[comp.sys.ibm.pc] Help needed adding drive types to PHOENIX BIOS

wolfordj@ihlpa.ATT.COM (452is-Wolford) (01/25/89)

I am trying to add/replace a drive type in my PHONENIX BIOS v3.10 00.

I found where the drive table is and know the numbers that I want
to put in the table, but after reading the rom, adding the numbers
and "burning" a new set of rom, I get a rom check sum beep error
code on boot and the machine hangs.

Well that is no wonder since I did change the contents of the rom code
and did not change the check sum, BUT:

I can not seem to find where and how the check sum is computed, and/or checked.

Any help would be greatful.

BTW: This is a problem because the BIOS looks at the drive parameters
instead of the drive description sector on the hard disk.  My machine with
AWARD BIOS does this just find.  This same type of problem show's up
when I want to read a 720K 5 1/4" (You know the 80TK DS/DD diskette).
Seems the bios think that since it has 80 tracks that it must be a 1.2MB
disk.

Jeff Wolford
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att!ihlpa!wolfordj

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royf@killer.DALLAS.TX.US (Roy Frederick) (02/02/89)

wolfordj@ihlpa.ATT.COM (452is-Wolford):
> 
> I am trying to add/replace a drive type in my PHONENIX BIOS v3.10 00.
> 

I used a public domain package called ROMU to update mine to support
a Fujitsu M2243 Drive (11 heads, 754 (?) cylinders).  The package consists
of a small program and a doc file.  The program copies your BIOS to a file,
displays the drive table, updates it, and calculates the checksum.  Not
neccessarily in that order!  I wrote a small program that compared a virgin
set of ROM images (odd and even separated) to a modified set.  Here are the
changes noted:

EVEN
-----
3309    00  <-  02
330b    00  <-  ff
330f    00  <-  02

ODD
-----
3308    00  <-  f2
3309    00  <-  0b
330b    00  <-  ff
330c    00  <-  08
330e    00  <-  f2
330f    00  <-  11
3fff    00  <-  f6 (checksum)

Then I took my chips out, copied them into memory of my programmer,
typed in the changes, programmed new chips, installed the new ones.
Voila!  It worked!  BTW, this was for drive type 35, I believe.
At any rate it was an unused type.  I also wrote a small C pgm to 
checksum a ROM in memory, mainly to determine the type of checksum 
used.

If you need it - this stuff is available - I think I can locate it all
- pack it - uuencode it - and mail it...  but maybe this is enough info
to do it without the little programs.

Good luck!


Roy Frederick (royf@killer.UUCP)
Dallas County Data Services  (214) 653-6340
504 Records Bldg.
Dallas, TX 75202