🚀 go-pugleaf

Received: by UOGUELPH (Mailer X1.23b) id 5416; Fri, 06 Feb 87 12:13:46 EST
Date:         Fri, 06 Feb 87 11:51:07 EST
From:         Peter Jaspers-Fayer <SOFPJF@UOGUELPH>
Subject:      Step rates and subdirectories ("folders")
To:           Atari ST users <INFO-ATARI16@SCORE.STANFORD.EDU>

2 questions for the group:

1) I have a program (PD? I hope so) that tests the disk drive.  It allows
   you to set the step rate to 2 3 6 or 12 MS, and then do end-to-end or
   random seeks.  12 sounds really awful, but 2ms (the default is 3) is
   great.  I found that by <control>C'ing during the test, I can return
   back to GEM (or CLI) with the seek rate still at 2ms!

   I don't have the developer's kit (I'm waiting - like many others) for
   the "great unbundling" so I can buy the doc's without buying the junk
   KERMIT, and (from all accounts) poor C compiler.  So I was wondering:

   Is there a "Well behaved" (i.e. TOS-release independant etc.) way of
   setting the step rate?  If so, could someone post the code (the A68 PD
   assembler would be best, but I can get someone else to compile C for me)
   that would set the rate to 2 ms?  With the FORMAT-PLUS, and 2ms step
   rate, the old floppy really flies!

2) I've seen this on both mine and someone elses machine:

   You've decided to get rid of a "folder" (I hate that word!) and it's
   contents, so you click on the "<>NAME" and drag it to the trash.  Click
   OK, and watch the count-down as the files in the subdirectory die..2,1,0
   and then "ALERT! THIS CAN'T BE DELETED |OK|" (no it's NOT OK! - Grrr.)
   Sorry I can't recall the exact text at work, but it's the alert that
   comes out when you try to trash a protected file.

   So now I have this empty folder I can't delete.  I load up a sector edit
   and check.  Hex '10' (a directory) is the only flag.   Duhh, say WHAT?
   You can put stuff back in it, and take stuff out, but you can't delete
   it.  Incredible.

   Ideas?
 /PJ