD -> DS/HD
Summary: Actual experience
Message-ID: <6311@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu>
Date: 19 Dec 89 02:34:35 GMT
References: <16918215MES@MSU> <89347.194237CXT105@PSUVM.BITNET> <864@wet.UUCP>
Sender: uucp@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu
Reply-To: lim@iris.ucdavis.edu (Lloyd Lim)
Organization: U.C. Davis - Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Lines: 24

If you are still thinking of punching holes in your DS/DD or even SS/DD and
you don't believe all the warnings posted here, then you'd better read this.

I've had a Mac Plus forever (it seems) and a Mac IIcx for almost as long as
it's been out.  I've acquired a fair sized library of software which I store
on floppies (~150 disks).  To save bucks back then when floppies were
expensive, I used single-sideds formatted as doubles.

When I got my IIcx, I experienced a very high rate of failure.  I would lose
about one or two disks a week.  I've since switched to real double-sideds
and have had no problem (using them as double-sideds).  When I reformatted
all of the singles, I found that the FDHD rejected about 10-20% of them
while the 800K drives didn't care at all.  Doesn't this indicate an actual
difference in the drives?

If you do go ahead and punch holes, be prepared to lose floppies at a greater
rate.  The FDHD drives seem very sensitive.  I've even lost a lot of high
density disks in the FDHD.  At this point, I avoid using high density disks
and stick to the more reliable DS/DD.

+++
Lloyd Lim     Internet: lim@iris.ucdavis.edu (128.120.57.20)
              Compuserve: 72647,660
              US Mail: 146 Lysle Leach Hall, U.C. Davis, Davis, CA 95616