buchho@studsys.mu.edu (buchho) (11/15/89)
Recently, I've picked up a 10 Mb Sider, 'bout 3-4 years old. Today, I went thru its utilities in the attempt to find something that will allow me to format it ONLY in ProDOS. Currently, only 8 Mb or so is allocated to TWO ProDOS volumes, the rest is split among CP/M, Dos 3.3, and Pascal. I use neither of these three. What I'm wondering is if there's a way to defeat these defaults and format the entire 10 Mb with one ProDOS volume. Would it be possible to modify the Parameters Sector in some way? Is there more current utility software? An updated ROM perhaps? -- [][][][][][][][][][][][][][]______________________________________________ [] Jacob S. Buchholz [] Mary had a little roach, it lived behind the | [] buchho@studsys.mu.edu [] stove. And every time that Mary cooked, the | [][][][][][][][][][][][][][] roach would warm his toes... |
bird@cbnewsd.ATT.COM (j.l.walters) (11/15/89)
From article <680@studsys.mu.edu>, by buchho@studsys.mu.edu (buchho): > What I'm wondering is if there's a way to defeat these defaults > and format the entire 10 Mb with one ProDOS volume. Call Sider. You have to buy a new ROM from them. -- Joe Walters att!ihlpf!bird IHP 1F-240 (312) 713-5356
rich@pro-exchange.cts.com (Rich Sims) (11/16/89)
Comment to message from: cs.utexas.edu!samsung!shadooby!mailrus!uwm.edu!marque!studsys!buchho@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (buchho) There used to be a new ROM available that did exactly what you want, along with increasing the capacity slightly and the speed significantly, although I never saw the amount of increase that was sometimes claimed. I installed two of these things and they worked flawlessly (too bad the same couldn't be said about the drives themselves!) Advanced Tech Services PO Box 920413 Norcross, GA 30092 (404) 441-3322 When I bought them they cost $49.95, but that was a couple of years ago and I have no information on current availability or pricing.
joseph@elbereth.rutgers.edu (Seymour Joseph) (11/16/89)
There is an updated rom, sold by a company in Georgia. Call First Class peripherals, tell them you have an old multi-OS sider that you want to format as all PRODOS, they will give you the name and number of the company that sells the rom. It comes with a rom, a superbrief manual and a disk of formatting software. It reskews the disk to be more efficient with the new rom. If you buy the SIDER GS/OS drivers too, you can get more storage space and about double your speed for less than $100 total investment. Seymour
cwilson@NISC.SRI.COM (Chan Wilson) (11/16/89)
In article <680@studsys.mu.edu> buchho@studsys.UUCP (buchho) writes:
)Recently, I've picked up a 10 Mb Sider, 'bout 3-4 years old. Today, I went
)thru its utilities in the attempt to find something that will allow me to
)format it ONLY in ProDOS. Currently, only 8 Mb or so is allocated to TWO
)ProDOS volumes, the rest is split among CP/M, Dos 3.3, and Pascal. I use
)neither of these three.
)
)What I'm wondering is if there's a way to defeat these defaults and format
)the entire 10 Mb with one ProDOS volume. Would it be possible to modify the
)Parameters Sector in some way? Is there more current utility software? An
)updated ROM perhaps?
)
)[] Jacob S. Buchholz [] Mary had a little roach, it lived behind the |
Yes, what you need is a new ROM chip for the adaptor board. I purchased
one from Advance Tech Services over in West Virginia (I think) I'll
post the number when I get home, but you can also call First Class &
ask them for the number for Advance Tech. (They're in Santa Clara, CA)
Also, you might want to call B & D Compuer Repair, in Chicago,IL. I
talked to the salesman at the SF Applefest, and he knew what he was
talking about, when it comes to old Xebec, Datamac, and Sider drives.
He might know of some different options. 312/735-9010
Once you get the ROM chip installed, it is possible to upgrade to 20
megs by dropping the right drive in (Seagate ST-???). If you want to
go to 40megs, you have to get a different ROM chip, different
formatting software, and they only guarantee this will work with one
type of drive, an oddball type that I can't remember at the moment.
Basically, if you want to go higher than 20megs, you have to go SCSI.
Say, anyone out there want to trade a 40meg SCSI drive for a 40meg
EDSI drive? Its a Quantum drive, brand newish type. I can't use it
in my Datamac drive setup... :-<
................
Chan Wilson -- cwilson@nisc.sri.com <or> cwilson@nic.ddn.mil
'A computer operator at SRI International' (X windows hacker)
"Nuts to all that X,Y,Z modem mess. I'm gonna build me a FTP emulator."
................
--
--Chan Wilson
`and now for something completely different.'
Flamingo coloured penguins and banana coloured grapes.
cwilson@nisc.sri.com or cwilson@nic.ddn.milrnf@shumv1.uucp (Rick Fincher) (11/16/89)
In article <8911160925.AA29293@trout.nosc.mil> rich@pro-exchange.cts.com (Rich Sims) writes: > >There used to be a new ROM available that did exactly what you want, along >with increasing the capacity slightly and the speed significantly, although I >never saw the amount of increase that was sometimes claimed. > First Class Peripherals now sells this ROM and a GS/OS driver for $40 (it act- ually retails for $75 but if you tell them what user group you are in you can get it for $40. Rick Fincher rnf@shumv1.ncsu.edu
samt@pro-europa.cts.com (Sam Theis) (11/22/89)
In-Reply-To: message from cs.utexas.edu!samsung!shadooby!mailrus!uwm.edu!marque!studsys!buchho@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu Jacob Buchholz writes: > Recently, I've picked up a 10 Mb Sider, 'bout 3-4 years old. Today, I went > thru its utilities in the attempt to find something that will allow me to > format it ONLY in ProDOS. Currently, only 8 Mb or so is allocated to TWO > ProDOS volumes, the rest is split among CP/M, Dos 3.3, and Pascal. I use > neither of these three. > > What I'm wondering is if there's a way to defeat these defaults and format > the entire 10 Mb with one ProDOS volume. Would it be possible to modify the > Parameters Sector in some way? Is there more current utility software? An > updated ROM perhaps? > -- Jacob, ATS out of Georgia produced a revised ROM for the Sider controller card that allowed the drive to be formatted entirely as a ProDOS volume. You also regained several unused tracks along with the areas that were reserved for the other operating systems. The ATS ROMs seem to speed up the drives. You can contact Advanced Tech Services at POB 920413 Norcross GA 30092. I was a dealer for a while and still have a few sets left. As I recall the retail price for the ROMs and new utility program was $49. I'll sell you a set for $30. Sam Theis 19515 Spanish Needle Dr. Houston, TX 77084 713/578-7130 UUCP: crash!pro-europa!samt ARPA: crash!pro-europa!samt@nosc.mil INET: samt@pro-europa.cts.com