root@scona (sysop) (02/22/90)
Is there a way to modify the AT drive just after it
is copied from ROM to RAM? I've got a CDC 94155-87 HD
that I want to add and the drive specs don't match
closely enough to any entry in the AT drive table.
I'm not a big fan of ROM upgrades, or reburning ROM
chips, so anything that can be done via a device driver
or something would be perfect.
Thanks.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"This, of course, is impossible..." - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
root@scona.UUCP ...!edm!scona!root cwirun@uncanet.BITNET
cwirun@ucnet.ucalgary.ca
----------------------------------------------------------------------LC.YRS@forsythe.stanford.edu (Richard Stanton) (02/23/90)
In article <99wXe2w160w@scona>, root@scona (sysop) writes: > > Is there a way to modify the AT drive just after it > is copied from ROM to RAM? I've got a CDC 94155-87 HD > that I want to add and the drive specs don't match > closely enough to any entry in the AT drive table. > Two points. 1) You don't need the exact drive parameters to be able to use your disk. As long as the number of heads is correct and the specified number of tracks is <= the number on your disk, you should be OK (although you may need to worry about precompensation as well - I don't know about this). However, you may not be able to use certain utilities such as FDISK, PCTOOLS partition saver etc (I had this problem with my ST-251) 2) There is a way of fooling DOS when it looks up your disk parameters. I found the program in directory pd:<msdos.dskutl> on wsmr-simtel20.army.mil, which achieves this without even needing to take up RAM to go memory resident. I forget the name of the .ARC file, but it was something like PREAD.ARC (it was a suite of programs to manipulate / edit your partition table). If you can;'t find it, let me know and I'll look for it. Hope this helps Richard Stanton
strike@clmqt.marquette.Mi.US (Tim Bowser) (03/03/90)
root@scona (sysop) writes: > Is there a way to modify the AT drive just after it > is copied from ROM to RAM? I've got a CDC 94155-87 HD > that I want to add and the drive specs don't match > closely enough to any entry in the AT drive table. > I'm not a big fan of ROM upgrades, or reburning ROM > chips, so anything that can be done via a device driver > or something would be perfect. > Thanks. >---------------------------------------------------------------------- >"This, of course, is impossible..." - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy > root@scona.UUCP ...!edm!scona!root cwirun@uncanet.BITNET > cwirun@ucnet.ucalgary.ca >---------------------------------------------------------------------- I just demonstrated to myself that the ROM BIOS on the Western Digital AT-compatible controller will do the job you asked. I run RLL drives almost exclusively, and the generic AMI BIOS doesn't support the 26 sector drive tables for RLL. Since the following is dangerous to your data, please have a current backup before attempting this. If you have a Western Digital controller in the 1003V-1006V range, there is a good chance it has the onboard ROM BIOS for drive installation. Using your fave version of DEBUG, type g=cc00:5 at the prompt. You should get a menu of options, such as low-level format, surface analyses (sic) and interleave settings. The BIOS also contains 46 drive tables plus a user-configurable 47th for those odd ducks out there. Again, DO NOT TRY it unless you have current backups of the drive! One slip, and the partition table is blown away. I know, I did it... Hope this helps someone... -- Tim Bowser ("Strikemaster") | Standard | mailrus!sharkey!clmqt!strike Enterprise Information System | Disclaimer | strike@clmqt.marquette.Mi.US Marquette, Mi. USA | Here | Voice:(906)-346-6735 => UNIX: The Adventure Begins... To vi, or not to vi, that is the question. <=