Specks of fungi on a 3.5 inch floppy disk It’s best never to try to read disks that look like this without removing the fungi. If you see white specs or spots then you have fungi growing on the disk (Figure 3). Yes, Windows (still) uses FAT12 as the default file-system for floppy disks. Fungi Pull back the disk cover (if it has one) so you can see the surface of the disk and rotate it manually. FAT12 for IBM and clones, GEMDOS for the Atari ST and Atari DOS for the Atari 400/800, Disk ][ format for Apple II, OFS/FFS for Amiga, CBMFS for C64, etc.)įigure 1 shows an example of a couple of games available for different platforms with corresponding labels.Īnd if I format the floppy on my Windows PC, does it still remain “IBM It would indicate both the format of the binaries as well as the file-system layout of the disk (e.g. The boxes would then be marked with the appropriate label indicating which platform the game was for. For example, SSI (Strategic Simulations, Inc.) frequently released their games for Amiga, Apple, Atari ST, Atari 400/800, Commodore 64/128, IBM, and occasionally a few other niche platforms. What exactly is the meaning of “IBM formatted” and what is theĭespite what some may think, in the past, much software was ported to most of the available platforms (which was a pretty big feat since there were so many back then, but without the benefit of cross-platform, portable code frameworks).Īpplication programs were often cross-platform, but cross-platform games were even more common. Xx <- This byte above XX is the media descriptorīyte and is at offset hexadecimal 21 (15h).įor additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:ģ01423 HOW TO: Install the Windows 2000 Support Tools to a Windows 2000 Server-Based Computerģ06794 How to Install the Support Tools from the Windows XP CD-ROMĢ06848 Windows NT Service Pack 4.I have often come across floppy disks in the past that were marketed The following table lists the most common media descriptor bytes:įE 1.2 MB 8-inch, 2-sided, double-density DiskProbe (Dskprobe.exe) is included with the Windows Support Tools for Windows XP Professional and Windows XP 64-Bit Edition, the Windows 2000 Support Tools, and Windows NT 4.0 Resource Kit Support Tools. For example, you can use the DiskProbe tool to do this on a Windows NT 4.0-based, Windows 2000-based, Windows XP-based, or Windows Server 2003-based computer. To work around this problem, use a disk sector editor to change the BPB media descriptor byte to the appropriate value. Therefore, you can damage or permanently overwrite critical on-disk data structures. This provides you direct access to every byte on the physical disk regardless of access credentials. Disk sector editors function at a level "below" the file system, so the typical checks for maintaining disk consistency do not apply. Misuse of a disk sector editor may make all the data on the drive or volume permanently inaccessible. This workaround involves using a disk sector editor to modify the media descriptor byte on the floppy disk. Warning: This workaround is for advanced users only. To resolve this problem, re-format the floppy disk with Windows 98, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003. The media descriptor byte is located in the BPB of the boot sector at offset 21 (15h) and in the first byte of each FAT on the disk. Therefore this problem does not occur with these older operating systems. With MS-DOS and Windows 95, you do not have to set the media descriptor byte. The media descriptor indicates the type of medium currently in a drive. Older product disks may also not have the media descriptor byte. Some older preformatted floppy disks do not contain a media descriptor byte. exe file on that floppy, then either selecting Trouble Shoot Compatibility, or by going to Properties and there is a Compatibility tab with many options. The compatibility mode is accessed by right clicking on the. Grooves carved into a 5. Grooves carved into a 3.5 inch floppy disk from dirty read/write heads. This damage is often visible on the disk surface as a groove or grooves. This problem occurs on disks that do not contain a media descriptor byte in the BIOS parameter block (BPB) of the boot sector. The issue is likely the disk itself, they only last so long, so many disks are no longer readable. The heads then carve out grooves in the disk, obliterating any magnetic media and with it any data. The same disk may work correctly with MS-DOS or Windows 95, or after you re-format the disk with Windows 98, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003. STOP: The disk media is not recognized, it may not be formatted.
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