Mark Frischknecht wrote:
I Would Recommend reading this http://www.callapple.org/magazine/2002may/ADT.pdf then going to this page to download the software http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Sel/ADTWin.html
But he has no serial port on the II so ADT won't help. However, he could try Apple Oasis which can transfer using a custom cable connecting PC parallel port to II joystick internal connector.
As for the double sided disk issue, the Apple II disk drives only support one side of the disk. Some people including some companies would use the back side but in practice, this could be risky to the data on the disk. These disks were often called 'flippy disks'. It is possible to use the better quality floppies but for a disk which is used often, you run the risk of any dust, dirt etc being thrown on the media when the floppy is spun in the opposite direction.
Quite likely, the back side of the disks which aren't recognized are simply blank/unformatted media.
Cheers, Mike T.