800K problems on AV Macs explained

[shack@deimos.frii.com (Randy Shackelford)]

Recall my mentioning of how problems reading 800K floppies first popped
up with AV Macs? Well I found an answer why. This is an excerpt from a
web site with AV frequently asked questions which I just found:


    660av/840av: 800K Floppy Problems 

    The New Age floppy controller found in these machines is supposed to
    write data more precisely than before. However, 800K floppy reads can
    fail consistently under certain circumstances, while 800K writes are fine,
    as are 1.4MB reads and writes. The official Apple statement blames
    mass formatted disks whose poor track alignment can no longer be
    tolerated; some forms of floppy-based copy protection can also render
    the disk unreadable. Composite SIMMs have also been directly linked
    with this problem. 

    You may alleviate the problem by turning off Speech Recognition,
    GeoPort Express Modem, and video digitizing software. Using another
    Mac, you can also copy the data to a high density disk, or create a disk
    image file. With CopyDoubler or a similar product, turn off floppy
    verification to avoid read failures when copying in the Finder. 

    There are also reports of universally slow floppy problems (read, write,
    and format). This can be attributed to certain faulty disk cache routine in
    the ROM, which has been addressed by System 7.1 Update 3.0 and
    System 7.5. 


That explains why my 660av owning buddy had problems with disks after his
IIgs and IIci had had hold of 'em. Since I had seen mention of problems,
I decided to swap in a practically new and scarcely used Sony superdrive
mech into my 840av right after I got it. I've had zero problems with floppy
disks.
-- 
Randy Shackelford                                 
shack@frii.com