Re: IIgs Software Basics

[spec@vax2.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector)]

In article nathan@visi.com (Nathan Mates) writes...
>
>In article <hosking-0808961747380001@hosking.pcnet.com>,
>Steve Hosking <hosking@gfa.pvt.k12.ct.us> wrote:
>>I have an Applied Engineering Drive that has HD stamped on the case.  I'm
>>presuming that this means that HD disks will work in it.  Yet, when I put
>>such in the drive, the IIgs fails to identify it, and will only let me
>>format the disk as an 800k.  Am I missing a special driver?  If so, does
>>anyone know where I might find it?
> 
>   You presume incorrectly. Apparently the AE HD drives could only
>handle AE High Density- 1.6MB vs the 1.44MB of PCs and Macs. However,
>you will need to get a driver to handle the 1.6MB versions.

    Your only partly correct. The AE High Density drive was merely a
SuperDrive clone, with a Sony mechanism that was similar to the one
Apple used (though slightly lesser). In that sense it _can_ work with
1.44MB diskettes, but you will require the Apple II 3.5 Controller 
Card in order to do so.

    The AE driver allowed it to format a non-standard 1.6MB GCR format.
That is fairly useless, unless you know friends who also have the same
floppy drive and driver. I wonder though, would a true SuperDrive be
able to read/write 1.66MB GCR if AE's driver is installed? (connected
to the GS's Smartport, not the FDHD controller card).

Mitchell Spector
spec@vax2.concordia.ca