 x	E                                                                 nowski writes:  "I just had a copy of your newsletter forwarded to me, and I realized that I had not let you know of my move to Sunny Arizona! ...I'm just getting caught From the MOAUG MAILBOX (January 1990 MOAUG) 
 
NEW ADDRESS FOR MR.T SOFTWARE:
 
Bob Tarnowski writes:  "I just had a copy of your newsletter forwarded to me, and I realized that I had not let you know of my move to Sunny Arizona! ...I'm just getting caught up with what's going on. ...I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it to the convention because of my move but I look forward to going in 1990..."
   New Address:  Bob Tarnowski
                  MR. T SOFTWARE
                  6521 E. Camino Santo
                  Scottsdale, AZ 85254
                  (602) 951-2973
 
QUESTIONS FROM READERS:
 
Q:  When I press the disk drive "power on" switch before turning on the computer, the drive starts and the "drive in opera- tion " light comes on even though the lid is open. Is this normal?
 
A:  YES.  In fact, that's how you know that your drive is not communicating with your computer.  If, after you turn on your computer, the drive stops spinning, you're in business. If the drive continues to spin and the "drive in operation" light remains on, check your ADAMNET cable (the one re- sembling a phone cord) to be sure it is se- curely attached to both the computer and the "Input" port of the drive itself.  The most common problem is that the cable is attached to the Output port instead of the Input port. Also, be sure that the drive selector switch is set to Drive 1, and not Drive 2, unless it is a second disk drive.
 
Q:  Is there a better way to check a blank tape or disk for bad blocks?  I'm using FileManager format option.
 
A:  There may be a Public Domain program for checking blocks, but I'm not aware of it.  I have always used Backup+3.0 (by MMSG.) From the Main Menu, you would se- lect Block Utilities, and then Block Stat. You then enter a range of blocks to check, by entering a starting block and an ending block.  (Don't forget that the first block on the medium is Block # 0, NOT Block #1.) If you wish to check the entire medium, your ending block would be 255 for datapack or 159 for disk.  The program will read each block and print an onscreen chart, using the following code: E indicates an EMPTY block, U for a USED block, and B for a BAD block.      After the operation is done, you may choose to print a hard copy of the chart (but only to the ADAM printer.) 
 
On rare occasions, you may get different results when you check the same medium more than once.  According to Mike Graham, a "floating" bad block.. one that appears in different locations on subsequent checks... indicates a bad sector.  You can usually save your files by copying them to a good medium, after which you should not trust the defective medium with any important files!
 
Anybody else have any input on this topic?
          

                                                             ting block and an ending block.  (
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