Date   : Fri, 03 Nov 2006 09:59:42 +0000
From   : splodge@... (Richard Gellman)
Subject: DFS on 3.5inch - Is this supposed to work?

Hi,

I've recently undertaken the move to using 3.5inch double density disks 
(as opposed to high density disks with the extra hole), which works very 
well with a standard PC floppy drive. Indeed I can format disks using 
either the Master 128 ADFS formatter on the Welcome disc, or using my 
A4000 or RiscPC, and the disks work on either system absolutely fine.

My initial thought was that a modern PC floppy drive wouldn't be able to 
handle the 200K single density format of DFS. But when I tried 
formatting one, it worked. I've even stored files on them without any 
spurious errors.

Now my question is, is this working perfectly, or is there some sort of 
half-way format that I've created where single-density data is being 
recorded in a double-density mode or some such silliness? I.e. if I put 
these discs into a PC 3.5in drive connected to my model B (being set up 
soon), is the humble 8271 going to suggest orifices to which the idea my 
be suitably inserted?

-- Richard