marv@homxc.ATT.COM (MR. PORSCHE) (02/07/89)
HELP! HELP! HELP! HELP! HELP! HELP! HELP! HELP!
I recently purchased a used AT&T PC6300 PLUS. The previous
owner installed a second 20MB Hard Drive in place of the
1.2MB (5 1/4 inch) Floppy Drive. He installed it (the old
Floppy Drive) in an auxiliary housing, which also contains
its' own power supply. But the housing's Power Supply is
not used, since he extended the power from the PC, and has a
ribbon cable connected from the PC to the 1.2 Floppy Drive,
with an "edge" connector. The ribbon cable has a "twist" in
the middle and works fine in the old configuration.
Since the new housing can accomodate a second drive, I
bought a 3 1/2 inch, High Density (1.44MB) Floppy Drive and
also a new MS-DOS Version 3.3, because I was told that it
"supports" 3 1/2" drives. I was also told that a HD 3 1/2
would support the standard 720K floppies.
The problem is, I don't know how to connect the new drive
and make it function as Drive B:. First I moved the power
and ribbon edge connector to the new drive. The LED on the
front of the new drive remained lit. The drive accepted a
small floppy but couldn't format it and gave me an error
message. I received no instructions with the new drive, and
am in dire need of help. It should be fairly obvious that I
am a new kid on the block and require simple, straight
forward directions. If none is forthcoming, look for an
upcoming ad selling a "never used" 3 1/2" HD Drive.
Any advice will be gratefully appreciated!
Marvhjespers@vpk4.UUCP (Hans Jespersen) (02/07/89)
In article <5391@homxc.ATT.COM> marv@homxc.ATT.COM (MR. PORSCHE) writes: > ... > ribbon cable connected from the PC to the 1.2 Floppy Drive, > with an "edge" connector. The ribbon cable has a "twist" in > the middle and works fine in the old configuration. > ... > The problem is, I don't know how to connect the new drive > and make it function as Drive B:. First I moved the power > and ribbon edge connector to the new drive. The LED on the > front of the new drive remained lit. The drive accepted a > small floppy but couldn't format it and gave me an error > message. I received no instructions with the new drive, and > am in dire need of help. It seems like most of the new WGS products are now comming with 3.5" drives as drive A: so this will be a common question in the future. The biggest problem is finding a valid ribbon cable since all the 3.5" floppies I have seen require a "pin" connector rather than the "edge" connectors used on 5 1/4" drives. WGS machines with 3.5" drives as A: come with a ribbon cable containing one "pin" connector after the twist (A:) and an edge connector before the twist (B:). There are dip switches to change the A: drive but I haven't had luck with this. The best solution is to buy the proper connectors and punch them down beside the old ones. Anyway, assuming that your connectors are ok, make sure that the terminator jumper is set _only_ on the the last drive (ie B:). Typically this jumper is labeled TM and on the 5 1/4 Matshushitas it in on the top of the unit. On the 3.5" it may be on the right hand side (while looking at the front, yes _under_ the rail :-) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hans Jespersen UUCP: uunet!attcan!hjespers AT&T Canada Inc. or ..!attcan!nebulus!arakis!hans Toronto, Ontario #include <std.disclaimer>