Cannot Format High Density Floppy Disk as Low Density (74709)
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 3.1
- Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 3.2
- Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 3.21
- Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 3.3
- Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 3.3a
- Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 4.0
- Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 4.01
- Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 5.0
This article was previously published under Q74709 SUMMARY
When attempting to format a 3.5-inch high density (1.44 MB) floppy
disk as a low density (720K) disk, the following error message may be
displayed:
Invalid Media or Track 0 Bad - Disk Unusable.
This is due to the ability of some floppy drives to sense the media
type of 3.5-inch disks. High density 3.5-inch disks have two holes in
the disk shell. Low density 3.5-inch disks have only the write-
protected hole. The disk will format correctly as a 1.44 MB disk.
MORE INFORMATION
To make a floppy drive recognize a high density disk as a low density
disk, cover the second hole (not the write-protected hole) in the disk
shell.
| Modification Type: | Major | Last Reviewed: | 11/25/2003 |
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| Keywords: | KB74709 |
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