20 Jan
1999
20 Jan
'99
3:15 p.m.
Hello, all:
I tried ordering the bulk 5-1/4" disks yesterday. Gone for good...none
left...sorry...bye bye...look elsewhere.
Better start stockpiling 360k diskettes...
[ Rich Cini/WUGNET
[ ClubWin!/CW7
[ MCP Windows 95/Windows Networking
[ Collector of "classic" computers
[ http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/
[ http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/pdp11/
<================ reply separator =================>
20 Jan
20 Jan
3:27 p.m.
I have been stocking up for the past three years. I have about 10k
stored. Also 720k disks are not as easy to find anymore, so I've been
gather a supply of those also. For my NeXT I scored a few boxes of
2.88's recently.
James
"Richard A. Cini, Jr." wrote:
Hello, all:
I tried ordering the bulk 5-1/4" disks yesterday. Gone for good...none
left...sorry...bye bye...look elsewhere.
Better start stockpiling 360k diskettes...
[ Rich Cini/WUGNET
[ ClubWin!/CW7
[ MCP Windows 95/Windows Networking
[ Collector of "classic" computers
[ http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/
[ http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/pdp11/
<================ reply separator =================>
4:42 p.m.
I have been stocking up for the past three years. I
have about 10k
stored. Also 720k disks are not as easy to find anymore, so I've been
gather a supply of those also. For my NeXT I scored a few boxes of
2.88's recently.
As I understand it the Amiga software industry is in a bit of a crisis at
the moment because 3.5" DD floppies are no longer being made. Well,
they're also in a bit of a crisis thanks to the idiots running Amiga, Inc.
killing the market last spring when it will be quite a while before the new
Amiga is ready to ship.
Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ |
4:47 p.m.
Last I checked my local Mac shop still sold DD 3.5 inch disks. Also, I *think*
that unlike 5.25 inch disks it's safe to use 3.5 inch HD disks on DD drives.
It DOES tend to confuse drives that do know what to do with HD, but if you're
only doing DD it works, I think.
--
Jim Strickland
jim(a)DIESPAMMERSCUMcalico.litterbox.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Vote Meadocrat! Bill and Opus in 2000 - Who ELSE is there?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I have been stocking up for the past three years.
I have about 10k
stored. Also 720k disks are not as easy to find anymore, so I've been
gather a supply of those also. For my NeXT I scored a few boxes of
2.88's recently.
As I understand it the Amiga software industry is in a bit of a crisis at
the moment because 3.5" DD floppies are no longer being made. Well,
they're also in a bit of a crisis thanks to the idiots running Amiga, Inc.
killing the market last spring when it will be quite a while before the new
Amiga is ready to ship.
Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ |
5:57 p.m.
Last I checked my local Mac shop still sold DD 3.5 inch
disks. Also, I
*think*
that unlike 5.25 inch disks it's safe to use 3.5 inch HD disks on DD drives.
It DOES tend to confuse drives that do know what to do with HD, but if you're
only doing DD it works, I think.
There are still DD 3.5 disks in the distribution channels, but they're
definitely getting harder to find.
While HD disks will work, at least they have when I've needed to use one as
a DD, I believe they aren't as reliable.
I really wish I had the space to stock up and properly store floppies. My
problem is that where I've got the room it's really not the proper
temperature.
Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ |
21 Jan
21 Jan
3:52 a.m.
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4:07 a.m.
On 21 Jan 99 at 6:52, Cameron Kaiser wrote:
::Last I checked my local Mac shop still sold DD 3.5
inch disks. Also, I
::*think*
::that unlike 5.25 inch disks it's safe to use 3.5 inch HD disks on DD drives.
::It DOES tend to confuse drives that do know what to do with HD, but if you're
::only doing DD it works, I think.
Unfortunately, it won't. Some later mechanisms might handle them okay, but
older drives and mechs don't have the write signal strength to properly
operate with denser media. Upshot is, they write unreliably. I have this
problem with my 1581 disk drive.
--
This is also true with the Atari STs as I found out to my dismay 4-5 years
ago
when I lost some valuable data I thought I had backed up, even tho it had
seemingly written OK to the disks. I have a stash of 720s that I got at a
sell-off price from a surplus electronics store. Altho you can still get them
the local suppliers charge more for them than the HD ones.
ciao larry
lwalker(a)interlog.com
9:30 a.m.
New subject: Reiability of wrong media (was: is out of 5-1/4" diskettes
[I am using the popular names (such as "360K", rather than more
technically correct designations.]
The most important parameter is the magnetic coercivity.
"360K" is 300 Oerstedt.
"1.2M" is 600 Oerstedt. Therefore, the two will not interchange
satisfactorily. Unlabeled disks can sometimes be differentiated by
color. If a disk has a reinforcer around the center hub, then it is
probably a 360K, although it COULD be an after-market reinforcer (jigs
used to be available.) If there is NOT a reinforcer, then it is either a
1.2M, or a very early "360K"
"720K" is 600 Oerstedt.
"1.4M" is about 750 Oerstedt. Therefore, although there is SOME loss of
reliability, the probability of "getting away with" the wrong media is
actually pretty good. IF the drive has a media sensor, then you would
need to punch the additional hole, or cover the hole, depending on which
WRONG combination you are attempting.
<RANT> There ain't no sech thing as a 1.44M disk. The IBM style of HD 3.5
has 2 sides, 80 tracks per side, 18 sectors per track, and 512 bytes per
sector. If you multiply that out, you get 1.406 HONEST Megabytes
(1048576). The only way to get 1.44 out of that is to creatively redefine
a Megabyte to be 1024000 bytes. That leaves IBM in the position of
claiming that a megabyte of memory is 1048576 bytes, but that a megabyte
of disk space is 1024000 bytes! If IBM ran a donut shop, how many donuts
would there be in a dozen??? </RANT>
DS v SS (5.25"): The disks are manufactured the same, but the difference
is whether BOTH sides are tested and/or "certified". Using DS for SS is
acceptable. Using SS for DS is taking a chance on using untested media.
There used to be rumors that SS disks were repackaged DS ones that had
FAILED testing on one side; but the realities of volume production make that
seem unlikely.
"Flippy": The second side can often be used in a single sided drive by
flipping the disk over. In the case of Apple ][ and Commodore, it
requires punching a write enable notch. (Which does NOT need to be square.)
On TRS-80, IBM, etc, it is necessary to also punch an additional
(symmetric) access hole for the index hole. (jigs for marking and
punching used to be available.)
DS V SS (8"): The index hole opening is in a different location.
Punching a new hole through the jacket normally works OK.
720K 5.25" v 360K 5.25": again, an issue of testing/certification,
similar to SS v DS. At least for a while, they were manufactured the same,
but were tested/certified for 48tpi or 96 tpi.
Hard-sectored v soft-sectored: In a system that does not use the index
hole (Commodore, Apple ][), it doesn't matter. In all others, the only
way to use the wrong diskette would be to modify the drive to index off
of the spindle instead of using the sensor.
3", 3.25": Many newbies will get sloppy in reference to 3.5" diskettes,
without realizing that there actually were 3" and 3.25" diskettes. 3"
were used by Amstradt, some non-US Canon?, and Amdek add-on drives for Coco
and Apple ][. 3.25" was used only by Chameleon 325 (that I know of).
Dysan bet the company on 3.25"; but that's another story. Anyone have
any extra 2.5" or 3.9" that you'd like to trade for 3" or 3.25"?
--
Fred Cisin cisin(a)xenosoft.com
XenoSoft http://www.xenosoft.com
2210 Sixth St. (510) 644-9366
Berkeley, CA 94710-2219
10:02 a.m.
New subject: IE 4/Office 97 Security Hole
I just heard of a vulnerability of people using IE 4 and Office 97. It
checks out at the MS site, and am just passing it along (although I realize
it is OT.)
GAPING SECURITY HOLE IN IE/OUTLOOK AND OFFICE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Listen up, people. This is serious. Probably the most
important article that's ever appeared in Woody's Office
Watch.
WOWser DavidF wrote to me last week with a masterful,
amazing hack that exploits the largest Office security hole
I've ever seen. No, I'm not going to tell you the details
of how the security hole works (Microsoft will give some
broad info) - and I sure as hell hope nobody else drops
enough hints to teach some %$#@! idiot malware writer how
to do it. But I will tell you what it does. If you have
Office installed, and you use Internet Explorer to view an
infected Web page, that page - without your knowledge, or
any action on your part - can wreak havoc on your system.
It can drop a virus, delete a folder, scramble data, send
your tax files to Timbuktu... anything. Similarly, if you
use Outlook 98 or later to view an infected HTML message,
that message - with no action on your part - can do
anything to your system.
Anti-virus legend Dr. Vesselin Bontchev confirmed DavidF's
report by showing me an HTML file that exploits the
security hole. It's... scary. It's way too easy to
exploit, unlike some more obscure security problems you
don't have to be a 'rocket scientist' to spread trouble.
For that reason, WOW has decided to be quick about warning
our readers to get the protective patch before examples of
this spread 'in the wild'.
DavidF told me, "I'm a bit surprised this isn't more widely
known. I notified the IE team of it long ago..." As in the
past WOW has been able to bypass Microsoft's bureaucracy
and quickly get the details to the people who matter. Once
we passed along David's news to the right levels inside
Microsoft, the offal hit the impellers, a team has been
working day and night for the last few days to find a fix.
Microsoft will be posting that fix in the next few hours.
That's why we held off on sending WOW to you this week - to
make sure the fix was ready and that it works. It does.
Let me make this really clear. Every single Office user who
also uses Internet Explorer or Outlook 98 or later, MUST
INSTALL THIS PATCH. It's only a matter of time before some
%$#@! cretin figures out how to exploit this hole. You -
and everyone you know - needs protection NOW.
There's actually TWO security patches out today. We're
particularly concerned with the Word 97 Template patch, but
you should get the Forms 2.0 patch as well. More info on
both problems below.
WORD 97 TEMPLATE PATCH
Microsoft Security Bulletin:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/ms99-002.asp
Office Update Download Page:
http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/downloaddetails/wd97sp.htm
FORMS 2.0 CONTROL PATCH
Office Update Download Page:
http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/downloaddetails/fm2paste.htm
Microsoft Security Bulletin:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/ms99-001.asp
Please. Take a few seconds to forward this article to
everyone you know who doesn't subscribe to WOW. Urge them
in no uncertain terms to get the patches, and apply them
immediately.
======================================================
Don Cooley / San Jose CA / dcooley(a)dnai.com . Go to
http://prostate-help.com to join the Prostate-Help Mailing List,
subscribe to the Newsletter, find my cancer story and family
history. To discuss our prostate cancer call me at 408-268-6400
======================================================
10:23 a.m.
New subject: [OT] Re: IE 4/Office 97 Security Hole
and am just passing it along (although I realize it is
OT.)
This is a reasonably high volume list already. I don't mind the occasional
off-topic discussion (and I suppose I've been guilty of participating in
some), but usually they at least start from something that is on-topic. If
people really care about this junk (which can be easily avoided by simply not
running IE), they can subscribe to bugtraq. If every time there is a
vulnerability in IE it were to be posted to this list, it would completely
drown out the discussion of classic computers.
I'll be entirely delighted to see discussions of IE and Office 97 on this
list in 2007.
Actually, that's not true. If that's what we are discussing here in 2007,
I'll be looking for a list with a charter to discuss computers at least
20 years old. As it is, I already would like to see the charter amended to
exclude all IBM-compatible x86 systems, but there are some people that
actually LIKE the damned things, so it's apparently not going to happen.
Eric
11:11 a.m.
New subject: Probably OT - Bugtraq (Was Re: [OT] Re: IE 4/blah, blah...
On 21 Jan 1999, Eric Smith wrote:
Yes, that was a comet that didn't even enter our solar system proper.
However if you are going to reference something (bugtraq), which may or
may not have some useful purpose, could you provide specifics? Not
everyone is at the same guru level as you.
Is it run by MS or is it an unconnected party? Is it paper or online? Web
site or list or newsgroup? Cost money or free? Does it cover only
current software or is older material mentioned? Is there an archive of
material?
Otherwise one has to fire up a browser and pop a query into one's
favorite search engine with no guarantee of success.
I believe this is the reason a fair amount of leeway is given to OT
material. At some point,...eventually..., some chunk of useful
information will become apparent in the hundreds of words expended on the
OT subject.
-- Steve
and am just
passing it along (although I realize it is OT.)
This is a reasonably high volume list already. I don't mind the occasional
off-topic discussion (and I suppose I've been guilty of participating in
some), but usually they at least start from something that is on-topic. If
people really care about this junk (which can be easily avoided by simply not
running IE), they can subscribe to bugtraq. If every time there is a 
12:09 p.m.
New subject: [OT] Re: IE 4/Office 97 Security Hole
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1:30 p.m.
New subject: [OT] Re: IE 4/Office 97 Security Hole
Actually,
that's not true. If that's what we are discussing here in 2007,
I'll be looking for a list with a charter to discuss computers at least
20 years old. As it is, I already would like to see the charter amended to
exclude all IBM-compatible x86 systems, but there are some people that
Personally, I'd include the IBM PC (5150) and maybe the XT (5160),
portable (5155) and AT (5170). Like it or not, they had a significant
impact on computing. But I don't think I'll ever think of a generic
PC-clone, no matter how old, as a 'classic'.
> actually LIKE the damned things, so it's apparently not going to happen.
Eric
-tony
7:01 p.m.
New subject: [OT] Re: IE 4/Office 97 Security Hole
On Thu, 21 Jan 1999, John Ruschmeyer wrote:
But then I'd want to add the Compaq portable and the Kaypro 2000 and soon
we'd be right back to where we are. ^^^^^^^^^^^ /\
Speaking of which, who can give me the pinout and voltages for the
external power supply for the 2000?
- don
donm(a)cts.com
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Don Maslin - Keeper of the Dina-SIG CP/M System Disk Archives
Chairman, Dina-SIG of the San Diego Computer Society
Clinging tenaciously to the trailing edge of technology.
Sysop - Elephant's Graveyard (CP/M) Z-Node 9 - 619-454-8412
*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*
see old system support at http://www.psyber.com/~tcj
visit the "Unofficial" CP/M Web site at http://devili.iki.fi/cpm
with Mirror at http://www.mathcs.emory.edu/~cfs/cpm
Actually, that's not true. If that's what we
are discussing here in 2007,
I'll be looking for a list with a charter to discuss computers at least
20 years old. As it is, I already would like to see the charter amended to
exclude all IBM-compatible x86 systems, but there are some people that
Personally, I'd include the IBM PC (5150) and maybe the XT (5160),
portable (5155) and AT (5170). Like it or not, they had a significant
impact on computing. But I don't think I'll ever think of a generic
PC-clone, no matter how old, as a 'classic'.
> actually LIKE the damned things, so it's apparently not going to happen.
Eric
-tony
22 Jan
22 Jan
6:38 a.m.
New subject: Kaypro 2000 (was Re: [OT] Re: IE 4/Office 97 Security Hole
On Thu, 21 Jan 1999, Don Maslin wrote:
A classic if ever there was one. I seem to recall that you have a 2000+,
so there's no guarantee my 2000 PS matches, but mine is 7.3 VDC, 2 A,
center negative.
-- Doug
But then
I'd want to add the Compaq portable and the Kaypro 2000 and soon
we'd be right back to where we are. ^^^^^^^^^^^
/\
Speaking of which, who can give me the pinout and voltages for the
external power supply for the 2000?
8:34 a.m.
New subject: Kaypro 2000 (was Re: [OT] Re: IE 4/Office 97 Security Hole
On Fri, 22 Jan 1999, Doug wrote:
On Thu, 21 Jan 1999, Don Maslin wrote:
A classic if ever there was one. I seem to recall that you have a 2000+,
so there's no guarantee my 2000 PS matches, but mine is 7.3 VDC, 2 A,
center negative.
-- Doug
That's right, I had forgotten that I had floated that query before. The
problem is that the 2000+ uses a 5-pin DIN connector :(
- don
But then
I'd want to add the Compaq portable and the Kaypro 2000 and soon
we'd be right back to where we are. ^^^^^^^^^^^
/\
Speaking of which, who can give me the pinout and voltages for the
external power supply for the 2000? 
21 Jan
21 Jan
10:31 a.m.
New subject: IE 4/Office 97 Security Hole
On Thu, 21 Jan 1999, Marvin wrote:
I just heard of a vulnerability of people using IE 4
and Office 97. It
checks out at the MS site, and am just passing it along (although I realize
it is OT.)
> GAPING SECURITY HOLE IN IE/OUTLOOK AND OFFICE
I don't know what all the fuss is about. I fixed this problem long ago by
refusing to use any Microsoft internet products.
Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Always being hassled by the man.
Coming in 1999: Vintage Computer Festival 3.0
See http://www.vintage.org/vcf for details!
[Last web site update: 01/15/99]
12:11 p.m.
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1:14 p.m.
New subject: IE 4/Office 97 Security Hole
On Thu, 21 Jan 1999, Tony Duell wrote:
I have even better way to avoid all Microsoft bugs.... It's called not
running _any_ Microsoft software. The only Microsoft product that I ever
use on this PC is the ROM BASIC...
Well, I would've wanted to make the same claim and sound all lofty but I'm
still a slave to Win95 right now. Hopefully once that Free Time I've been
yammering about comes around I'll finally get my Linux server up and
running and be cleansed of many of my daily toils.
Then I start work on the class action lawsuit against Bill Gates for
passing off Win95 as an operating system and causing untold damage to the
world's economy due to loss of productivity, not to mention data and
innovation.
Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Always being hassled by the man.
Coming in 1999: Vintage Computer Festival 3.0
See http://www.vintage.org/vcf for details!
[Last web site update: 01/15/99]
> GAPING SECURITY HOLE IN IE/OUTLOOK AND OFFICE
I don't know what all the fuss is about. I fixed this problem long ago by
refusing to use any Microsoft internet products.
3:21 p.m.
New subject: IE 4/Office 97 Security Hole
Well, I would've wanted to make the same claim and
sound all lofty but I'm
still a slave to Win95 right now. Hopefully once that Free Time I've been
yammering about comes around I'll finally get my Linux server up and
running and be cleansed of many of my daily toils.
It takes as little as 15 minutes to wipe the Windows virus from your system
with a nice Red Hat Linux CD-ROM :^) This of course assumes you've got
well supported Hardware (usually this in turn means very popular or older
hardware).
Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ |
10:35 a.m.
New subject: Reiability of wrong media (was: is out of 5-1/4" diskettes
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12:15 p.m.
New subject: Reiability of wrong media (was: is out of 5-1/4" diskettes
On Thu, 21 Jan 1999, Tony Duell wrote:
Interesting! I have never had a problem using even generic 48tpi disks
at 96tpi.
- don
[I am using the popular names (such as "360K", rather than more
technically correct designations.]
The most important parameter is the magnetic coercivity.
"360K" is 300 Oerstedt.
"1.2M" is 600 Oerstedt. Therefore, the two will not interchange
Sure. Some of the IBM Techrefs get this wrong, BTW. At least one edition
gives the same coercivity for the 2 types of disk.
satisfactorily. Unlabeled disks can sometimes
be differentiated by
color. If a disk has a reinforcer around the center hub, then it is
probably a 360K, although it COULD be an after-market reinforcer (jigs
used to be available.) If there is NOT a reinforcer, then it is either a
1.2M, or a very early "360K"
Don't forget that '720K' 5.25" disks also exist, although they're
not
common on IBM PCs. By that I mean 80 track, double density, double sided,
300 oersted coercivity. Most of those do not have the reinforcing ring IIRC.
<RANT> There ain't no sech thing as a
1.44M disk. The IBM style of HD 3.5
Agreed. But I've got fed up with people correcting me when I call them
1.4Mbyte disks and have adopted popular usage :-(
has 2 sides, 80 tracks per side, 18 sectors per
track, and 512 bytes per
sector. If you multiply that out, you get 1.406 HONEST Megabytes
(1048576). The only way to get 1.44 out of that is to creatively redefine
a Megabyte to be 1024000 bytes. That leaves IBM in the position of
1440Kbytes is OK, though :-)
1 Megabyte is often defined as 10^6 bytes by hard disk manufacturers.
Alas that doesnt' work for floppy disks either.
DS v SS (5.25"): The disks are manufactured
the same, but the difference
is whether BOTH sides are tested and/or "certified". Using DS for SS is
acceptable. Using SS for DS is taking a chance on using untested media.
Sure. But I have _never_ had a problem with using an RX50 as double
sided, unlike attempting to use '360K' disks as 80 track ones, or even
trying to format some lesser brands of disks as even 360K.
I would not suggest using an RX50 like this for data that really matters
(in fact I'd not keep that sort of data on any floppy disk apart from
perhaps an 8" one). But if you need a few disks for a TRS-80 or BBC micro
with 80 track drives then this is a possible solution. It works a lot
better than using '360K' disks, even good name-brand ones.
"Flippy": The second side can often be
used in a single sided drive by
flipping the disk over. In the case of Apple ][ and Commodore, it
requires punching a write enable notch. (Which does NOT need to be square.)
On TRS-80, IBM, etc, it is necessary to also punch an additional
(symmetric) access hole for the index hole. (jigs for marking and
punching used to be available.)
THe Siemens drives in my Zenith Z90 have mounting holes in the chassis
and pins on the PCB to connect a second index sensor and WP sensor. So
you can use any disk as a flippy in those. My drives don't have the extra
sensors fitted, though.
DS V SS (8"): The index hole opening is in a different location.
Punching a new hole through the jacket normally works OK.
Be careful if doing this to turn an SS disk into a DS one. Double sided 8"
drives have 2 index sensors so they can tell what sort of disk is
inserted (there is a 2-side line on the SA850 interface). Some drives get
_very_ confused if both sensors are active.
720K 5.25" v 360K 5.25": again, an issue of testing/certification,
similar to SS v DS. At least for a while, they were manufactured the same,
but were tested/certified for 48tpi or 96 tpi.
I have had very little success in formatting 48tpi disks in 96tpi drives.
As I mentioned earlier, this includes name-brands like 3M.. Hard-sectored
v soft-sectored: In a system that does not use the index
hole (Commodore, Apple ][), it doesn't matter. In all others, the only
way to use the wrong diskette would be to modify the drive to index off
of the spindle instead of using the sensor.
Using hard sectored disks as soft-sectored should be possible. Just add a
monostable and a couple of gates to only output a pulse when 2 holes are
close together.
In other words trigger a non-retriggerable monostable (with a time period
of 3/4 of a sector time) off the trailing edge of the index pulse. AND
the index pulse from the drive with the Q output of the monostable and
feed the result to the controller.
On the sector holes the monostable has already timed out, so the AND gate
blocks the pulse. On the index hole, the monostable hasn't timed out from
the previous sector pulse, so that one gets through.
To do the reverse is a lot more difficult - you need to have the sector
pulses accurately positioned wrt the data on the disk.
I have thought about taking an old 5.25" drive (something that is not
hard to get) and stripping it to get the chassis + spindle + disk clamp.
Then mount a punch/die in place of the index sensor and a disk with
suitable notches in place of the motor pulley. Add a detent on the drive
to go into the notches. Line up the existing hole with the punch and die,
set the detent into one of the notches, and clamp the disk. Now move
round the notches and punch the extra holes. I must try this...
3", 3.25": Many newbies will get sloppy in reference to 3.5" diskettes,
without realizing that there actually were 3" and 3.25" diskettes. 3"
were used by Amstradt, some non-US Canon?, and Amdek add-on drives for Coco
The most common use in the UK was the Amstrad machines. But they were
also used on the Tatung Einstein (I am looking at one) and on the Oric
drives. And in some other machines, I'll bet (I have seen them used on a
BBC micro).
-tony
1:08 p.m.
New subject: Reiability of wrong media (was: is out of 5-1/4" diskettes
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2:19 p.m.
New subject: Reiability of wrong media (was: is out of 5-1/4" diskettes
Don Maslin wrote:
On Thu, 21 Jan 1999, Tony Duell wrote:
I have been able to format 360K disks at 1.2 MB, but there starts to be a
fair number of bad sectors as the formating progresses towards the center of
the disk. I have also found that 360K disks formatted at 1.2 MB tend to
have a shorter data life span. Formatting 720K as 1.44 MB also seems to
result in a shorter data life span but not as bad as the 360Ks formatted at
1.2 MB, probably because the oerstadt rating is closer.
I have had very little success in formatting
48tpi disks in 96tpi drives.
As I mentioned earlier, this includes name-brands like 3M..
Interesting! I have never had a problem using even generic 48tpi disks
at 96tpi.
7:13 p.m.
New subject: Reiability of wrong media (was: is out of 5-1/4" diskettes
On Thu, 21 Jan 1999, Marvin wrote:
Don Maslin wrote:
Perhaps, I should have been more specific that I was referring to
formatting 360k disks to the 96tpi 720k disk format. Not 1.2mb! I have
never had any luck with that, nor have I really tried except as an
experiment to see how bad it went. Pretty bad!!!
- don
On Thu, 21 Jan 1999, Tony Duell wrote:
I have been able to format 360K disks at 1.2 MB, but there starts to be a
fair number of bad sectors as the formating progresses towards the center of
the disk. I have also found that 360K disks formatted at 1.2 MB tend to
have a shorter data life span. Formatting 720K as 1.44 MB also seems to
result in a shorter data life span but not as bad as the 360Ks formatted at
1.2 MB, probably because the oerstadt rating is closer. I have had very little success in formatting
48tpi disks in 96tpi drives.
As I mentioned earlier, this includes name-brands like 3M..
Interesting! I have never had a problem using even generic 48tpi disks
at 96tpi.
7:30 p.m.
New subject: Reiability of wrong media (was: is out of 5-1/4" diskettes
Don Maslin wrote:
On Thu, 21 Jan 1999, Marvin wrote:
I should have known what you meant <sigh>. I have never had any trouble
formatting the 360K diskettes in a 1.2 MB drive, but have had *many* read
problems when those disks were alternated between 360K and 1.2 MB drives
without being bulk erased first.
I have been able to format 360K disks at 1.2 MB,
but there starts to be a
fair number of bad sectors as the formating progresses towards the center of
the disk. I have also found that 360K disks formatted at 1.2 MB tend to
have a shorter data life span. Formatting 720K as 1.44 MB also seems to
result in a shorter data life span but not as bad as the 360Ks formatted at
1.2 MB, probably because the oerstadt rating is closer.
Perhaps, I should have been more specific that I was referring to
formatting 360k disks to the 96tpi 720k disk format. Not 1.2mb! I have
never had any luck with that, nor have I really tried except as an
experiment to see how bad it went. Pretty bad!!!
20 Jan
20 Jan
5:37 p.m.
My Amigas and my classic Macs as well as several Tandy's use the DD
disks, so i buy all I can find. I've bought a lot recently at
consignment store for about $1-2 for a box of 10. I think I have about
2k in stock now.
James
"Zane H. Healy" wrote:
I have been stocking up for the past three years.
I have about 10k
stored. Also 720k disks are not as easy to find anymore, so I've been
gather a supply of those also. For my NeXT I scored a few boxes of
2.88's recently.
As I understand it the Amiga software industry is in a bit of a crisis at
the moment because 3.5" DD floppies are no longer being made. Well,
they're also in a bit of a crisis thanks to the idiots running Amiga, Inc.
killing the market last spring when it will be quite a while before the new
Amiga is ready to ship.
Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ |
21 Jan
21 Jan
3:49 a.m.
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7:32 a.m.
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2:25 p.m.
New subject: MEI/Microcenter is out of 5-1/4" diskettes
the goodwill's here have them most of the time for $1 a box. These are new
unopened name brands. John Try looking were you are, I'm in Minneapolis.
-----Original Message-----
From: CLASSICCMP-owner(a)u.washington.edu
[mailto:CLASSICCMP-owner@u.washington.edu]On Behalf Of Richard A. Cini,
Jr.
Sent: Wednesday, January 20, 1999 8:15 PM
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
Subject: FYI: MEI/Microcenter is out of 5-1/4" diskettes
Hello, all:
I tried ordering the bulk 5-1/4" disks yesterday. Gone for good...none
left...sorry...bye bye...look elsewhere.
Better start stockpiling 360k diskettes...
[ Rich Cini/WUGNET
[ ClubWin!/CW7
[ MCP Windows 95/Windows Networking
[ Collector of "classic" computers
[ http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/
[ http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/pdp11/
<================ reply separator =================>
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29 comments
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participants (16)
-
ai705＠osfn.org -
ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk -
cisin＠xenosoft.com -
ckaiser＠oa.ptloma.edu -
dastar＠ncal.verio.com -
donm＠cts.com -
doug＠blinkenlights.com -
eric＠brouhaha.com -
healyzh＠aracnet.com -
jim＠calico.litterbox.com -
jrice＠texoma.net -
jrkeys＠concentric.net -
jruschme＠exit109.com -
lwalker＠mail.interlog.com -
marvin＠rain.org -
rcini＠msn.com