CompuPro floppy controller differences

[Allison]

>
>Subject: RE: CompuPro floppy controller differences
>   From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com>
>   Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2006 11:32:01 -0700
>     To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
>
>On 9/16/2006 at 4:30 PM Allison wrote:
>
>>Ah, it's using the definitive PC FDC. It was developed well before 
>>PCs standardized. PCs however don't offer much choice and if they did 
>>keep all the FDC features you could put a 8" on a PC and read SSSD!
>
>You could?!? (if I'm parsing your statement correctly).  IIRC, the original
>PC FDC card had IBM's proprietary data separator on it (several hybrid
>packagaes) and couldn't read SD/FM to save its life.  It also had the 8272
>(non "A") part, so it had other problems with "alien" formats.

Many can.  The original IBM PC version was a an abortion. I'd always felt 
they worked hard making that mess.

As to the A/nonA part thats less a problem than often thought.  If it 
really was a problem you could change out the part.

I have a few mid range ISA-8 FDC boards that use the 9216 data sep and
they do read SD 8" and a bunch more.

>Unless, of course, we're talking about PCs in the generic sense and not the
>5150 per se.  There,  it's a crapshoot as to what capabilites any given FDC
>card has.

In my original statement I was refering to the generic and as "Standard"
its still anything but.  When you consider the number of drives and 
configurations the floppy whent though on PCs over the years it's a big 
mess.  It's only that it's all behind us that was know where the bodies 
lie and we can assemble it from known history. but it lead to 3.5" drives
with out drive select jumpers/switches and other "innovations".

Over the lifetime of PCs I've worked with:

5.25 180k single sided
5.25 360k 2 sided
5.25 720k 2 sided 80 track
3.5" 720k
3.5" 1.44mb
3.5" 2.88mb
Syquest, Zip, Jazz and other higher density removeables

The only thing they didn't do stock was 8" SSSD and 8"DSDD, and 
hard sector!  The aftermarket added those!

Standard, really, more like a computer version of a leatherman.. ;)



Allison