9 Oct
2005
9 Oct
'05
1:03 p.m.
Subject: Re: PCs that support only one floppy drive in hardware
From: Roger Merchberger <zmerch at 30below.com>
Date: Sun, 09 Oct 2005 12:47:02 -0400
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at
classiccmp.org>
Rumor has it that Chuck Guzis may have mentioned these words:
Roger, you hit the nail on the head. If you want to use XP and the latest
PentiumMMV at 200ghz and read old media it'seems there is an incongreuity
there. It would appear more reasonable to use an older less underloaded
machine and a more flexible version of winders for such a task.
For tasks like this where the interface is going to be "unusual" XP,
win2000 and NT are likely not the best choice as they are known to poorly
or not support untested/certified hardware.
Allison
On 10/9/2005 at 11:04 AM Scott Stevens wrote:
I've seen several BIOSs can be set up for that - you can set the IRQ & DMA
on a per-slot basis.
However, I'll admit that it's a crapshoot... you'd want to make sure that
the mobo supports what you want to do. ;-) I'm also *not* going to say that
WindersXP will actually support it, as you *might* have to disable
Plug-N-Pray to get it to work.
Laterz,
Roger "Merch" Merchberger
-- I've never seen a PCI card that had a floppy
interface on it. I'm sure
they exist. Not in my junkbox, however, and I don't have the schematic
diagram for them.
And there's a good reason for that. The PCI bus has no access to legacy
8237-type DMA, so legacy driver code would not work on such a beast. 
9 Oct
9 Oct
1:36 p.m.
On Sun, 09 Oct 2005 13:03:25 -0400
Allison <ajp166 at bellatlantic.net> wrote:
Or the best version of all, i.e. one you can 'snap off and throw away'
like Windows 1/2/3 on DOS.
For my new data-reading system I've cobbled up, I have it running
Windows 98, but tweaked it to not boot to Windows at all, just wait at
the command prompt. Then after I've created images and what-not, I let
it go the rest of the way in so I can copy the image files created over
the network.
I don't have a 486 system up and going for these purposes mainly because
at present I sit at a 'console' that is a 4-way KVM switch, and it's
simpler just to plug everything into this one desk. Most '486 systems
use the older non-PS/2 keyboard connector. (adapters are available,
etc. etc.)
It's 'convenience' and 'using what is lying around' that is the root
of
this whole thread. A more sensible person would stop messing with
systems that only support one floppy drive.
Subject: Re: PCs that support only one floppy drive in hardware
From: Roger Merchberger <zmerch at 30below.com>
Date: Sun, 09 Oct 2005 12:47:02 -0400
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Rumor has it that Chuck Guzis may have mentioned these words:
Roger, you hit the nail on the head. If you want to use XP and the
latest PentiumMMV at 200ghz and read old media it'seems there is an
incongreuity there. It would appear more reasonable to use an older
less underloaded machine and a more flexible version of winders for
such a task.
On 10/9/2005 at 11:04 AM Scott Stevens wrote:
>I've never seen a PCI card that had a floppy interface on it. I'm
sure> >they exist. Not in my junkbox, however, and I don't have the
schematic> >diagram for them.
And there's a good reason for that. The PCI bus has no access to
legacy
>8237-type DMA, so legacy driver code would not work on such a
beast.
I've seen several BIOSs can be set up for that - you can set the IRQ
& DMA on a per-slot basis.
However, I'll admit that it's a crapshoot... you'd want to make sure
that the mobo supports what you want to do. ;-) I'm also *not* going
to say that WindersXP will actually support it, as you *might* have
to disable Plug-N-Pray to get it to work.
Laterz,
Roger "Merch" Merchberger
-- For tasks like this where the interface is going to be
"unusual" XP,
win2000 and NT are likely not the best choice as they are known to
poorly or not support untested/certified hardware.
I can't think of anything at all where XP is the suitable choice. Well,
maybe a preinstall where the manufacturer has not gone out of their way
to provide driver support for anything else.
4:26 p.m.
On Sun, 9 Oct 2005, Scott Stevens wrote:
Or the best version of all, i.e. one you can 'snap
off and throw away'
like Windows 1/2/3 on DOS.
For my new data-reading system I've cobbled up, I have it running
Windows 98, but tweaked it to not boot to Windows at all, just wait at
the command prompt. Then after I've created images and what-not, I let
it go the rest of the way in so I can copy the image files created over
the network.
If you're using Windows in this context just so you can have networking
support then you're making life very difficult for yourself.
Use the Microsoft Network Client to give your DOS box TCP/IP connectivity,
including DHCP, the ability to mount volumes on an XP box, etc.
I've got it available for download here:
http://www.siconic.com/download/network/MSNC.ZIP
If you use a 3Com NIC then be sure to NOT load the drivers high (it's an
option you're asked about when you install).
--
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
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