Q4105@pucc.Princeton.EDU (W.g. Price q4105 Mathtech) (11/10/90)
Earlier I asked for help running a low-level format on an original PS/2 model 30 (8086) 20meg -- no one has had any ideas yet for me. I have some additional info that might trigger some memories: PC Mag says this system has an ST506 controller embedded on the motherboard. SpinRite says that it is RLL encoded with sector translation. The trick of typing ctrl-A to switch the Startup disk into Advanced Diagnostics mode that works on the PS/2-70 does not work at any prompt. But: the full set of Adv.Diag. menus is visible in the SERVICES.COM file ! And: at a spot where it checks AL for 0-4 or 9 (the simple menu choices) it also checks for 10 and 11 -- but keys ':' and ';' (next up from '9') don't do anything. Does anyone know the trapdoor key ?