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My sytem diskettes for tandy 1000 TL

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Kevin Mooney

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Jul 17, 2007
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I have purchased formatted 720 disks. Now I just need to know how to download them from the site and put them on the disks. Dos And deskmate and basic for tandy 100 TL . I called a computer store and he says he does it all the time with windows xp system. I need to use my modern computer wich has a modem. Also would windows vista work and do the job?
 
From what you have said, it looks to me like you will download the disk image file, then use a disk image program on your windows/DOS PC to write the images onto the disks. The disk images you download will have a file extension such as .DSK or .TD0 etc.. that will determine what image program you will need to write the files. It may be Maxi Disk, Teledisk, Rawrite or something... the site you download the disk images from might have some info on it, so look all around and read up.

Cheers,

HaQue
 
I always use WinImage, it hasn't ever failed me yet, and it can even format exotic disks, where XP can only format High Density disks, and not Double Density disks..
 
Actually, if you are going to use a standard 1.44MB floppy drive, you want disks with NOTHING recorded on them, not formatted at all. This is because the read/write head on a true 720K drive is WIDER than the 1.44 head. If you use the preformatted disks, only the middle of the recorded info will get changed. The poor 720K drive will have old tracks mixed together with new ones, likely won't read them at all. I have pulled off this trick myself and sure enough, the 720K disk drive was so confused that it couldn't read it. If you have one of those BIG tape demagnetizers that you used on VHS tapes, etc, use that on the 720K diskettes before writing to them. I turn on the unit about 2 feet away from the diskette, slowly bring it into contact, run it around in a few circles, then pull it away, finally turning it off 2 feet away. I then repeat on the other side of the diskette. This totally erases all prior formatting. If you turn it off while in contact with the diskette, it leaves it strongly magnetized (which you don't want).
 
I have one of the RS demagnetizers. I've only ever used it on a stack of disks or cassettes. This seems like overkill to me. Formatting can usually be done on most computers up to W98 at least. Since that is the main "newer" OS I use I can't comment on the OS's after that. I have formatted quad-density using my DEC Rainboiw, but except for rarities such as that, the DOS system should be able to format FDDDs with no problem, irregardless of the finer spacing of HD disks. I have even used High Density disks formatted as DD on Atari STs, altho the keeping quality of them is questionable and a no-no to most serious users. The demagnetizing process gives rise to a question. Since the disk is an overlay of magnetic particles, are different tracks and spacings even relevent ? I can't see a manufacturing process laying down a magneting coating which is restricted to a fine line spewed out by some sort of magnetizing machine.

Lawrence

PS: I'm not trying to be clever or sartastic but would like to know. ??

Lawrence
 
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No, the main thing is if the disk has been formatted by a "real" 720K drive, the tracks are bigger (wider). When you reformat that disk in a 1.44 drive, it only overwrites the middle of the track. Take the newly reformatted disk back to a "real" 720K drive and it picks up pieces of the wide track along with all the crap in the middle of the track. It gets totally lost. That's what the RS demagnetizer is for, to remove the wider track first. Then the wide head is quite happy picking up all that juicy stuff down the middle with no noise on the sides.
 
Kewl. I'l have to keep that in mind. That would seem to indicate that all my grabbing of DD disks for my STs and and Amigas was unneccessary. Is the iron oxide on a floppy just be spread over the surface and then formatting defines the tracks ? I have a hunch I'm missing something here. For example if you demagnetize a disk would you be able to format it in any format eg: the DEC Quad-density using a DEC Rainbow which some VAX users use to make DEC-formatted disks ?

Lawrence
 
No, you do need the DD for the Amigas because there are different kinds of iron oxide. The HD kind is harder to magnetize and needs stronger fields. So, no, keep grabbing those DD disks.

And yes, it's just a smooth layer, can be formatted however you like as long as the iron oxide coating is compatible with the power settings of the heads.

I have some DD drives that will only write to OLD original DD disks. If I try to use like a brand new Athana DD disk, it won't work. Looks like part of the OLD formula for coatings has been lost.
 
I have got the disks

I have got the disks

My Brother in law. Who works with computers. Got the disks for me of of the internet using winmage and windows 2000 and 1.44 meb disks taped the hole formated to 720 kb and they work. Thank you
 
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