🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <90018.155543SEK@PSUVM.BITNET> SEK@PSUVM.psu.edu
(Sonja Kueppers) writes:
>I've noticed a number of times that if a floppy disk is damaged enough that
>the disk can't be repaired "This disk needs minor repairs...blah blah,"
>but not damaged enough to be unreadable, it is impossible to reformat the
>disk from the finder.  I usually stick it in an IBM to format it.

"This disk needs minor repairs" means that there is something wrong with
the disk's Desktop file. If you click OK at the dialog, the Finder will
attempt to repair the file; however, if it's too badly damaged, the repair
operation won't succeed and the Finder will spit the disk back out. The
problem is that the Finder needs to open the Desktop file when mounting
a disk.

If you hold down command-option-shift-Tab while inserting a disk, the format
will be called before the Finder attempts to mount the disk. This should
let you format even a disk with an impossible-to-repair Desktop.

Alternatively, if you want to recover the data on the floppy, you can
insert it under a program that can see and delete invisible files (e.g.
ResEdit) and delete the Desktop file altogether. The next time the disk
is mounted by the Finder, it will build a new Desktop file. This tactic
doesn't always work, since if the Desktop is that badly damaged there
may be other serious problems with the disk. But it's worth a try.
-- 
====== jeanne a. e. devoto ========================================
 jdevoto@apple.com  |  You may not distribute this article under a
 jdevoto@well.UUCP  |  compilation copyright without my permission.
___________________________________________________________________
 Apple Computer and I are not authorized  |        CI$: 72411,165
 to speak for each other.                 |  AppleLink: SQA.TEST