23 Nov
2006
23 Nov
'06
11:52 a.m.
On Thu, 23 Nov 2006, Michael B. Brutman wrote:
The maximum allowable values for each field of type 47
will tell you how
much of the 20GB drive the BIOS of the machine can support. If the
number turns out to be small (like only 540MB) and you need more
capacity, disable the onboard controller and get a replacement
controller that has a replacement BIOS. Promise made quite a few of
these, to name one manufacturer.
If you can't do that, go for the drive overlay software.
The other option is an overlay/feature ROM on an ISA card. There were lots
of these made around that time period, but they can be hard to find now as
I suspect most were tossed out. I have a few around here that I use from
time to time. One even has a correction for the Y2K BIOS problems.
Your chances on booting from CD using the BIOS on a
486 are slim and
none. Even SCSI cards of the era with their own BIOS don't do that. So
plan on getting a 3.5" floppy for it.
Some of the last ISA cards from Mylex could do that. Adaptec cards didn't
though. Wish I'd kept the couple Mylex ISA cards I had now...
-Toth