How to format 800 K floppy?

[kevin_psx]

I am trying to format a 1.4 meg floppy as the older 800 K standard. I don't see the option on Windows XP to do it. Tried covering the HD hole to make the disk appear DD - but no luck there either. Just got an I/O error.

[Skyway_Recreation]

try using an older OS i remeber win 98 used to let me format 1.4's as 800's, the hole thing may not work on newer drives. waht's this for? an MSX? i thought you could format it in the msx if you did the hole trick?

[s1lence]

I don't think you can do it with XP it has to be an older operating system. I know my Windows 95 machine has that option, though I've never used it.

[Ed Oscuro]

DON'T COPY THAT FLOPPY

I'd have to second use of an older machine, and I'm also interested to know what this will be used for. :nosy:

[icbrkr]

You can't do it on XP, however, you show that you have an Amiga. If you have WB 2.1 or better you can format a 720K PC Floppy on it.

[NoahsMyBro]

I don't know the exact syntax, but format /? (from within Windows XP Pro) indicates that you would go to the command prompt and enter:

format /F:size

Specifies the size of the floppy disk to format (1.44)

So, I'd try going to a command prompt, and entering format a: /f:800k

-- Steve

[davidbrit2]

Hang on, are we talking actually 800 KB, or 720 KB? If it's an 800 KB format you're going for, you won't find any normal PC hardware that can do it. Find yourself an old Mac, since that was their special method of cramming a few extra tracks on a double density floppy. Does Amiga have its own 800 KB format too?

If you're just trying to do the old DOS standard 720 KB, then yeah, just look for an old computer. I'd imagine anything up to Win 95 or Win 98 could do it.

[ice1605]

If you use an old Mac, but one that has PC Exchange or the like, then you might (After all, I'm not sure if PCE can format PC 800k) be able to format it. I have an old Mac (several, actually, Macs are the best), and it has a SuperDrive (which means that it can read PC disks), so try that method (or ask a Mac-owning friend).

[CrimsonNugget]

WinImage formats all sorts of disk types. I have no idea whether any modern floppy drives support the format though.

[kevin_psx]

I'd have to second use of an older machine, and I'm also interested to know what this will be used for. :nosy:

Higher reliability - less dense data storage = less likely to have tracking errors.

I don't have an older OSes. Oh well. So much for that idea.

[s1lence]

Then why not just use a cdr if its not for anything specific?

[boatofcar]

I'd have to second use of an older machine, and I'm also interested to know what this will be used for. :nosy:

Higher reliability - less dense data storage = less likely to have tracking errors.

I don't have an older OSes. Oh well. So much for that idea.

Well, if it's any consolation, once you format in 800k, your pc won't be able to read it, as 800k was a Mac thing only, IIRC. Believe me, I've tried and failed many times. If you're looking to play old games on an old Mac, your best bet is to get a serial cable and connect the two.


Or you can just forget the whole thing like I did

[davidbrit2]

Higher reliability - less dense data storage = less likely to have tracking errors.

I don't have an older OSes. Oh well. So much for that idea.

Actually, from what I've heard, using high density floppies and taping over the hole to make them look like double density will make them less reliable. It has to do with the disk surfaces having different magnetic deflection properties, seeing as the high density floppy will actually have greater density of magnetic coating on its surface. The end result is that the data is written weakly to the surface of the HD floppy (though this might only occur in actual DD drives). So I'd avoid this approach if longevity is your goal.

[Ed Oscuro]

I'd have to second use of an older machine, and I'm also interested to know what this will be used for. :nosy:

Higher reliability - less dense data storage = less likely to have tracking errors.

All this rigamarole for THAT?

Oh well, but I did learn some things that might be useful in classic gaming endeavors...

[CaryMG]

I kinda/sorta wanna do the same thing.
Here's what the technowizards at "Macintosh Garden" had ta say ....

"Macintosh Garden" Floppy Formatting Advice

Hope that helps!


Later!