Conference 7.286::atarist

    
    be sure not to use HD diskettes. They have a hole just opposite to
    the Write-Lock slider. This hole is sensed by MS-DOS machines able
    to format 1.44MB HD diskettes. This could be one reason.
    The other is that you have to type in the correct command on the
    MS-DOS machine to format 720kB (Norton does not work correctly with
    formating standard 720kB). On the DOS-prompt use "format a:/f:720"
    on DD diskettes. This will give you 730.112 Bytes on the floppy, a
    format which Atari is able to handle. 
    Formating with TOS 1.4 should give you 728.xxx Bytes which a DOS
    machine should be able to read. 726.016 is the old TOS format I think,
    I'm not sure tho
    
    Bernd
    

TOS 1.4 is suppose to do MS-DOS compatible formating, so why don't you try
formatting the disk on the ST instead of on the MS-DOS machine.

	Ray

 re. 1                               -< only use DD >-
 >>> This will give you 730.112 Bytes on the floppy, a
 >>> format which Atari is able to handle. 
	TRUE ,but the problem starts as soon as you ADD a file to
	this floppy under TOS 1.4 ,after this the floppy is cannot
	be read anymore under MS DOS.
re. 2
>>>   TOS 1.4 is suppose to do MS-DOS compatible formating, so why don't you try
>>>   formatting the disk on the ST instead of on the MS-DOS machine.
	I know that TOS 1.4 is SUPPOSED to do compatible formatting,
	but unfornately MS-DOS does not agree.

WORKING:     1) Reading/writing on the Atari a MS-DOS formatted DSDD disk with 
--------	files created under MS-DOS.
	     2) Add files under TOS to the disk mentioned in 1) and read
		 the data back under TOS.

NOT WORKING: 3) Using a TOS 1.4 formatted disk under MS-DOS (1213952 free 
------------	bytes??)
	     4) Add files under TOS to the disk mentioned in 1) and read
		the data back under MS-DOS.

The TOS 1.0 behaviour was the same with the exception that 4) did also work. 

Kees

    Which version of MS-DOS are you using and on what hardware?

>>>    Which version of MS-DOS are you using and on what hardware?
	DECstation 220
	DECstation 325
	DECstation 425
	IBM ?????

All running MS-DOS 3.31 
The DECstations are the European versions built by Olivetti.
                        --------

As soon as find some time, I will try to figure out the real binary contents
of FAT .etc.

Kees

    The problem, as best as I've been able to discover, is in the boot
    sector itself.  It seems that MS-DOS reads the boot sector (as does TOS)
    to determine the configuration of the disk (sectors per track, etc).
    Also, the checksum *may* be checked.  If you have a valid MS-DOS format
    disk, you can copy it's boot sector to the Atari disk (make sure that
    you've used the 80 track, 9 spt format on the Atari disk, of course!)
    Then, the DOS machine will read the TOS disk just fine!  As to exactly
    what happens when you update the Atari disk, I haven't explored. Further,
    some utilities that claim to format in an IBM-compatible mode, don't!
    
    The kicker to all this is that an OS/2 machine will read/write the TOS
    disk just fine (I've even been able to read non-computer 80x9 disks on
    an OS/2 machine!).  There is something in the low-level call that
    differs between MS-DOS and OS/2 when a disk is read.  Yes, OS/2 runs on
    the same cpu hardware!!  So, it would appear that MicroSoft has gotten
    smarter about this and ditched that piece of code in MS-DOS.  I've worked 
    with some assembly routines from Borland's development kit that circumvent 
    things like this; and I've begun to incorporate them in Mark Williams C.
    
    Bruce
         

Kees,
are you sure you haven't got a virus (well, your Atari, of course :)? 

Some weeks ago a bootsector virus (called "ghost" by a virus checker) 
used to modify the boot sectors of all my floppies so that they were not 
readable by an MSDOS system of a friend of mine, although that had been 
working before. It took some time to find out why.

After having identified the cause of the problem, I experimented a bit
with an "isolated" version of the virus. BOY, I'm impressed how fast it
infects any floppy. You only put a write enabled disk into the drive,
click it on to show the contents and - voila- it's infected. 

Now I use PROTECT6 to keep an eye at the boot sectors of my disks. 
Works well and identified one previously undetected infected disk.

Groetjes,
	-Peter

    If you use CP-Planel+ and format for IBM then DEC PC's will read
    the disk (CPlanel is Public Domain)
    
    
    Chris

>>> re. 1129.7
>>>Kees,
>>>are you sure you haven't got a virus (well, your Atari, of course :)? 

>>>Some weeks ago a bootsector virus (called "ghost" by a virus checker) 
>>>used to modify the boot sectors of all my floppies so that they were not 
>>>readable by an MSDOS system of a friend of mine, although that had been 
>>>working before. It took some time to find out why.

Note 1129.7 seems to indicate the cause of my problem !
I started all over again in a complete virus free environment and 
suddenly it WORKS okay. I can now read my ATARI floppies on a MS DOS machine.

Thanks for the hint Peter. I was NOT thinking in that direction at all.
I was concentrating on that fact that it worked before under TOS 1.0 and
not anymore under TOS 1.4.

Thanks again ,

Kees de Vries