Re: Disk reading problem

[mjmahon@aol.com (Michael J. Mahon)]

Frank Townsend wrote:

>I have two 5-1/4" Apple II disks that will not (apparently) read or catalog.
>
>One is a BASF FlexyDisk "1x hardsectored 10 sector holes"
>The other is a Wabash "SoftSector Single Side/Single Density" with
>"48TPI35/40 Tracks"
>
>The drive light illuminates then goes on to the next drive when I try to
>catalog using the catalog utility from ShrinkIt.  Even BlockWarden (ProSel8)
>won't read the disk.
>
>Is there anything I can do to retrieve the data or browse what is there?

Those disks are compatible with Apple II drives, though the hard-sectoring
is not used by Apple.  SSSD is the minimum standard for Apple II disks,
so you're OK there.

If you attempt to catalog them, even in BASIC, it should spin the disk
for a while, re-calibrate a couple of times, and then eventually surrender
with an "I/O ERROR" if the catalogs cannot be read.  Just flashing the
light doe snot indicate that reading has even been attempted.  How long
does the light stay on, and what noises does the drive make when it is?

The brief flashing of the light you describe sounds like the "volume scan"
that some programs do (like ProSel) in order to give you a volume name
menu to select a disk for cataloging.

You can override this by specifying a slot and drive, which will result
in the full round of catalog read attempts described above.

If the catalog cannot be read by BASIC, then either the disk is copy-
protected or parts of the catalog have become unreadable.  In either
case, running Copy II Plus and doing a volume verify is my next step.

That will give you a report of the bad (unreadable by standard read
routines) sectors on the disk, and should give you a good idea of
whether only a few sectors are unreadable (most data recoverable)
or _most_ are unreadable, suggesting: 1) a badly deteriorated disk,
2) a dirty, slow, or otherwise non-functioning disk drive, or 3) a
copy-protected disk that will require advanced methods to copy
and/or recover.

-michael

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