[comp.sys.ibm.pc] DOS 4.01: need partition s'ware?

lmhg0369@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (12/08/89)

I have an original-AT circa clone with a 40M hard drive.  Currently I
am using partitioning software (Disk Manager) to be able to use >32M.
Now, if I get DOS 4.01, will I be able to run the hard drive without
the partitioning s'ware?  Of course, the parms for my drive aren't in
the BIOS tables.  It would be nice to get the memory back.

Also, any keyboards out there that can run on my kind of AT clone?  I've
tried connecting an extended keyboard in both AT and XT modes, but
neither work correctly; the extended keys cause the speaker to yelp
when they are pressed in AT mode, and XT mode doesn't work.

L. Haskins -- lmhg0369@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu

phil@diablo.amd.com (Phil Ngai) (12/09/89)

In article <111700175@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu> lmhg0369@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu writes:
|
|I have an original-AT circa clone with a 40M hard drive.  Currently I
|am using partitioning software (Disk Manager) to be able to use >32M.
|Now, if I get DOS 4.01, will I be able to run the hard drive without
|the partitioning s'ware?

DOS4 does handle partitions larger than 32 M.

|Of course, the parms for my drive aren't in the BIOS tables.

This is not something that DOS4 addresses. A newer controller might
help, but that's kind of an expensive fix. 

--
Phil Ngai, phil@diablo.amd.com		{uunet,decwrl,ucbvax}!amdcad!phil
AT&T Unix System V.4: Berkeley Unix for 386 PCs!

gcook@cps3xx.UUCP (Greg Cook) (12/09/89)

From article <111700175@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu>, by lmhg0369@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu:
> Now, if I get DOS 4.01, will I be able to run the hard drive without
> the partitioning s'ware?  Of course, the parms for my drive aren't in

Yes!

=========================================================================
Greg Cook                             Chemistry IS life! 
gcook@horus.cem.msu.edu        Watch for the next generation of Enamines 
cook@frith.egr.msu.edu             coming to a Journal near you! 

amichiel@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Michielsen) (12/12/89)

In article <5726@cps3xx.UUCP> gcook@cps3xx.UUCP (Greg Cook) writes:
>From article <111700175@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu>, by lmhg0369@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu:
>> Now, if I get DOS 4.01, will I be able to run the hard drive without
>> the partitioning s'ware?  Of course, the parms for my drive aren't in
>
>Yes!
>
>=========================================================================
>Greg Cook

That may be simplified. I would say      NO !
If you have already partitioned a hard disk into <32 Mb partitions,
just upgrading to dos 4.01 will NOT allow you to use the entire disk
without driver software WITHOUT either LOSING all data OUTSIDE the 1st (boot)
partition or removing all the software & initializing the disk ALL OVER AGAIN.
Althoug depending on the software you use, it is possible to affect just the
data in the partitions after the 1st partition.
AL

lmhg0369@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (12/14/89)

[original poster of the question of if I switch to DOS 4.01 can I get
away w/o partitioning s'ware if my hard disk isn't in the BIOS tables]

I realize that I'll probably have to do some formatting (low and high)
to get the thing to work...I'm not worried about that.  I just wonder
how the DOS is going to get the word on how large the disk is, THAT'S
the big question now that somebody has assured me that it is possible.
I can low-level-format it with Disk Manager, I guess, even though 
ultimately Disk Manager won't be used in 4.01.  

I guess the thing to do would be to back everything up, reformat in
4.01 (after a ll-format?) and see what happens.  I guess the worst
that would happen would be if it didn't work, I'd be out the $$$
for 4.01.

phil@diablo.amd.com (Phil Ngai) (12/15/89)

In article <111700182@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu> lmhg0369@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu writes:
|I just wonder
|how the DOS is going to get the word on how large the disk is, THAT'S
|the big question now that somebody has assured me that it is possible.

That's no problem. What you do is LLF, fdisk, and then DOS format.
FDISK knows how big the physical disk is, presumably because it knows
the geometry. FDISK does allow you to define several partitions, each
smaller than the physical disk but I'm not sure why you'd do that.
You can define the partition size in terms of megabytes or % of the
physical disk. 

--
Phil Ngai, phil@diablo.amd.com		{uunet,decwrl,ucbvax}!amdcad!phil
Washington D.C. is the murder capital of the nation.