19 Jan
2023
19 Jan
'23
6:49 p.m.
Ok. So it's ultimately superior to using s/w alone.
So what disks can't be read by a pc (does the uP matter?) equipped with 1? Just
curious of a few examples, not expecting a comprehensive list. If there are any.
On Thursday, January 19, 2023, 09:39:21 PM EST, Fred Cisin via cctalk
<cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
On Fri, 20 Jan 2023, Chris via cctalk wrote:
I have to be honest at this point. A disk srive in
some sense "responds"
in some sense to changes in flux density around the surface of disks. So
what is the GW picking up, other then what the drive is already reading?
It's an interim device that sits between the drive amd the cable. It
makes use of signals that travel between the drive and fdc.
Does it read a disk better then say Diskimage can?
Generally, no.
But, it is an extremely useful tool when the OS can't help. Think of it
as a disk controller that isn't limited to perfect sectors in the
format(s) that that FDC is set up for.
1) it can get an image of the RAW flux level of data if you have a
disk whose format is something that your FDC can't do.
2) If you have flaws/errors on the disk, you might be able to use it to
get PART of a bad sector, when the FDC would just refuse to give you the
bad sector.
The stock FDC has software to fully integrate it with the OS, so you can
use the DIRectory of the disk, and it can give you whatever specific file
you want, rather than you having to manually run or create other software
to decipher into sectors, and make sense of the file system. If there are
multiple iterations of your file on the disk, the OS DIRectory lets you
try to select the correct one.
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin(a)xenosoft.com