Re: Can I tell if a floppy is double sided by appearance?

[hydros_by_hall@csi.com (Richard Hall)]

Hey rubywand,
I remember Beagle Brothers musing that the old computers didn't all
write on the same side of the disk. They wondered which side was
"checked" and "guaranteed". I still do.
Dick

On Mon, 29 Jun 1998 22:07:34 -0500, Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>
wrote:

>JGrav89894 writes ...
>> 
>> Is there a way I can tell if an old floppy (5 1/4) is double sided by looking
>> at it? Is there something to look for?(marks,notches, etc.)
>>
>
>
>     In general, aside from some label, no.
>
>     Sure, a diskette notched on both left and right edges is a good
>bet; but, this seems hardly ever to have been done for new diskettes. (I
>do not recall ever coming across a new 5.25" diskette notched on both
>sides.)
>
>     There may be some very old 5.25" diskettes with an oxide coating on
>just one side-- probably, the oxide would be on the back (bottom) side--
>and it would be pretty easy to see the difference. If you find one, keep
>it, since it is something of a rarity.
>
>     5.25" diskettes are routinely double-sided whatever the
>designation. The difference in labeling and cost reflects whether or not
>both diskette sides (or both sides of the master sheet) were tested. 
>
>     Mainly, "Single-sided" means just 'side one' is guaranteed;
>"Double-sided" means both sides are guaranteed. Users have been notching
>"Single-sided" 5.25" diskettes and using both sides for years. (The
>first time a friend punched one of our "Single-sided" diskettes and
>showed how Side Two could be INITed and used, I was shocked and amazed.
>"Wow! Twice as much storage space!")
>
>     
>
>Rubywand