Date   : Thu, 24 Apr 2003 15:52:36 +0100
From   : Tim Fardell <tim.fardell@...>
Subject: Re: High Density Disks

Jonathan Graham Harston wrote:
> 
> > Message-ID: <DD35226B9A35D511A7AF0002B33647AD02018FF3@...>
> 
> Stephen.Gilbert@... wrote:
> > Quick Question:
> > Is it possible to format a HD High Density 5 1/4" floppy disk for DFS
> 
> Quick Answer: No
> You need DD disks, not HD disks.
> See http://www.mdfs.net/Docs/Comp/Disk/Densities
 
I'm in a similar position to the original poster - I have boxes and
boxes of HD disks, all useless for the Beeb! I worked around the problem
by installing a couple of 3.5" drives in the drive box, using adaptor
brackets. I can now use readily-available 3.5" HD media on the Beeb. 

In my experience, HD 3.5" disks will work flawlessly in any 3.5" drive.
Never have any trouble with this combination. 5.25" disks, however, seem
to be a completely different kettle of fish - DD drives simply won't
recognise or do anything with a HD 5.25" disk. It won't even attempt to
format it. Even if you format it on a HD drive, it can then only be read
in an HD drive (even if a DD format is used).