XP corrupting a DOS floppy?

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vjp2.at

I have this floppy I've been sneakerneting among mostly DOS machines for
years. I've been also using it on XP for about six months. Suddenly it had a
strange zero bit file with the name MSDOS in it. Then today it seemed to
multiply (I tried to delete them) so I reformatted. I'm trying to piece back
my steps and I can imagine that using XP right-click send-to might have done
it or my installation of PocketPC ActiveSync on the XP.

I have hunch (I'm not a computer person but have been near computers since
I was ten in 1971) it somehow just messed with one bit in the file name and
some invisible file became visible and confused the heck out of everything
else. Been using the floppy for about five years so it could even be damaged.

- = -
Vasos Panagiotopoulos, Columbia'81+, Reagan, Mozart, Pindus, BioStrategist
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/vjp2/vasos.htm
---{Nothing herein constitutes advice. Everything fully disclaimed.}---
[Homeland Security means private firearms not lazy obstructive guards]
[Urb sprawl confounds terror] [Remorse begets zeal] [Windows is for Bimbos]
 
Or the floppy has passed its sell by date. Are you still using floppies
in your work? What is in Dos machines that XP can't do? How about
getting another floppy for your "sneakerneting"

hth.
 
From: <[email protected]>

| I have this floppy I've been sneakerneting among mostly DOS machines for
| years. I've been also using it on XP for about six months. Suddenly it had a
| strange zero bit file with the name MSDOS in it. Then today it seemed to
| multiply (I tried to delete them) so I reformatted. I'm trying to piece back
| my steps and I can imagine that using XP right-click send-to might have done
| it or my installation of PocketPC ActiveSync on the XP.
|
| I have hunch (I'm not a computer person but have been near computers since
| I was ten in 1971) it somehow just messed with one bit in the file name and
| some invisible file became visible and confused the heck out of everything
| else. Been using the floppy for about five years so it could even be damaged.
|

You may have a Boot Sector Infector which are true viruses and can spread through your
"sneakernetting".
 
Dr.Hal0nf1r£$ said:
I'm not a trainspotter but have lived near the railway all my life - I
still know very little about trains though.
Click to expand...

I'm fairly certain that I'd spot a train if it came anywhere near me.
 
I have this floppy I've been sneakerneting among mostly DOS machines for
years.
Click to expand...

Learned a new term. Way back in the day, before Win95 and the internet, the
surest way to infect your machine was to swap floppies and diskettes.

Unprotected sneakerneting should be punishable. Eventually poor computer
practices will catch up with you.
 
No, the sneakerneting was my own machines. Don't think it's a virus.
The initial problem was just one zero bitter sitting around for days.

I am starting to remember interrupting some file copy.
Maybe some of the debris it left behind.



Well, about living near trains. That's about how I know about
computers. Sometimes I know a lot and people assume i know more, then
other times they are surprised I knew some things. I just use them for
math. I abuse them. Programmer types hate my kind.

- = -
Vasos Panagiotopoulos, Columbia'81+, Reagan, Mozart, Pindus, BioStrategist
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/vjp2/vasos.htm
---{Nothing herein constitutes advice. Everything fully disclaimed.}---
[Homeland Security means private firearms not lazy obstructive guards]
[Urb sprawl confounds terror] [Remorse begets zeal] [Windows is for Bimbos]
 
Sinner said:
Learned a new term. Way back in the day, before Win95 and the internet, the
surest way to infect your machine was to swap floppies and diskettes.

Unprotected sneakerneting should be punishable. Eventually poor computer
practices will catch up with you.
Click to expand...
That is true - that's exactly how viruses used to get around before the
internet. There used to be ads in the back of PC Magazine for games
and other software on floppies, and those were notorious sources of
viruses and malware.
 
I have this floppy I've been sneakerneting among mostly DOS
machines for years. I've been also using it on XP for about six
months. Suddenly it had a strange zero bit file with the name MSDOS
in it. Then today it seemed to multiply (I tried to delete them) so I
reformatted. I'm trying to piece back my steps and I can imagine that
using XP right-click send-to might have done it or my installation of
PocketPC ActiveSync on the XP.

I have hunch (I'm not a computer person but have been near
computers since I was ten in 1971) it somehow just messed with one
bit in the file name and some invisible file became visible and
confused the heck out of everything else. Been using the floppy for
about five years so it could even be damaged.

- = -
Vasos Panagiotopoulos, Columbia'81+, Reagan, Mozart, Pindus,
BioStrategist
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/vjp2/vasos.htm ---{Nothing
herein constitutes advice. Everything fully disclaimed.}---
[Homeland Security means private firearms not lazy obstructive
guards] [Urb sprawl confounds terror] [Remorse begets zeal] [Windows
is for Bimbos]
Click to expand...

Too bad you got so many unhelpful and off topic comments; it's the way
of the newsgroups.

If you really meant "years" of use, replace the floppy. It's just plain
worn out and the magnetic retention is probably just about gone,
especially if it's been carried around and not stored protectively.
They're so cheap there's no excuse to not replace it.
NOTE: Floppy supplies and vendors are beginning to dry up; if you
have to order any, get extras. It won't be too long before it's hard to
find new ones.

NOTE 2: Any floppy, while not being used, should be stored in a cool
dry place and everythign copied off and back onto it periodically. Our
schedule was monthly "back in the day" and it seemed to work well.

Is it possible to switch to CDs? If so, they are a much more stable
media and will last much, much longer and are cheap now too. I use
CD-RWs now for floppies. Most places will have a CD drive but many
machines are now without floppy drives.

HTH
 
Twayne said:
Is it possible to switch to CDs? If so, they are a much more stable media
and will last much, much longer and are cheap now too. I use CD-RWs now
for floppies. Most places will have a CD drive but many machines are now
without floppy drives.
Click to expand...

CDs or CD-RWs are ok, but you can't carry them in a shirt pocket. I'd
recommend a cheap USB flash drive. They're available for under $10, store
many times more data than diskettes, don't need drivers on WinXP machines,
and it's nigh onto impossible to find a computer without a USB port. Their
read/write speed is also, for the most part, comparable to diskettes.
 
Twayne said:
CDs or CD-RWs are ok, but you can't carry them in a shirt pocket. I'd
recommend a cheap USB flash drive. They're available for under $10,
store many times more data than diskettes, don't need drivers on
WinXP machines, and it's nigh onto impossible to find a computer
without a USB port. Their read/write speed is also, for the most
part, comparable to diskettes.
Click to expand...

True; I didn't go there because I have a suspicion these are some pretty
old machines. though I should have, I agree.
 
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