Date   : Fri, 04 Jun 2004 23:21:30 +0100 (BST)
From   : Pete Turnbull <pete@...>
Subject: Re: 3.5" disk drive

On Jun 4, 12:59, Tim Fardell wrote:
> On Fri, 4 Jun 2004, Jules Richardson wrote:
>
> > Due to the slightly different magnetic properties of DD vs. HD
media,
> > using HD media in a DD drive is also a bad idea. Chances are fair
that
> > it'll work, but not be particularly reliable for long term
storage...
>
> Never had any trouble at all doing this. Just need to put a bit of
tape
> over the hole in the HD disk for a HD drive to treat it as DD.
> Seems 100% reliable.

Well, it's not 100%.  The long-term effect is poorer than if you use
the correct media.  However, if it works at all (and it usually will,
up to a point) it's OK for short-term storage.

It's also true that the difference between the magnetic coercivity of
3.5" double-density disks (650 Oersted) and 3.5" high-density disks
(720 Oersted) is not very great, whereas the difference between 5.25"
SD/DD disks (300 Oersted) and 5.25" HD disks (600 Oersted) is large, so
you're more likely to get away with "misuse" of 3.5" disks than
"misuse" of 5.25" disks.

-- 
Pete                                           Peter Turnbull
                                               Network Manager
                                               University of York