Re: a Mac SE FDHD installed as a gate guardian
@Nimby, I’d say that your Uni’s Macs were in bad shape then. The spin speed ‘inconsistency’ was normal functionality since Macs used CLV floppy drives (the disk passes by the head at the same speed regardless of where on the disk the head is positioned) rather than the CAV floppy drives fitted to PCs. By using this technique, the Mac could store a little more on a floppy disk than a PC could (although the amount extra, about 10-20%, was disappointing given the extra effort and cost required to make it work).
Personally, I’ve never heard of loss like that - and certainly not from reading a disk (which is all that would be necessary if no infection was found). I’ve been using Macs for nearly thirty years now, and I’ve had no more failures writing disks on my Macs than I have on my PCs. Even today, on my ancient Macs, I sometimes have cause to use the floppy drive rather than the network - and still those ancient drives read and write my ancient diskettes perfectly happily and safely.
/snopes-mode
Biting the hand that feeds IT
