Date   : Mon, 05 Aug 2002 16:55:46 +0100 (BST)
From   : Simon Marchese <simon_marchese@...>
Subject: Trouble with Double Density 3.5in Diskettes

I've got a BBC B with a Watford Electronics 1770
daughter board in it, along with the Watford DDFS ROM
v1.52. I picked up a twin Cumana 3.5in diskette drive
unit from a charity shop, to go with a whole heap of
3.5in DD media I have from times past and now I'm
raring to go ...

Except that I can't successfully format a 3.5in disk
in double density mode. The DDFS has built-in commands
"*FORM40" and "*FORM80", each of which ask "Double
Density?". When I type N it formats either 40 or 80
tracks successfully, but typing Y results in errors of
the kind that start:

00??01

So, assuming, that my DDFS supports double density, as
does the 1770 controller, is this inability to format
double density diskettes in some way a limitation fo
the drives themselves or is it more likely to be due
to the media being old perhaps not in the prime of
life?

Many thanks in advance.

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