News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Really Atari ST? by fullstop on Tuesday September 22, 2020 @01:40PM (#24557517)
I remember seeing a tool that could be used to punch a hole in floppy disks in order to double the capacity. I didn't have such a tool, but I did have a cheap soldering iron. I ended up with a bunch of 3.5" floppy disks with holes melted through them.

Thinking back on it now, I'm surprised that I didn't damage the disk with the heat of the iron. Then again, maybe I did and didn't notice because I was 12.

Re:Really Atari ST? by bentcorner on Tuesday September 22, 2020 @02:57PM (#24558428)
I've seen it used - IIRC the problem is that the media isn't rated for the storage that you're now asking of it, so while it may survive being written/read a few times, it'd fail sooner.
Re:Really Atari ST? by monocasa on Tuesday September 22, 2020 @03:40PM (#24558899)
It might fail sooner, but you were banking on it essentially just being a binning distinction, that they didn't really do any testing either way and just stuck them in cases with or without the hole depending on what they thought they could sell at the time.

Did I lose files on fake doublesided disks? Yes. Did I lose files on real doublesided disks? Also yes.

Re:Really Atari ST? by JohnBooty on Tuesday September 22, 2020 @03:38PM (#24558887)
Can confirm. I used to drill holes with a... well, a drill.

Totally worked. Capacity increased. Until one day your files were corrupted. And that day often came soon!

Re:Really Atari ST? by andrewf on Tuesday September 22, 2020 @05:04PM (#24559873)
You're basically overclocking your storage medium.
Re:Really Atari ST? by IncRnd on Tuesday September 22, 2020 @01:50PM (#24557658)
Flip-it?
Re:Really Atari ST? by fullstop on Tuesday September 22, 2020 @02:14PM (#24557959)
https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/10271130...

Might have been that brand. I remember seeing what it did and then figuring out how to get a hole in the 3.5" disk without cracking the plastic.