so i just realized some of these vision floppies are 800k disks..

[supernova777]

are 800k disks the same as DS/DD ??
or are those 720K?? im confused..

ill post some pics of the floppies..

[GaryN]

Jeez man, once again, you were there but never slowed down long enough to read anything!

http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php?topic=2697.msg16336#msg16336

800k disks ARE DS/DD

They say "Dual Sided" and 800k right on them…

[supernova777]

yes i realize that they say 800k on them..
which is what prompted the question

thank u for the linked post.
i did not see this post before.

this page is also useful: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_floppy_disk_formats
but im still abit confused..

ss = single sided
DS = double sided
DD = double density
HD = high density

http://www.instructables.com/id/Convert-a-144mb-floppy-to-720k/
this page is funny.. cover up the hole to change a 1.44mb floppy to 720k..

im still not quite clear on the difference between 720k + 800k disks

on top of that.. after skimming the page:
http://www.siber-sonic.com/mac/newmillfloppy.html
its news to me now that 800k disks will not work in a usb floppy ?!? :Facepalm:

so the quadra 605 is the last mac to support 800k disks?
and there most usb floppy drives will not read 800k diskettes...unless i find one that specifically claims to support them...

[supernova777]

so.. to confirm my understanding of what ive read..
a further requirement to use the 800k disks with built in floppy drives is running a mac os version 7.5.5 or under?
is this true Gary?

400k Floppies and Mac OS 8.0 or Later
So ya say ya gotta Mac with a built-in SuperDrive that is allegedly able to handle 400k, 800k, and 1.4 MB disks, and it does work with 800k DS and 1.4 MB HD disks, yet not with 400k SS disks? Well, you need more than the drive… you need the correct Mac software.
“Huh? Whut?”

ok i misread this earlier.. os 7.5 + under is only required for 400k discs.. correcT?
if correct, thats a relief, i dont think i have any 400k disks to worry about!!! 400k discs must go back to 1984!!

http://net68000.freeshell.org/400k-800k.html

[supernova777]

what about using one of these? 800k external floppy drive
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-Macintosh-800K-External-Drive-M0131-For-Floppy-Disks-ASIS-UNTESTED-/262126983316?hash=item3d07fc5894:g:2wcAAOSwu-BWOW-2

anyway to connect one of these to a more modern mac?
i see that the connection it connects with is called db-19

https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=site%3Aeverymac.com+%221+(DB-19)%22

doesnt look like many macs support this floppy drive
looks like only the classic macs + mac II have the db19 port

[GaryN]

HERE ARE THE SALIENT POINTS:

• The floppy size issue has nothing to do with the OS at all, period, full stop.

• The 800k floppy is a 720k disk running in a unique drive made for Apple that crams an extra 80k of data into the same space as everybody else's 720k disks by using a variable speed motor & controller that change the rotational speed of the disk from the center to the edge allowing a slightly higher data density.

• It also kept Apple customers away from the much cheaper drives offered by the entire PC world, thank you Mr. Jobs.

• There is no easy way that I know of to connect one of the old drives with the db-19 connectors to a newer Mac. Note the italics! There may well be an old adapter of some kind I don't know of but it would be complicated because the db-19 also carried power for the drive. I suspect it would be easier to just find a late-model Classic Mac to extract the data from them that way.

• The early versions of StudioVision you're trying to archive are copy-protected with two allowable copies which are probably used up - meaning to use them you'll have to image them as well to fool the computer into thinking you actually own and have them. You won't know if this is true or it will even work until you do all of that and actually try to run them.

• This is an absurd amount of work to run a primitive version of the app that nobody actually needs! WHY ARE YOU TORTURING YOURSELF?

[supernova777]

look gary..
ive enjoyed your input up untill this point.

I was given these disks by someone off the site here, I wanted to see if i could get them to work. its got nothing to do with torture.
and u are mistaken.. maybe i more carefully read the links that u posted then you did.. in fact i re-re-read them, and then i realized that the comment about the os version is about using 400K disks.. not 800k disks..  400k Disks being read require os 7.5 or lower..
  i updated my post to reflect that.. reread the page http://www.siber-sonic.com/mac/newmillfloppy.html

400k Floppies and Mac OS 8.0 or Later
So ya say ya gotta Mac with a built-in SuperDrive that is allegedly able to handle 400k, 800k, and 1.4 MB disks, and it does work with 800k DS and 1.4 MB HD disks, yet not with 400k SS disks? Well, you need more than the drive… you need the correct Mac software.
“Huh? Whut?”

this paragraph indicates that if u have a 400K disk + mac os 8 installed.. despite the fact that the drive is compatible with reading the disk.. the os will not allow you.. unless u are running mac os 7.5.5 or lower... from mac os 8 + up it will not read 400k disks........ this is what i was referring to.. and i answered my own question.

id like to thank u again for being polite + informative. u may not understand my quest with all ofthis.. and that sfine.. i dont expect u to.
i expect people to respond intelligently + helpfully or you can ignore what i have to say and ask just as easily
this is abstract + old deprecated information that is not easy to come by. have some respect for the board, myself, yourself by not turning this into some negative bullshit. if u have nothing beneficial + informative to say/ask.. do not bother responding its that simple

[GaryN]

look gary..
ive enjoyed your input up untill this point.

Gee, thanks. I live to serve. What a privilege.

id like to thank u again for being polite + informative. u may not understand my quest with all ofthis.. and that sfine.. i dont expect u to.
i expect people to respond intelligently + helpfully or you can ignore what i have to say and ask just as easily
this is abstract + old deprecated information that is not easy to come by. have some respect for the board, myself, yourself by not turning this into some negative bullshit. if u have nothing beneficial + informative to say/ask.. do not bother responding its that simple

• I gave you FIVE (count 'em) points of information that I spent the time on trying to be helpful.

• Then I asked ONE question because for the life of me, I can't understand why you're pursuing this when you seem to have at least a thousand or two other things on your plate every single day.

• I, on the other hand, have a lower expectation of people and your instant temper tantrum at being asked a simple question is exactly why.

• This is now all of the time I'm going to spend/waste being reasonable, so…

Take a friggin Xanax dude - don't shoot the messenger just because it's not what you want to hear. The next time you ask for help you might find yourself just shouting into the silence…

[supernova777]

look i dont know wtf is up with u but u are being a bit intense here man.... take it down a few notches. im too busy with other shit to match your intensity.

every post u have made for the last few weeks has been ramping up in intensity,sarcasm,condescending tone etc, sure i even laughed + chuckled when it wasnt aimed at me (insert refernce to the head blowing up here) but enuff is enuff gary "Been around the block" n.. i have a good amt of respect for your knowledge + clarity of thought + ability to clearly communicate what u know + to carefully assess the flow of info, thoughts, ideas etc but dude.. u are getting a bit edgey.. gooooooozfraba gooooooozfraba.. dont make me call jack nicholson

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onvx4dXhcHY[/youtube]

[DieHard]

OK... now for all the search engines and trolls that will find this info. (preserved for future generations); I want to interject that here at the macos9lives forum things get heated, debates get going, and opinions get formed... the level of analysis paralysis my seem a bit extreme here... and we may actually start getting a little nutty... but in the end, this is useful info for all to share.

As an added note: I grew up in an Italian household where it was common to curse each-other out at lunch and then later eat dinner and everything was fine   It you have a thin skin, or carry a grudge, be careful here...lol