Weird directory behaviour 3.5 inch SPLICE mode
#1
Hi All,

Has anyone else noticed this?

Yesterday I tried to image my PCDOS 7.0 Floppies which are 1.44mb 3.5 inch disk copies made using the good old DOS methods many years ago and are known to be in good condition because I just used them 8-)

Anyhow.

I though I should Archive them so before I started on Disks 1 and 2 I looked at the Directories and they show ~ 1.36MB used. Fair enough.

I used SCP in SPLICE mode set to IBM MFM 1.44MB 3.5 inch 2 revolutions and got 2 ~ 30MB files full of successful flux recording.

I then wrote them to 2 known good blank disks to check the results.

The written disks show all the files in the directory but the directories show ZERO space used and 1.44 MB available. (using windows and explorer to look at it vi an external USB floppy on another system. Same one I used to look at the originals that shows ~1.36 MB used)

Now I'm primarily a commodore man and and in the GCR world I'd say the BAM needs Validating, but I know thats nonsense to an IBM MFM disk.

Anyone, know why the SCP written copies don't have properly validated directories?

Thanks.

Regards........GeoKM
oooOOOooo Confused
Regards...GeoKM
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#2
First of all, PC disks can be imaged/copied with INDEX mode.

Try using HxC floppy drive emulator to look at the image file to see if there are any sector errors. I have never seen this before.
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#3
(04-26-2017, 07:05 PM)admin Wrote: First of all, PC disks can be imaged/copied with INDEX mode.

Try using HxC floppy drive emulator to look at the image file to see if there are any sector errors.  I have never seen this before.

Ahh,

Thanks Jim.

Yeah I thought so cos' I though PC disks always use the Index? is that right?

I'll try that again.

I forgot to mention I did try INDEX mode as well which was much faster and resulted in ~ 15MB files. But when I wrote those back the windows machine complained that the disk was unformatted.

I might Try it in INDEX mode, then re-connect the proper drives from the SCP back to the PC after test writing and see what I get.

(The SCP is connected to my laptop and The PC just usually powers the Drives 8-)

Thanks again for your great support
Regards...GeoKM
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#4
There is something seriously wrong somewhere. All PC disks can easily be imaged/copied using INDEX. SPLICE mode just writes both revolutions, so it's just like INDEX, writing both revolutions. If you check the "override" box in the imager/copier you can change the mode to INDEX and only the last revolution is written. Send me an image file and I can see if the issue is drive or media related. Send it to: data @ cbmstuff.com
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#5
(04-26-2017, 09:12 PM)admin Wrote: There is something seriously wrong somewhere.  All PC disks can easily be imaged/copied using INDEX.  SPLICE mode just writes both revolutions, so it's just like INDEX, writing both revolutions.  If you check the "override" box in the imager/copier you can change the mode to INDEX and only the last revolution is written.  Send me an image file and I can see if the issue is drive or media related.  Send it to: data @ cbmstuff.com

Hi Jim,

Thanks. I think you may be very right there.

I connected the 3.5 drive from my SCP setup back to the PC and its clearly got issues. Even just reading the originals. Not sure how that happened.

I'll try and get hold of another drive i think 8-)

On another quick point.

When you run a head cleaning disk through a drive, do you use one of your Utilities options to make the drive spin/head move and clean the head? if so, which one do you suggest?

Thanks.

8-)
Regards...GeoKM
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#6
Yes, I use the alignment mode. That turns on the motor and lets you step the head up and down.
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#7
(04-28-2017, 08:33 AM)admin Wrote: Yes, I use the alignment mode. That turns on the motor and lets you step the head up and down.

Thanks Jim 8-)

I have connected a new drive and now I am getting ~ 24MB files when using INDEX mode. When I write them back to a known good HD floppy the directories show up normal with bytes used etc as one would expect. So I have tossed that other drive.

I do get the odd bad cluster when checking the created floppies SCANDISK (PCDOS 7). Even though The Blank floppy prewriting with SCP showed the surface as OK, and the Original Image I Read the FLUX from showed the Surface as OK.

They could be write errors.

What would be an awesome tool is something that could immediately take an SCP image, determine the underlying FS, and scan it for errors to inform the Archiving person that the image they have created is suspect. Meaning potentially the original is faulty, heads dirty, read no good, or its just some stupid protection.

As an example
I've been trying to use HxC to create either .imd or .img images from the .scp and then feed those into a PC emulator i.e.. MESS, BOCHS etc which could then run SCANDISK over them.

So far no luck. None of the imd or img files I have created have been readable in any emulator I have tried.

I don't know why I am wasting so much time on this PC stuff, when I really should be archiving my Amiga collection 8-), but The PC stuff needs doing as well so hey ho..... 8-)

8-)
Regards...GeoKM
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#8
You should be able to easily use HxC to convert the .scp images to .img files. I have done this myself for use with a MS-DOS emulation under Virtual Box.

PC, Atari, TRS-80, are all systems that use the INDEX to start/stop their tracks, so these are easiest of all for duplicating and imaging.

Send me an image file that shows a bad cluster when checking it with SCANDISK. I can tell you what the problem is.
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#9
(05-02-2017, 07:31 AM)admin Wrote: You should be able to easily use HxC to convert the .scp images to .img files.  I have done this myself for use with a MS-DOS emulation under Virtual Box.

PC, Atari, TRS-80, are all systems that use the INDEX to start/stop their tracks, so these are easiest of all for duplicating and imaging.

Send me an image file that shows a bad cluster when checking it with SCANDISK.  I can tell you what the problem is.
Hi Jim,

Hmm ok thats interesting. I tried Booting the .img I created in HxC on Virtual box of my PCDOS7 Disk 1 and it didn't work.

I'll send it to you for analysis. Thx.
Regards...GeoKM
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#10
PC-DOS 7.0 uses XDF (1.8mb) format. VirtualBox doesn't support that, nor does any other emulator.
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