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Thread ID: 58491	2005-06-02 07:19:00	Floppy disk copy error	sookie_72 (8256)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
360578	2005-06-03 04:42:00	The basic problem is that DOS makes no check that the copy has been correctly done. It only tests for "done", not "done with no errors". There can be problems resulting from differences between the head (or track)alignments between machines. Brand new factory formatted floppies sometimes get unusable files the first time they are used. I recently wrote 10 brand-new floppies on one machine (one file each). 8 files were usable when I tried to read them on another machine. Formatting on the machines to be used is the right idea, but doing the formatting on the laptop might be a mistake. If its floppies can be read on other machines, that says its alignment is "better". So formatting on the other machine which has problems reading might be better. To save wasting too much time, and because the files are important: 1) Get "enough" floppies formatted (full formatting) on each machine. That way, you'll have two chances on each file, with the different track alignments. If any errors are detected on a floppy during the format, don't use it. 2) Most importantly, use the file-compare DOS utility after the writes. (I vaguely suspect that xcopy might have a verify option to do it automatically.)	Graham L (2)
360579	2005-06-03 23:55:00	Will brave the snow tomorrow morning, make the drive and format the disks in the laptop and try again. Thanks for all the help :) Sookie Formatting disks in laptop worked. Files have been saved! Thanks all for the advice. Sookie	sookie_72 (8256)
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