Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!ncs.dnd.ca!uupsi!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!ncar!ames!eos!shelby!agate!saturn!helios!ted From: ted@helios.ucsc.edu (Ted Cantrall) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: Re: What are bad diskettes? Message-ID: <10880@saturn.ucsc.edu> Date: 27 Feb 90 16:02:05 GMT References: <490@umrisca.usenet.umr.edu> Sender: usenet@saturn.ucsc.edu Reply-To: ted@helios.ucsc.edu (Ted Cantrall) Distribution: usa Organization: UCO/Lick Observatory, Santa Cruz Lines: 15 In article <490@umrisca.usenet.umr.edu> jamesh@cs.umr.edu (James Hartley) writes: >QUESTION: When this had happened to me before, I tried reformatting again. >With the MEI disk mentioned above, no errors were reported after the second >format. I first discovered this a couple of years ago with three bad >Scotch branded 5.25" diskettes which reported fewer and fewer bad sectors >upon each subsequent format. Can anyone explain to me what is happening? > I can't explain for sure... I use to have great success in first BULK erasing all my floppies. It seems that a strongly imprinted magnetic field can be hard for a Floppy disk head to completely over-write the first time, but the bulk erase trick cleans it up nicely. -ted- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ted@helios.ucsc.edu | "The opinions are mine... (408)459-2110 | ...the facts are public domain." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------