Re: 5 1/4 floppies

[rubywand@swbell.net]

Doug Browning wrote:
>
> On Fri, 28 Feb 1997, Convention96 wrote:
> 
>> I can't format the new 5 1/4 floppies I purchased for my 2gs. 
>> They were the only ones I could find at the computer store DD 
>> DD. Won't these work? ....
>
> They were probably mislabelled hd disks in dd boxes. ....
>

     Most likely, this is what happened. Unfortunately, in 
PC-ville, labeling HD 5.25" diskettes as DD is not considered an 
especially serious error. Fewer and fewer PC's even include a 
5.25" drive; and, only very old PC's would have 5.25" drives 
which cannot handle 1.2MB HD diskettes.

     There is so little demand for DD diskettes that, by now, 
they are probably more costly to produce than HD diskettes. Some 
makers may figure that the purchaser is getting a bargain, since 
his/her "DD diskette" will also work for HD.

     A drive designed for DD, such as the Apple II 5.25" drive, 
is going to have problems using HD diskettes. The formula for an 
HD coating is different from that used for DD coatings. The HD 
surface is harder to magnetize. HD 5.25" diskettes do not work 
in standard Apple II 5.25" drives.

     DD 5.25" diskettes look very much like HD 5.25" diskettes. 
About the only remotely observable difference is that DD 
diskette surfaces often exhibit a more brownish cast. Really, 
there is no reliable way to tell that any given diskette is DD 
just by looking at the diskette.

     MEI mail order may still sell genuine 5.25" DD diskettes. 
(The colored-jacket diskettes seem like a good bet.)  Ask the 
order-taker to verify that the diskettes you select are for-sure 
DD diskettes.