🚀 go-pugleaf

v077l5lx@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Guy N Di Piertro) writes:

>Hello!  I have installed TOS 3.06 and the new Atari controller
>for the 1.44 meg floppy in my TT.  I have also flipped the 
>switch to enable the high density format button.  The drive reads
>properly, and even writes acceptably, but for some reason it 
>won't format in high density well.  It worked a few times but
>doesn't anymore.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.
>	I think this discussion came up before but I don't remember
>what the verdict was.  Is the problem in the drive or the 
>controller or TOS?  Thanks!
>						- Guy :-)

I'm not sure what's wrong, but this was my experience...

I bought the 1.44 floppy/AJAX chip/TOS 3.06 package.  I put in the floppy
(with the cord turned upside down), I put in the TOS, and after looking
around for several minutes found the floppy controller chip & replaced it
with the AJAX chip.  I then turned on the computer, which did nothing.  I
turned it on and off several times, and it did nothing.  So I took it back
apart, looked closely at my TOS chips, and found I had put them all in
backwards.  Happy happy, joy joy.  I also noticed that the AJAX chip was
in backwards.  I turned them all around, put it back together, and turned
it on.  Still nothing.  So I'd fried my ROMs.  Well, I took it apart, took
out the TOS 3.06 chips, put the 3.05 chips back in, turned it on and to my
IMMENSE relief it worked.  :/  So, after working up courage, I tried
formatting a disk 1.44 meg, and it seemed to work fine.  I used it for a
few weeks, and then I noticed that it wasn't recognizing the floppy. 
There was no drive A icon on the desktop.  I usually don't use a floppy
anyway... but it would be nice to have a working one on occasion!  Tried
everything, no dice.  Finally, I put the old controller back in, and sure
enough, it worked fine.  So now I have 5 fried chips.  But my drive
formats/reads/writes 1.44 floppies flawlessly on all the old stuff...  If
you still have the old controller, you might want to try putting it in &
see if it works then.  That'll at least tell you if the controller is bad.
If that doesn't help, maybe try putting the old TOS in as well?  If it's
not either of those two things, it may be the drive itself... if you can,
find a friend with a clone with a 1.44 meg floppy on it, plug it in, and
see if it works.  You could also try it with 720K floppies & see if
there's any problem there.  If none of these turn up anything, I don't
know what to say...  :)

Good luck!

(BTW, I'm waiting for TOS 4.0 before I upgrade again.  Hopefully it won't
be long...  Eventually I'll need another AJAX I think.)

Dan Aylward
dud@u.washington.edu