Date   : Thu, 14 Jul 2005 00:14:48 +0100
From   : "Colin" <cwhill@...>
Subject: Re: floppy discs

*HELP produces the following:
DFS 1.20
DFS
UTILS
WORDWISE 1>10
OS 1.20
>
so presumably my machine can't format the disks.
I don't have a welcome disk.
Now is there any way I can get one or does it require fitting a part or
something like that. As I haven't got any usable disks, I can only input via
tape.
I have tried various commands (*verify and even the formatting command) and
the drive just chugs away forever (I can hear it going around).
Colin Hill
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Pete Turnbull" <pete@...>
To: "Colin" <cwhill@...>; <bbc-micro@...>
Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2005 11:45 PM
Subject: Re: [BBC-Micro] floppy discs


> On Jul 13 2005, 23:15, Colin wrote:
> > Ok, bear with me here as this is getting a little too technical for
> me and I
> > perhaps have a too simplistic view of disks and disk drives..
> > I'm going by a PC floppy which you shove in, format it to clear any
> gunk on
> > it and have a disk you can use (regardless of what was on it before).
> > I got this pile of disks and I want to scrub everything off them and
> use
> > them for the BBC Micro.
>
> Well, the process is much the same for the Beeb as it would be for a
> PC. One difference is that the formats normally used by a PC are
> different from any used by the Beeb.  The HD disks are for a different
> type of drive; they're not really useful on a Beeb.  The DD disks are
> fine, but will need reformatted.  Unfortunately, the formatting program
> isn't built in to the Beeb.  It would normally be on a utility disk,
> such as the Welcome disk, but there are also a number of sideways ROMs
> that include a formatter.  Apart from certain third-party DFS ROMs, the
> obvious ROM that includes a formatter is Disc Doctor.
>
> It's possible you have something like that.  What does *HELP show?
>
> If you can get a formatter, either on disk or ROM, then you need to
> know if the drive is 40-track or 80-track.  One way to find out is to
> try formatting or verifying 80 tracks.  If it's a 40-track drive, it
> will start to make a lot of noise shortly after the 40th track :-)  Not
> terribly good for the drive, but it shouldn't do much harm just once.
>
>
> -- 
> Pete Peter Turnbull
> Network Manager
> University of York
>
>