26 Nov
2001
26 Nov
'01
10:12 a.m.
If you flip open the door and see two pins one on the
right front corner
and one on the left front corner you have a high density drive. So if
you see only one pin you have a 720. These are the pins that go into
the holes at the top of the 3.5 FD.
Hmmm. None of my 360K nor 1.2M drives have pins to sense density.
If there is an asterisk ('*') embossed on the front panel of a
5.25" drive, then it is a relatively late model 360K.
If there is NO asterisk ('*') then is an older 360K, OR a 1.2M, OR a later
360K from a non-complying company that thought that it was pretty stupid
to go along with IBM's grand idea of putting the identifying mark on the
new versions of the model that previously was unmarked (putting an
asterisk on the NEW type of drive might have made sense).
If the 5.25" drive turns at 360 RPM, then it is a 1.2M.
If it turns at 300 RPM, then it is a 360K, or "360K mode" in of the 1.2M
drives that switched speed instead of switching data transfer rate (as IBM
did).
300 RPM was also used for 720K 5.25" drives. (not used on IBM, except for
the JX model)
Is there any connection to the "density" pin?
To summarize:
look up the part number.
BTW, for 3.5", not all drives used "pins". Some used photocells.
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin(a)xenosoft.com