Subj : 2.88 MB Floppy Operations? To : Eddy Thilleman From : Mike Luther Date : Wed Mar 07 2001 04:16 pm Hi Eddy! ET> Why don't you use LxLite to compress them? Kenneth Kahn already done done that in the version that is the latest I have seen. It's version 9.26 .. so noted it was released on September 26th .. When you have the appropriate LXLite tools in the same directory as the BOOTOS2 deal works from, the BOOTOS2 utility already goes to work slammin' and a'jammin' it all down to size! There was an off-hand remark in the Usegroup areana that there was more that could be done with LXLite. Messr. Kahn wasn't inclined to work any longer at the deal. He indicated he'd rather spend time with his growing up kids than continue to bash at contributed software which wasn't his work-job at IBM. I and a lot of others can identify with that just fine... ML> What we need, somehow, if it can be done, maybe, is a way to use the ML> standard 1.44 MB floppy to actually create 2.88 MB floppy disks! ET> I think that this ain't going to work. 1,4 MB floppies ET> don't have the specifications to support the 2,8 MB ET> format. The most you can put on 1,4 MB floppies is ET> around 1,8 MB or maybe 2,0 MB, I believe. So I think I have heard elsewhere. Although a companion set of format tools called 2M20 AND 2M21 that are here now from a Spanish gent from a number of years ago, seem to indicate in the documents that the 2.88 MB format is actually possible on the whole system! My dug up copies of the tools date to 1994 by Ciricao Garcia de Celis. The tool requires a DOS-VDM prompt .. On which you load a special driver,then do the format deal. Here is what the actual command line prompt from 2MF says on load: (c) April 1994 Ciriaco Garcia de Celis - Grupo Universitario de Informatica Apartado 6062 - Valladolid (Spain). Email: ciri@gui.uva.es 2MF U: [/DD] [/F|M] [/E] [/N] [/T=nn] [/R=nn] [/S] [/K] This program formats diskettes at a higher capacity and/or speed than the normal ones. 2M must be installed on memory to provide support for the new diskettes. Also, high-density diskettes can be left into A: drive and then computer can be rebooted: really it will boot from hard disk and after this moment 2M diskettes will be supported in the standard read-write operation. 2MF is a 100% freeware utility. Meaning of switches: /DD Request a double-density format (by default it will be high-density). /F Fast and secure diskettes -by default- (54:820-1476K, 32:984-1804K). /M Formats diskettes up to maximum capacity (54:902-1558K, 32:1066-1886K). /E Formats 3.5-ED diskettes at 3608K (or 3772K if /M option enabled). /N Do not verify target diskette (dangerous in /M mode). /T Sets the number of tracks to be used (80-86). /R Sets the number of root directory entries (1-240). /S Tells 2MF not to make sound effects. /K Do not make the initial pause before formatting. I found out that if you actually called: 2MF A: /E /T:80 /R=240 Voila! It starts off making a true 2.88 MB floppy in a 1.4MB drive, but for some reason it comes to a halt and complains that the drive door is not closed a bit of a ways into the burn! One other poster verified the same error with these tools... ML> Apparently, if you actually do have a 2.88 MB floppy system, with the ML> BIOS set so that it can see it, OS/2's Create Utility Disk game per ML> FP15, as well as BOOTOS/2 can actually operate and use these disks. ET> Do you think this or have you read this somewhere? I *THINK* this, and it was said to be so in the Usegroup postings. As well,I made a statement in them about the Purple Cow .. 2.88 MB actual drive! "I've never seen a Purple Cow, I hope I never see one! But if I saw a Purple Cow, I'd rather see than be one!" One of the other things I found out about at least FP 15 for OS/2, is that if you *DO* tell your mother board BIOS that you have a 2.88 MB floppy drive, OS/2 will automatically assume that it is going to FORMAT 2.88 MB disks! Moreover, it will balk with Track 0 errors if you try it on a 1.44 MB floppy drive. Worse, I also found out something else that caused me to modify the Purple Cow quip! When you *DO* attempt to access Drive A: as a 1.44 MB device, it will read and write from those disks just fine! But, once you open the channel to a floppy in Drive A:, you cannot leave the session unless you have logged out of that disk drive and closed it prior to closing the session! For some reason, disk disconnection is blocked until you disconnect from the drive, much the way you get in trouble when you open up a network share and then blow away the server side. The whole workstation goes nuts trying to figure out how it's shared object was stolen! So I modified the Purple Cow to: "It's never seen a 2.8, but once it thinks it's seen one! Until you log the disk drive out, there darned sure better be one!" As in the above. If you like and you will either post an address or netmail me an address, I'll be glad to send you a MIME copy of these two toolsets. Now whether either Create Utility Disks or BOOTOS2 can figure out there is a 2.88 MB formatted disk in that hole and use it, I dunno. I have read the docs for BOOTOS2. It plainly states that BOOTOS2 can create a bootable run from *ANY* bootable format. To me that means CD-ROMS, 2.88 MB floppies, whatever. After all OS/2 would install from a 1.44 MB disk drive from those 2.88 MB disks, wouldn't it? Remember the whine? ;) Of which, I'll groan make a worse observation! We shall sell no Whine before its time! Grin! Mike @ 1:117/3001 --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: Ziplog Public Port (1:117/3001) .