Re: Unidisk 3.5 won't write sometimes

[a2mg@aol.comNomail (A2MG)]

>What fixes the diskette?  A reboot or volume repair utility?

Neither of those fixes the doomed disk. However, I think the disk is still good
after the write-protected attempt. I believe you could COPY the files off to
another, clean disk, or make a diskcopy (maybe).  

However, most times when you save an AppleWorks file to a write-protected disk
in a 3.5" UniDisk, you pull the disk out, un-protect it, and put it right back
in. The second attempt to save will permanently damage the disk - without your
knowing it, or with an error message such as Mr. Hartz received. 

I'm not saying that this is the problem in this situation, but the word
"Unidisk" should put up a red flag if the program involved is AppleWorks.

This happened to me, and it happened to a business that I used to advise on
computer matters. I asked around about it, and the author of Repairworks (Gary
...?  Sorry I forgot the name) told me of the known problem with the firmware
of the white 3.5" Unidisk drive. I'm not aware of a Unidisk that isn't white
(at least, whiter than platinum or beige), so I assume all have this potential
problem.

[ BTW - if Appleworks encounters more than 50 files in a root directory, it
will give an appropriate error message. This is because when it saves, it saves
the file, then deletes the old version, so there are actually 2 versions of the
file on disk for a moment.]

Beverly Cadieux 
TEXAS II an international newsletter for users of AppleWorks(R) 5.1