Floppy woes ...

From: Michael Brutman <mbbrutman_at_bresnanlink.net>
Date: Mon Jul 2 22:43:24 2001

I'm getting close to my wits end ...

I embarked on a project to catalog and archive all of the 5.25
inch floppies that I used on my PCjr. For archiving floppies
I decided to use savedskf and loaddskf (IBM utils), which run
under DOS and OS/2. I used a Pentium class machine with a
true 360KB diskette drive in the machine. I specified to
savedskf that I wanted raw, uncompressed binary images of
the diskettes. (The raw binary images are exactly size of the
diskettes (360KB), and are exactly the same as images created
using Linux's 'dd' command, so I know that they are really
raw binary images.)

All of the diskettes (150+) read fine, and are now sitting
as files on my hard drive. I decided to do some spot checking
of the diskette images, so I created new diskettes from the
images.

First problem: loaddskf will NOT write my 360KB images to
a real 360KB diskette drive. It complains about an unsupported
drive type. If I let savedskf write it's meta data and do
compression, then loaddskf will work. However, I want raw
binary images for compatibility with Linux 'dd. I can get
around it; there are lots of programs that can write the raw
diskette images. (fdwrite, fdimage, rawrite) However, I
am completely annoyed.

Second problem: I have two PCjrs for testing, and neither of
the two can read the diskettes created on my big machine. The
diskettes are being created using a real 360KB diskette drive,
yet they are barely readable in the two PCjrs. (They are
usually completely unreadable.)

I'm going to swap the 360KB diskette drive out of the Pentium
class machine and put another one there. Hopefully that drive
is out of alignment or the belts are loose, and that is why
the other two PCjrs can't read diskettes created on it.

Question 1: What the heck is up with loaddskf? Has anybody
run into problems with it when dealing with raw binary images?
It's supposed to work ... :-)

Question 2: Is there diagnostic software for determing the
alignment and RPMs of a diskette drive? I vagely remember
CopyIIPC telling me the rotational speed of the diskette
drive as it copied ... is there a diagnostic program that
can do this?

Question 3: What can I do to improve the chances of these
diskettes being interchangeable between systems? I've cleaned
the drive heads with a Q-Tip and isopropyl alcohol. I've also
cleaned the drive rails to ensure that the head can move
smoothly. Neither have helped.


Thanks,
Mike
Received on Mon Jul 02 2001 - 22:43:24 BST