🚀 go-pugleaf

ratranch@svpal.svpal.org (Charles Mosher) writes:

>Reference have been trimmed because they were too long for tin.

>Lincoln Yeoh (nospam@pd.jaring.my) wrote:

>: The other tip I have is. ALWAYS format your disks first. The preformats
>: don't seem to be that good. [...]

>Excellent suggestion.  Thanks for mentioning this.  I always do this
>already, and perhaps some of my good results can be attributed to this.  I
>have always assumed that all prudent floppy users already knew to do this,
>and have never mentioned it on usenet.  Some commands such as DISKCOPY
>assume a floppy is perfect, and do not check that the sectors are good. 

I saw this mentioned earlier, and wondered about it because when I use
DISKCOPY I'm sure it *has* complained about bad sectors.  But then it
comes to mind that I always use the /v [verify] option when using DISKCOPY.

>Incidently, sometime disks straight from the manufacturer fail to format
>properly on the first try, but succeed on the second try.  I attribute
>this to particulates on the floppy that are dislodged on the first
>attempt.  Not good news.  If they fail the second try, off to the circular
>file they go.

I only give them one chance.  At about a dollar a throw these days, it's
not worth the risk giving them the benefit of *any* doubt.

>Incidently (2), having heard horror stories from various people about many
>name brands of floppies, I use the one brand about which I have lived or
>heard NO horror stories, MMM.  I have had many terrible experiences with
>noname floppies. 

What!  Even the "Lifetime Warranty" ones?  ;-)

Cheers,  Ian S.

P.S. Someone else has mentioned the antifungal treatment on some types
of 3M floppies.  In my experience, less than 6 months in a house in the
wet tropics around Cairns is enough to see visible fungus growth on
ordinary floppies [and video tapes come to that], so it amazes me that
the antifungal types aren't "standard" in the shops up here.  But then,
because they aren't, I don't have much in the way of data to say they
are effective in resisting fungal growth anyway! :)


-- 

Ian Staples                        MS-Mail: staplesi@dpi.qld.gov.au
c/- P.O. Box 1054 MAREEBA          Phone  : +61 (0)70 928 555 Home 924 847
Queensland Australia 4880            Fax  : +61 (0)70 923 593   "   "   "