28 Dec
2006
28 Dec
'06
6:18 p.m.
I recently dug out an IBM XT to create some 5.25 floppy images and
while I'm at it I thought I'd try to get the Plus Hardcard 20
installed it it working. (This is a dual floppy XT without an
original IBM hard drive).
Does anyone know how to low-level format the Plus Hardcard 20? There
is ROM data at C800:0, but it doesn't look like g=C8000:5 would
execute valid code so I don't think that is the trick with this drive.
I searched the net for while but came up empty for useful info.
-Glen
28 Dec
28 Dec
6:28 p.m.
Glen Slick wrote:
I recently dug out an IBM XT to create some 5.25
floppy images and
while I'm at it I thought I'd try to get the Plus Hardcard 20
installed it it working. (This is a dual floppy XT without an
original IBM hard drive).
Does anyone know how to low-level format the Plus Hardcard 20? There
is ROM data at C800:0, but it doesn't look like g=C8000:5 would
execute valid code so I don't think that is the trick with this drive.
I searched the net for while but came up empty for useful info.
I ran into this as well and determined that you can only low-level it
with the software that came with it.
Why, is yours working and you just want to erase it? Or is it dead? If
it's dead, you can toss the entire thing unless you can find a working
one that you can use to copy the ROM. I have had 5 out of 6 hardcards
die over the years because their ROM just... faded.
I finally found a working Hardcard 20 last year because I was hoping the
combined controller+drive would be faster than the MFM+ST-225 already in
my XT... and I found it was no faster. 4:1 interleave, about 130KB/s
sustained transfer rate. (I eventually replaced it with an 8-bit IDE
card and a 320MB IDE drive and can now sustain 300KB/s, which appears to
be a bus/card/cpu limit because the drive tests faster than that in a
faster machine.)
--
Jim Leonard (trixter at oldskool.org) http://www.oldskool.org/
Help our electronic games project: http://www.mobygames.com/
Or check out some trippy MindCandy at http://www.mindcandydvd.com/
A child borne of the home computer wars: http://trixter.wordpress.com/
6:51 p.m.
On 12/28/06, Jim Leonard <trixter at oldskool.org> wrote:
I ran into this as well and determined that you can only low-level it
with the software that came with it.
Why, is yours working and you just want to erase it? Or is it dead? If
it's dead, you can toss the entire thing unless you can find a working
one that you can use to copy the ROM. I have had 5 out of 6 hardcards
die over the years because their ROM just... faded.
One useful bit of info I found on the net said that if it doesn't seem
to spin up, remove the card and bounce it drive end down on something
like the sole of your shoe. I tried that and now it seems to spin up
and boot to DOS. Usual stiction issue I guess.
Do you have a copy of the software that came with a Plus Hardcard 20?
More out of curiousity than anything else at this point. Maybe I'll
just do a DOS format and reload DOS on it. Is DOS 3.3 an appropriate
version?
7:14 p.m.
Glen Slick wrote:
Do you have a copy of the software that came with a
Plus Hardcard 20?
I have the Plus Hardcard 40 software, which is most likely the same
stuff. But if you've got it up and running, and you can see all 20MB,
you don't need the software.
Is DOS 3.3 an appropriate
version?
If it's the only drive in the system, and the system is 8088 or 8086,
yes. 3.3 supports up to 32MB per partition, and if you are on an 808x
you don't need the HMA/UMB/memory stuff of 5 and later.
--
Jim Leonard (trixter at oldskool.org) http://www.oldskool.org/
Help our electronic games project: http://www.mobygames.com/
Or check out some trippy MindCandy at http://www.mindcandydvd.com/
A child borne of the home computer wars: http://trixter.wordpress.com/
7:14 p.m.
Glen Slick wrote:
One useful bit of info I found on the net said that if
it doesn't seem
to spin up, remove the card and bounce it drive end down on something
like the sole of your shoe. I tried that and now it seems to spin up
and boot to DOS. Usual stiction issue I guess.
Yes, but with all of mine that died, it wasn't stiction -- I could
hear/feel it spin up but there was no firmware left on the card to drive it.
--
Jim Leonard (trixter at oldskool.org) http://www.oldskool.org/
Help our electronic games project: http://www.mobygames.com/
Or check out some trippy MindCandy at http://www.mindcandydvd.com/
A child borne of the home computer wars: http://trixter.wordpress.com/
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