🚀 go-pugleaf

I've recently been running into some trouble with disk space dissappearing from
my double sided disks.  Strange things have been happening on and off for a
long time, but I haven't been paying any attention to it because, until today,
it seemed a random occurence.  Here's the background that finally made me
decide to ask about it:  I own TDI's modula 2 (developer's version), and today
 I decided to try compiling some of their sample programs (I don't really know
Modula yet--I was just curious with what was on the disk).  I thought, to save
time and effort, I'd put the compiler, linker, editor, and related include/link
 files on one disk.  The diks in question started out blank, with the 726,000
 or so bytes free.  I created a folder called TDISTUFF and put all the .LNK,
.SYM, and .DEF files into it.  Next I copied the folder containing the files
SYM, and .DEF files into it.  Next I copied the folder containing the files
controlling the various passes of the compiler onto the subject disk.  Finally,
into the root directory I copied the editor, compiler, linker, and related
files.  So, two folders, one with 108 (!) files, another with 8 files, and a
base directory with maybe a dozen files.  I then did "disk information" and
got the following results:
                             632722 bytes used
                              20480 bytes free
                             -----------------
                             653202 bytes total
 
That leaves about 72000 bytes unaccounted for.  Are these bytes used elsewhere,
 but not counted as bytes used (in FATs, etc.)?  Or might something be wrong
in my computer.   I tried compiling a program, ran out of room, deleted a file
 I didn't need, and did a disk information, getting the following:
 
                             622482 bytes used
                               8192 bytes free
                             -----------------
                             630674 bytes total
 
Now that's even less than before, and I DELETED a file (something's fishey
 here).  A couple of facts to point out--I'm using a fairly old ram disk (a
202k one), one that I've noticed only lets me put about 20 files into it, even
if I haven't used up all of its space.  My computer (one of the very first 520s
 with 512k, an SF354 & SF 314 drives) has been having some trouble--when I
power up I sometimes get only bombs, or a blank screen (Atari and everyone
else tells me loose connections or a micro-crack on the PC board)--but it seems
 to work okay if it gets past the boot stage.  For this reason, I leave the
computer (not drives or monitor) on all the time (that's why I'm not using one
of the new 'eternal' ram disks).
      To finally ask THE question:  is it my hardware/ramdisk/not-turning-the-
computer off, or is it something in GEM/TOS that's causing disappearing disk
space?  Maybe it only happens on disks with LOTS of files, and that's why I
didn't notice it consistantly earlier.  Whatever.
      Any help you could give would be *greatly* appreciated.  I hope it's not
my drive causing problems  (it's allright if it's my ST, because that's going
to be replace anyway.
 
 
                     Thank you very much,
                     Scott Udell
 
P.S.  About replacing sick 520's:  Atari has a pretty good return policy if you
 have a 520 that's sick:  send the computer and $95 to them and they'll replace
 the motherboard with a completely new one.  In fact, when I talked to the
fellow at the technical support number that I called, he gave me the impression
that I'd get a completly new computer, not just a new motherboard (maybe that's
 because my current case couldn't fit a motherboard with the r/f modulator on
it because there's no hole for the modulator).  Also, the $95 includes return
shipping, and the whole process should take 3-4 weeks.  The address I was
given was:
 
 
          Atari
          Attn door #17
          390 Caribbean Ave.
          Sunnyvale, CA  94089
 
It sounds like a pretty good deal to me.