If you need a PC to read it, the diskette must be formatted for a PC. As far as PCs are concerned, other systems do not exist. In-system formatting of the emulated disk is supported for all Macintosh disk image types, as well as Apple II Smartport hard disks, Unidisk 3.5, WOZ disk. The PC will read its own format, sometimes. As far as PCs are concerned, other systems do not exist. The Mac will read and write Mac and PC and other formats right out of the Box. Your data will be unstable and disappear quickly.

Do not even think about punching out an extra hole or taping over the second hole to 'fool' the drive into using the other diskette type.

They use different oxides, and are NOT interchangeable. There are two distinct types of diskette media. In addition, it could read and write 720K (PC format) and 800K (Mac format) diskettes.Įxternal USB diskettes are PC-equivalent drives, and can read and write 1.4 MB diskettes only. The FDHD (Floppy Disk High Density), built-into Macs after the Mac II line and optional on some of them, could read and write 1.4 MB diskettes in both Mac and PC format. PC equivalents (without the variable speed feature) held only 720K and neither drive could read the other's data.

The original Mac 400K single sided diskette was based on a SONY mechanism that crammed more onto the diskette by varying the speed of the drive.

Floppy disk systems format types