CP/M - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

17 Jun 1998

C'mon.  Even I basically know this one.  A hard sectored diskette has tiny
little holes (IIRC, near the inside), so that the computer would move from
one to the next in a mechanical manner (hardware), while MOST soft sectored
diskettes had a single hole used for refference.  From there, it would just
spin around, and control the rest by software.  The Apple II, however,
COMPLETELY ignored this.  It could use hard sectored or soft sectored
diskettes, or even diskettes with no little hole at all.  It was completely
software driven.
    Ciao,

Tim D. Hotze
-----Original Message-----
From: Max Eskin &lt;maxeskin(a)hotmail.com&gt;
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
&lt;classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu&gt;
Date: Wednesday, June 17, 1998 5:44 PM
Subject: Re: CP/M

...

OK, I know what a track and a sector is, but what is the difference
between hardsector and softsector?
 Allison J Parent wrote:

> <one micro w/5.25" disks be compatible with another with 5.25" disks,
> <i.e. my apple with a C-128? Also, if a computer can run CP/M 3+ can it
 >
> Apple is weird with their formats, nearly hardsector.  C-128 has a few

compatable and incompatable formats.  The rest were all over the map. 
Actually, Apple was the _ultimate_ soft-sector, as it didn't pay any
attention to sector detect at all -- it had to read the whole track
then figure out where it started.  It's a major reason why database
applications were never a big thing on Apples until hard disks showed
up -- updating things by record was only possible by writing whole
tracks.
--
Ward Griffiths
They say that politics makes strange bedfellows.
Of course, the main reason they cuddle up is to screw somebody else.
 Michael Flynn, _Rogue Star_

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