D]4
P]01j:pdp/Fig.0
P]02j:pdp/Fig.1

      Straight out of the box, standard floppy disk drives are quite often
 the source of much irritation and inconvenience.   They have three sterling
 qualities; they are noisy, slow and annoying. However, you can banish
 those GRONKS and CLICKS forever, and boost the real and the apparent access
 speed of our disk drives at the same time.
      Put away the screwdriver, drill press and sledgehammer because there
] are no hardware modifications.   ]70It's all done with ]P02 00 software!

]     ]P01 00
]     ]P01 01
]     ]P01 02
]     ]P01 03
]     ]P01 04
]     ]P01 05
]     ]P01 06
]     ]P01 07
]     ]P01 08
]     ]P01 09
]     ]P01 10
]     ]P01 11

] ]20MILD CLAIMS AND DISCLAIMERS........]10 The four programs we're going to examine
 are, in one way or another, capable of improving the apparent performance of
 your disk drives.   Each is, to the best of my knowledge, the latest version
 presently available.   They are recommended for their stated purpose without
 warranty or guarantee. Use at your own risk.   With that admonition
 in mind, make all modifications to a copy of your Workbench disk. Remember:
 Don't ever alter the original Workbench disk that came with your system.
      These utilities perform their magic in two distinct arenas.   There are
] two replacement programs, ]70FastDiskII]10 and ]70Formatter]10, to be renamed and copied
 to the "System" directory of your Workbench disk.    The other two programs,
] ]70StepRate]10 and ]70NoClick]10, are hardware control utilities.

] ]20SOME IFS, ANDS OR BUTS .........]10 FastDiskII and StepRate appear to have a
 compatibility problem.   None of the clones made with FastDiskII was capable
 of functioning in concert with StepRate.   However, I've encountered no such
 anomaly with StepRate and the commercial disk optimizing program I employ.
      FastDiskII is quite a bit smaller than DiskCopy and should be useful on
 disks that have little or no available space.   No problems were encountered
 with FastDiskII where StepRate wasn't being utilized.    While I like
 the concept of disk optimization, I urge caution if you're going to use this
 version of FastDiskII.
      StepRate is well known to me.   I've used it quite successfully in my
 Startup-Sequence for some time and recommend it without reservation.
      NoClick is also very well known to me.   I've enjoyed quiet disk drives
 for some time because of it. However, I've not been able to persuade it to
 work its magic on an A1000 equipped with an A1010 external disk drive.  So
 if you're using third-party disk drives and you would like a little quiet, I
 suggest you give NoClick a try. It works for me!
      In the case of Formatter, though it's a relatively new addition to
 my configuration, I've found it to be well behaved and I recommend its use.

] ]20ASSUMPTIONS TAKEN FOR GRANTED.......]10 In an effort to reduce errors caused by
 misunderstandings, let's establish a couple of givens.   First, all
 references to drives assume you are operating a two-drive configuration
 with the Workbench as df0: and the source disk is df1:.   If, on the other
 hand, you're running a single disk drive alter these instructions
 accordingly.
      The next assumption is that you've at least a rudimentary understanding
 of AmigaDOS and can operate in the CLI and ED text editor environments.  If
 you're unsure of yourself consult your manuals.
      Finally, it's assumed you've read the doc files for the programs
 and, understanding the benefits and ramifications, you have decided upon the
 modifications.   Failing that, I hope you are willing to blindly follow
 directions.   In either case, read the instructions through carefully before
 proceeding with the changes.

] ]20MAKING A SPEEDIER REPLACEMENT......]10 FastDiskII is a powerful replacement for
] ]70"DiskCopy"]10 while Formatter will perform in a manner that ]70"Format"]10 won't ever
 imitate.   This magic is accomplished through the act of rename and replace.
 To perform this minor miracle, enter your Shell and type:
9]           1> COPY Source.Disk:Source.Drawer/FastDiskII df0:System/DiskCopy
9]           1> COPY Source.Disk:Source.Drawer/Formatter df0:System/Format
 AmigaDOS will react to these new versions of DiskCopy and Format exactly the
 same as it did to the originals.   However, the results should be noticeably
 improved. Improved, phooey! They'll run rings around the old ones.
   
] ]20UNSTRENUOUSLY EXERCISING CONTROL....]10 Our project's next step is to gain some
 degree of hardware control via the installed software.   How?   By magic, of
 course!    If a little wizardry is outside the scope of your background, try
 adding this pair of utilities to your "Workbench" by entering your Shell and
 typing the following:
9]           1> COPY Source.Disk:Source.Drawer/StepRate df0:c
9]           1> COPY Source.Disk:Source.Drawer/NoClick df0:c
 StepRate permits each of your disk drives' "read/write delay" to be adjusted
 to more closely match the capability of each individual mechanism.   NoClick
 might, on the other hand, be considered more cosmetic than substance.    You
 will have to judge for yourself, but the quiet sure is nice!
      You aren't quite finished. Both these utilities are best employed from
 your startup-sequence. So then, go back into the Shell and type:
9]           1> ED df0:s/startup-sequence
 Once in the text editor, add the following lines near the beginning of the
file:
9]           NoClick
9]           StepRate >nil: df0: nnnn
9]           StepRate >nil: df1: nnnn
 NoClick need only appear once, regardless of the number of drives you've got
 in your configuration.   StepRate, on the other hand, must have an entry for
 each of the drives.   The program has been tested up to three.   Redirection
 ( >nil: ) to the "nil device" is optional. It suppresses an information-only
 feedback message that really need not be displayed.   If you're curious, you
 have my permission to try it without the redirection.
      When next you boot up you'll discover your drives have lost that click.
 You should also notice they seem to respond a bit faster. They will
 if you've entered an integer number rather than the n's.
 The actual number can vary with your particular drive's own characteristics,
 so experiment a little.   I recommend starting with 2000, as most Amigas are
 preset at 3000, then make any necessary adjustments by trial and error.

] ]20OH PROGRAM, WHEREFORE ART THOU......]10 These four programs are all on
this month's optional PDQ_8 disk. See the Ad drawer of this issue for
availability.  The programs are available separately on the following
distributable disks:
     
9]           FastDiskII ... Version 1.5  ©1987 by Thorsten Stolpmann
9]               .......... SACC Disk No. 048
9]           Formatter .... Version 2.7  ©1990 by Olaf Barthel
9]               .......... Fish Disk No. 398
9]           NoClick ...... Version 3.4  ©1989 by Norman Iscove
9]               .......... Fish Disk No. 241
9]           StepRate ..... Version 1.0  Public Domain by Dr. David Q. King
9]               .......... JUMPDISK Shareware Extravaganza