Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 09:04:34 -0400 (EDT) From: "User Rdkeys Robert D. Keys" <rdkeys@seedlab1.cropsci.ncsu.edu> To: dkelly@hiwaay.net Cc: questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: 8" Floppy drive? (Of Course.....(:+}}.....) Message-ID: <199709171304.JAA23704@seedlab1.cropsci.ncsu.edu> In-Reply-To: <199709162353.SAA11479@nospam.hiwaay.net> from "dkelly@hiwaay.net" at "Sep 16, 97 06:53:06 pm"
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> User Rdkeys Robert D. Keys writes: > > > > > At the very least this should be good for a laugh, but the boss dug up > > > about 50 8" floppies and wants the data off of them and onto modern > > > media. From way back, I recal the 1.2M floppy hardware interface wasn't > > > terribly different from the 8". Where both 8" and 1.2M disks turn > > > 360 RPM vs 300 RPM for 360k disks. Maybe there is a chance an 8" drive > > > can be attached to my FreeBSD system? > > > > Why laugh.... you have an honest application that needs a proper solution. > > Those that would laugh are shortsighted..... > > Why laugh? Because sometimes if I don't laugh, I'll have to cry. I can appreciate that.... it lets off the steam pressure..... > The sad part is that so far no one is willing to authorize the > destruction of these disks, no one knows what is on them, or what > format they are in. In the past we've been known to take unknown > data like this and simply dd it to a file and preserve that file > with a note as to how we did it. Or in the case of a tape a printed > copy of Sun's tcopy output is filed with the new tape. > > David Kelly N4HHE, dkelly@hiwaay.net It might be easier on you if you note which disk type physically, you have. There are two physical types of 8 inch disks. One has the index hole about 5 degrees east of north on the disk (that is a single sided disk), and the other has the index hole about 10 degrees east of north (that is a double sided disk). If you have the single sided disks, there is a reasonable probablility that you may have SSSD disk format, and that can be read on many machines. A very few disks were double punched for index holes, so you put a cover sticker over the index hole you did not want to use, to determine the sidedness of the disk. Other than that, you need to find an old timer around the company that remembers the manufacturers name of the machines used. That can be used to track down the format, exactly. There are programs for dos that will read any format, but you need to know fairly closely what format it is likely to be or you have to try several hundred until on hits correctly. One might could take the disk info tables and create something that would work. It might even be possible to dd the disk image into unix or dos and dd it back onto a clone 8 incher in 5 inch format and then read it on a dos box as is, with the cpm translators from simtelnet. Good Luck and back to FreeBSD. Bob Keys
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