For those of you out there that like me are tired of paying
OUTRAGEOUS prices for 1.44meg floppies here are two ways to get
around the problem. But first a little insight as to what the
actual difference is between the two disk types.
The reason a 720K disk will not format out to 1.4mb is that
there is a second window on the high density disk. This window is
picked up by a switch in the drive to determine the type of disk.
If the window is not present the drive sends a fault to the
controller and you get a message of invalid media. The people
making the disks would like you to believe that the high density
disk are totally different then the 720K disks. In reality they
are all made in the same factories under the same conditions and
with the same materials. The only difference is that the HD disks
are guaranteed to format out to 1.44mb while the DSDD disk are
not. I really don't think that this guarantee is worth 4 to 5
times the price in disks!
The first and most obvious way to get around the problem is to
simply put a hole in the disk case at the proper location. This
works well and with care is very acceptable. I prefer to use a
5/32" drill bit in a chuck that can be used by hand. This
eliminates the possibility of getting dust on the inside of the
case as you will get only one long chip if your bit is sharp. The
hole must be place exactly opposite of the one for the write
protect window. For the average person this is the best way. For
those of you that are more confident in your abilities read on!
The second and by far the better way to solve this problem is to
modify the drive so as to bypass the media detect switch all
together. This requires the removal of the drive from the
computer. Hold the drive upside down with the disk slot facing
out. You will see the switch for the write protection on the left
side just in back of the disk slot. Directly opposite this switch
on the right side you will find a switch with two solder
connections on it. This is the media detect switch. Simply
install a jumper across the two pads and you can now use cheap
disk for high density storage! NOTE..IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBTS ABOUT
HAVING THE RIGHT SWITCH USE A HOLE IN THE DISK INSTEAD OF THIS
MOD AS A MISTAKE COULD CAUSE IRREPARABLE DAMAGE TO YOUR DRIVE! A
hole in the disk is less of a headache than having to buy a new
drive!
For those skeptics or purists who doubt that this truly works
you should know that out of over 400 disks formatted in this
matter I have a failure rate of less then .5%. I do however use a
good quality of disk (BULK 3 1/2" DSDD from the MICRO CENTER). I
for one do not like holes in the disk and have the other mod.
However whichever one you choose, just think of all the money you
can save by just a little time!
REMEMBER TO MARK YOUR DISKS IF YOU DON'T HAVE A HOLE IN THEM OR
YOU WILL END UP WITH FAILURES TRYING TO WRITE TO A WRONG FORMAT!
