Format Floppy Disk For Amiga

Jawsykilla · 21 December 2009, 21:18

Hi, Just recently purchased my first Amiga, I wasn't alive in the Amiga Days but I Love retro Computers and consoles so i bought an A600. I like it a lot. The only problem I have found is that when i try and format a regular floppy disk in Workbench 2.05 it always comes up as Bad Sector. Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks,
Jawsykilla

wlcina · 21 December 2009, 21:23

try another floppy, is the bad sector on the same place ? if yes, probably something with your drive. anyway when you are using A600, its better to use HDD and winuae for playing

prowler · 21 December 2009, 21:26

Hi, Jawsykilla, and welcome to EAB!

I doubt that you're really doing anything wrong. For maximum reliability, you should always use DSDD 1MB unformatted (or 720kB DOS-formatted) capacity 3½-inch floppy disks in your Amiga's floppy drive.

Jawsykilla · 21 December 2009, 21:33

Well these floppy disks are some ones previously used with a PC back in the WIN95 days, I insert them into the drive and format and it says "Format Failed Bad Sector. Try a Different Disk" but when i format a floppy disk that came with my A600 it works fine so it isn't the Disk Drive. Any Ideas? Also thanks for the welcome these forums are great!

wlcina · 21 December 2009, 21:38

If the "bad" diskette is HD, then take stickytape and cover the hole opposite to read-write hole, try format again, if that doesnt help, you probably have to find formatter which can format floppy with bad sectors - it will mark bad sectors as not usable, so you will have less capacity. Try search on aminet.

prowler · 21 December 2009, 21:41

The disks previously used in a PC running Win95 are probably DSHD 2.0MB unformatted (1.4MB DOS-formatted) capacity, whereas the disks which came with your Amiga are most likely the DSDD disks I described above.

FYI: DSDD = Double Sided Double Density; DSHD = Double Sided High Density.

You may get the DSHD disks to format properly in your Amiga if you cover the disk's HD sensing hole with sticky tape, to "fool" the Amiga's floppy drive into thinking it's a DSDD disk. However, this may not work, because the DSHD disk's magnetic layer is different.

PS. Some Amiga floppy drives work fine with DSHD disks, whether the HD sensing hole is covered or not, but some do not. Furthermore, there is no telling how a particular drive will perform until you try it.

Jawsykilla · 21 December 2009, 21:48

Thanks for the info on HD and DD, I tried covering the hole but to no avail. I realise why it doesn't work due to the way the magnetic layer is read. Any ideas where I can purchase cheap DSDD Floppies for my A600 in England?

Thanks again!

TCD · 21 December 2009, 21:50

Have a look here : http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...x.php?cPath=28

Graham Humphrey · 21 December 2009, 21:50

AmigaKit has disks available.

EDIT: TCD at the double again

prowler · 21 December 2009, 21:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jawsykilla

Any ideas where I can purchase cheap DSDD Floppies for my A600 in England?

AmigaKit.

Arghh! Beaten to the post twice over!

TCD · 21 December 2009, 21:55

Whoooosh!

Sorry guys, but good to see great minds thinking alike

Jawsykilla · 21 December 2009, 21:58

Thanks a lot to everyone who helped! How do I close the thread?

Graham Humphrey · 21 December 2009, 22:00

You don't, us moderators do and there's no need to close it because someone else might find it handy one day and want to add to it.

Jawsykilla · 21 December 2009, 22:06

Ok, thanks!

Supamax · 21 December 2009, 23:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by wlcina

If the "bad" diskette is HD, then take stickytape and cover the hole opposite to read-write hole, try format again

There's no need to cover the HD hole, since a DD disk has no sensors for the HD hole status.
Prowler gave the right answer: the DSHD disk's magnetic layer is different.

wlcina · 21 December 2009, 23:40

Supamax, you r right, I was wrong, I had 3 external floppies from bastled from PC and they had HD sensors (so I always covered HD holes). I am sorry for confusing ! :-/

Supamax · 21 December 2009, 23:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by wlcina

Supamax, you r right, I was wrong, I had 3 external floppies from bastled from PC and they had HD sensors (so I always covered HD holes). I am sorry for confusing ! :-/

No no mate, you absolutely don't have to be sorry!

Jope · 22 December 2009, 08:03

Most Amiga drives DON'T have the HD sensor, so taping doesn't do anything.

HD disks seem to work best if they are totally unformatted when you jam them into the Amiga for the first time. If they have been formatted with a PC, they won't be reliable in Amiga use any longer.

A bit difficult to find unformatted HD disks these days, seems that they're all preformatted. Then again, I don't care, I have thousands of used but formatted DD disks. Anyone want to buy some? ;-)

Jonathan Drain · 22 December 2009, 08:08

I miss the days when you ordered PD disks for 35p each. It was a brilliant source of blank floppies, since half the material would be rubbish and you could format over it

Eclipse · 22 December 2009, 10:17

You can wipe the disk and re-format under X-Copy, I've had a fair amount of success this way.

21 December 2009, 21:18	#1
Jawsykilla Linux Lover Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Nottingham, England Age: 30 Posts: 90	Format Floppy Disk For Amiga Hi, Just recently purchased my first Amiga, I wasn't alive in the Amiga Days but I Love retro Computers and consoles so i bought an A600. I like it a lot. The only problem I have found is that when i try and format a regular floppy disk in Workbench 2.05 it always comes up as Bad Sector. Am I doing something wrong? Thanks, Jawsykilla

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21 December 2009, 21:23	#2
wlcina Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Czech republic Posts: 580	try another floppy, is the bad sector on the same place ? if yes, probably something with your drive. anyway when you are using A600, its better to use HDD and winuae for playing

21 December 2009, 21:26	#3
prowler Global Moderator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sidcup, England Posts: 10,300	Hi, Jawsykilla, and welcome to EAB! I doubt that you're really doing anything wrong. For maximum reliability, you should always use DSDD 1MB unformatted (or 720kB DOS-formatted) capacity 3½-inch floppy disks in your Amiga's floppy drive.

21 December 2009, 21:33	#4
Jawsykilla Linux Lover Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Nottingham, England Age: 30 Posts: 90	Well these floppy disks are some ones previously used with a PC back in the WIN95 days, I insert them into the drive and format and it says "Format Failed Bad Sector. Try a Different Disk" but when i format a floppy disk that came with my A600 it works fine so it isn't the Disk Drive. Any Ideas? Also thanks for the welcome these forums are great!

21 December 2009, 21:38	#5
wlcina Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Czech republic Posts: 580	If the "bad" diskette is HD, then take stickytape and cover the hole opposite to read-write hole, try format again, if that doesnt help, you probably have to find formatter which can format floppy with bad sectors - it will mark bad sectors as not usable, so you will have less capacity. Try search on aminet.

21 December 2009, 21:41	#6
prowler Global Moderator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sidcup, England Posts: 10,300	The disks previously used in a PC running Win95 are probably DSHD 2.0MB unformatted (1.4MB DOS-formatted) capacity, whereas the disks which came with your Amiga are most likely the DSDD disks I described above. FYI: DSDD = Double Sided Double Density; DSHD = Double Sided High Density. You may get the DSHD disks to format properly in your Amiga if you cover the disk's HD sensing hole with sticky tape, to "fool" the Amiga's floppy drive into thinking it's a DSDD disk. However, this may not work, because the DSHD disk's magnetic layer is different. PS. Some Amiga floppy drives work fine with DSHD disks, whether the HD sensing hole is covered or not, but some do not. Furthermore, there is no telling how a particular drive will perform until you try it.

21 December 2009, 21:48	#7
Jawsykilla Linux Lover Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Nottingham, England Age: 30 Posts: 90	Thanks for the info on HD and DD, I tried covering the hole but to no avail. I realise why it doesn't work due to the way the magnetic layer is read. Any ideas where I can purchase cheap DSDD Floppies for my A600 in England? Thanks again!

21 December 2009, 21:50	#8
TCD HOL/FTP busy bee Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Germany Age: 46 Posts: 31,522	Have a look here : http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...x.php?cPath=28

21 December 2009, 21:50	#9
Graham Humphrey Moderator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Norwich, Norfolk, UK Age: 37 Posts: 11,167	AmigaKit has disks available. EDIT: TCD at the double again

21 December 2009, 21:55	#11
TCD HOL/FTP busy bee Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Germany Age: 46 Posts: 31,522	Whoooosh! Sorry guys, but good to see great minds thinking alike

21 December 2009, 21:58	#12
Jawsykilla Linux Lover Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Nottingham, England Age: 30 Posts: 90	Thanks a lot to everyone who helped! How do I close the thread?

21 December 2009, 22:00	#13
Graham Humphrey Moderator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Norwich, Norfolk, UK Age: 37 Posts: 11,167	You don't, us moderators do and there's no need to close it because someone else might find it handy one day and want to add to it.

21 December 2009, 22:06	#14
Jawsykilla Linux Lover Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Nottingham, England Age: 30 Posts: 90	Ok, thanks!

21 December 2009, 23:40	#16
wlcina Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Czech republic Posts: 580	Supamax, you r right, I was wrong, I had 3 external floppies from bastled from PC and they had HD sensors (so I always covered HD holes). I am sorry for confusing ! :-/

22 December 2009, 08:03	#18
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,861	Most Amiga drives DON'T have the HD sensor, so taping doesn't do anything. HD disks seem to work best if they are totally unformatted when you jam them into the Amiga for the first time. If they have been formatted with a PC, they won't be reliable in Amiga use any longer. A bit difficult to find unformatted HD disks these days, seems that they're all preformatted. Then again, I don't care, I have thousands of used but formatted DD disks. Anyone want to buy some? ;-)

22 December 2009, 08:08	#19
Jonathan Drain Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Sector K240 Posts: 338	I miss the days when you ordered PD disks for 35p each. It was a brilliant source of blank floppies, since half the material would be rubbish and you could format over it

22 December 2009, 10:17	#20
Eclipse Turpentine Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Kent, United Kingdom Posts: 744	You can wipe the disk and re-format under X-Copy, I've had a fair amount of success this way.

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