Date   : Tue, 14 Jul 1992 06:02:35 GMT
From   : wupost!waikato.ac.nz!comp.vuw.ac.nz!actrix!naos!ewen@uunet.uu.net (Ewen McNeill)
Subject: Re: Any AMSTRAD users out there?

kwyatt@ccscola.Columbia (Kershner Wyatt) writes:

> The best way to get funny looks in the States is to try to find those 3"
>
:-)  The prices seemed to bottom out at about NZ$8 here, and are now
back above the NZ$12 mark.  (Originally about NZ$20).  Oh, BTW, that's
EACH. I haven't bought any in a long long time (I added a 5.25" drive to
my Amstrad), but I know of one or two places which are still selling
them.

> Now, let me double check the controller answer.  I assume this also means tha
> you also will be getting the exact same storage as well, 180K per side on
> the low density and 1MB total on the high-density drives.
>
You will get the same storage space. I'm not sure that it makes any
sense to format them to 180K, as there is no such thing as 40 track 3.5"
drive (for other viewers: there is a 40 track 3" drive). Certainly you
can, and someone I know did, get 720K format - with the normal Amstrad
programs. Note: for the 720K format you need only a "normal" 3.5" drive
(ie, 720K format for DOS), rather than the high density (1.44MB for dos)
ones. That may save some money.

> I'm not sure the low density "A" drive (boot and all-controlling) is going to
> hold up...
>
You could probably replace the A drive with a 5.25" 360K disk. Of course
that makes it difficult to read 3" disks... :-)  I don't think that the
PCW8000 series had the bios for booting off 720K format disks, whereas
the PCW9000 series do.

> Kershner

--
Ewen McNeill, ewen@naos.actrix.gen.nz (or ewen@actrix.gen.nz)