Bad Floppy or OS Problem?

[EvieSigma]

My Performa 630CD used to have OS 8.1 installed, and under 8.1 my floppy disk (specifically the Program Disk) of Super Munchers worked perfectly. 

However, tonight I downgraded to 7.6.1 and now my Super Munchers disk no longer works, with the system unable to read it and instead attempting to initialize and wipe it whenever I put it in. 

What happened? This disk worked fine the last time I used it to test a floppy drive in one of my Macs, and the system recognizes the Color Disk just fine...

 

[IlikeTech]

Try the disk on another Mac?

 

[EvieSigma]

Tested it in my PowerBook 180 running System 7.1 and it works fine, so the floppy must still be good.

Unfortunately I haven't a clue as to why 7.6.1 would make the floppy NOT work.

 

[IlikeTech]

Ok, at least the disk works.

 

[EvieSigma]

I was all ready to take a picture showing the message I get when I load the floppy...but then it suddenly and magically worked when I popped it in just now!

Old computers sure are magical.

 

[IlikeTech]

Wow. Just wow.

 

[Scott Baret]

My best guess with this is that you simply had a read error and the system change was merely coincidental. I have had similar things happen with floppies between computers, but can't say anything with the system has happened like this. However, it has happened to me on more than one occasion with trying a disk multiple times in the same drive.

If I were you, I would make sure you have a back up copy of that disk.

 

[EvieSigma]

Well the whole reason why I was using the disk was to install the software on the 630, which I was finally able to do. 

That way I can just copy the software off the 630 onto a blank floppy if the original floppy I have stops working.

 

[Cory5412]

Yeah, this is pretty much par for the course.

Remember with your 630... it is literally 22 years old. It was pretty much designed to last three or four years, and floppy diskettes and diskette drives are particularly bad in terms of needing maintenance and backups and sometimes just regular replacement.