Re: Is ProDOS supported in OSX?

["Bill Garber" <willy46pa@comcast.net>]

"Michael J. Mahon" <mjmahon@aol.com> wrote in message
20030724140515.23725.00000534@mb-m27.aol.com">news:20030724140515.23725.00000534@mb-m27.aol.com...
> Scott Alfter wrote:
>
> >In article <4Gydne_yUJe19YWiXTWJjQ@comcast.com>,
> >Bill Garber <willy46pa@comcast.net> wrote:
> >>This is not anything strange. I had to do the same thing back when I
> >>transferred files from the 586 ( a 486 hot chip ) to my 8088 or 386, I
had
> >>to format the disks on the older machine first then they worked fine
after
> >>writing to them on the more advanced machine. If there is a reasonable
> >>explanation for this, I'm all ears. ;-)
> >
> >This shouldn't have been an issue with creating disks for your 386, but
if
> >you were moving data on 5.25" DD floppies between an XT (with a DD drive)
> >and something newer (with a HD drive), you ran into a problem with the
head
> >width of the high-density drive being half that of the double-density
drive.
> >Formatting/writing to a DD disk in a HD drive was an iffy proposition if
you
> >need to read the disk in a DD drive...maybe it'd work, or maybe it
wouldn't.
>
> The best way to do this is to _erase_ the DD floppy before formatting
> and writing it on the HD drive.  This ensures that there is no interfering
> information in the portion of the track not written by the HD drive (that
> the DD drive will read).
>
> A demagnetizing coil is best, but, in a pinch, a powerful permanent
> magnetic field can also be used effectively.
>
> The ubiquity of pre-formatted disks makes just using a "virgin"
> disk a non-option.

You are correct Michael. I remember using a magnetic field in the old
days to remove any formatting from disks preformatted for other systems
before attempting a format on Atari drives. It worked very well. For 5.25
disks, any refrigerator magnet laid over the disk jacket and turned a few
times
will do the trick, but for 3.5 disks, a much stronger field is needed due to
the
thickness of the outer shell.

Bill @ GarberStreet Enterprises };-)
Web Site - http://garberstreet.netfirms.com
Email - willy46pa@comcast.net




---
This email ain't infected, dude!

Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.502 / Virus Database: 300 - Release Date: 7/18/03