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Can’t Header new diskettes

T

Thekreit66

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Aug 10, 2020
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I have a Commodore 128 and a 1571 disk drive. I got them both off of EBay. They work fine, I’m able to load and save programs. Recently, I tried Heading a New Diskette. The drive would flash without the usual clunking sound. When I read the error message, I’d get “20 error bad disk 00 00”. Sometime I’d get a higher number, such as 24. I got the Disk Alignment Program, which detected some mis-alignment. Before I try to realign the drive, is it possible that the new diskettes are the problem? Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
 
I would try formatting a blank disk, I have read that sometimes since that forced the head all the way back that it could correct the alignment without having to go through the additional work. If it fails the worst that happens if you took a couple of minutes to format a disk. But then again if it is on a 128 with a 1571 it should be rather quick
 
I appreciate your quick response. I did try an unformatted disk. Several to be more precise. I’m not sure if the disks are TOO old, or like I fear, the drive is out of alignment. It seems odd that I can download other disk and save to them as well
 
robert_sissco said:
I would try formatting a blank disk, I have read that sometimes since that forced the head all the way back that it could correct the alignment without having to go through the additional work. If it fails the worst that happens if you took a couple of minutes to format a disk. But then again if it is on a 128 with a 1571 it should be rather quick
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I appreciate your quick response. I did try an unformatted disk. Several to be more precise. I’m not sure if the disks are TOO old, or like I fear, the drive is out of alignment. It seems odd that I can download other disk and save to them as well
 
Thekreit66 said:
is it possible that the new diskettes are the problem?
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What are these "new" diskettes? Are they the right type? Are they pre-formatted? Did you only try diskettes from a single pack? What brand are they?

Before I try to realign the drive
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You would be absolutely silly to try to realign a drive only because some "new" diskettes don't work. Also, you need an original disk (e.g. the Commodore 1541/1571 demo disk) to do that anyway, unless you want to make it worse...

First of all, make sure the heads inside the drive are clean and the disks you are trying to use are fully intact and working (inspect them, test them on a different system). That certainly comes before even thinking about messing with the head alignment.
 
Timo W. said:
First of all, make sure the heads inside the drive are clean and the disks you are trying to use are fully intact and working (inspect them, test them on a different system). That certainly comes before even thinking about messing with the head alignment.
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Also, make sure that they are Double Density (DD) disks. Not all disks will work. I do believe that there are High Density (HD) 5.25" inch disks that will not work.
 
Timo W. said:
What are these "new" diskettes? Are they the right type? Are they pre-formatted? Did you only try diskettes from a single pack? What brand are they?


You would be absolutely silly to try to realign a drive only because some "new" diskettes don't work. Also, you need an original disk (e.g. the Commodore 1541/1571 demo disk) to do that anyway, unless you want to make it worse...

First of all, make sure the heads inside the drive are clean and the disks you are trying to use are fully intact and working (inspect them, test them on a different system). That certainly comes before even thinking about messing with the head alignment.
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Thanks so much for your advice. I tried Double Density Disks and it worked.
Thanks so much!
 
C128 Guy said:
Also beware of cheap $10 ebay alignment disks. They are incorrect copies usually.
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I am curious as to your opinion on the disks sold by a store calling Micromate. The are on Etsy and I have bought a few repro disks from them. I have not tried any of the alignments off the 1541 demo disk I got, but everything else has been working fine, they seem like they are just direct copies of the disks that came from Commodore back in the day.
 
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