8 Feb
2009
8 Feb
'09
6:23 p.m.
> The Dysan Digital Diagnostic Diskette can not be
duplicated with an
> unmodified drive, no matter what software or special controller you might
> use. (dd, rawcopy, option board, Match-Point, etc.)
On Sun, 8 Feb 2009, Jules Richardson wrote:
I believe there's a 5.25" version that has
various portions that are pure
analog waveforms, too - you program your controller to read from those
particular tracks and then observe the waveforms coming off the read head,
using them to optimise alignment.
That's what a "normal" [analog] alignment disk is about.
I was not able to get an adequate cats-eye display using an NLS215 scope,
which took away my best excuse for having one.
The 8" version may not have been that
"sophisticated"...
The Dysan Digital alignment disks were available in 5.25" and 8" versions,
with or without software provided - after all, there were a lot of
mutually incompatable computers to use them on.
I've heard of, but never used a 3.5" digital alignment disk.
The 3.25" alignment diskettes that I had were all analog, and a bunch had
been reformatted.
Either way, copying / archiving is not really an
option. Anyone know what
machine was used to create such disks in the first place?
If you could make those
alignment changes realtime under software control,
then that would be one helluva tool for recovering data from damaged
and/or misaligned diskettes!
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin at xenosoft.com