need 720k 3 1/2" disks

From: Stuart Johnson <ssj152_at_charter.net>
Date: Mon Jun 9 22:37:01 2003

----- Original Message -----
From: "Fred Cisin (XenoSoft)" <cisin_at_xenosoft.com>
To: <cctalk_at_classiccmp.org>
Sent: Monday, June 09, 2003 10:17 PM
Subject: Re: need 720k 3 1/2" disks


> On Mon, 9 Jun 2003, Stuart Johnson wrote:
> > I realize that answering one's own post isn't the best netiquette, but I
> > took time to try my suggestion and discovered that Windows XP Pro cannot
> > format a floppy EXCEPT as a 1.44. If you have a 720 floppy and need to
> > format it, you are SOL. This is in the XP documentation. This is an
> > IMPROVEMENT? :-(
>
> It sucks. We must all do whatever it takes to turn Bill Gates into a
> millionaire.
>
> But,...
> I HAVE DONE IT.
> Since I didn't have my copy of the "resource Kit", I didn't know that it
> wasn't possible (The Wiley E. Coyote principle of software development)
> If I were to have known that it wasn't possible, then it would have been a
> lot more difficult.
>
>
> XP dropped support of formatting 720K from the desktop, and from the
> command line they dropped /F:720, and dropped /F:2. But they did NOT
> eliminate:
> FORMAT A: /T:80 /N:9
>
> Note: I did it with a recent model Compaq; it is entirely possible that
> the BIOS in some machines may pose other, additional problems. And in
> future service packs, they make fix the "error" of having left in the /T
> and /N.
>
>
> Hmmmm. Is SETVER still present in XP? If so, then it would be possible to
> use an older FORMAT without even having to patch it.
>
> --
> Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin_at_xenosoft.com

Good! Thanks for the info.

Stuart Johnson
Received on Mon Jun 09 2003 - 22:37:01 BST