Xref: utzoo comp.unix.xenix:7073 comp.misc:6827 comp.sys.ibm.pc:33095
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!purdue!ames!lll-winken!uunet!philmtl!philabs!linus!mbunix!jcmorris
From: jcmorris@mbunix.mitre.org (Joseph C. Morris)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.xenix,comp.misc,comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: No hard disk recognition---HELP!!
Keywords: Xenix, hard disk, HELP
Message-ID: <63159@linus.UUCP>
Date: 8 Aug 89 21:08:36 GMT
References: <1216@sdcc18.ucsd.EDU> <451@ntcsd1.UUCP>
Sender: news@linus.UUCP
Reply-To: jcmorris@mbunix (Morris)
Organization: The MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA.
Lines: 24

In article <451@ntcsd1.UUCP> dmc@ntcsd1.UUCP (David Clemens) writes:
>
> [hard disk won't boot -- system enters cassette BASIC]

Have you checked the possibility that the partition table on the fixed
disk (cylinder 0,head 0, sector 1) hasn't been changed?  If you somehow
zapped the table to mark a non-bootable partition as bootable, the BIOS
boot code would reject the disk and go to C-BASIC instead.  If you are
able to reach the files on the disk by booting from a diskette, the
other data in the partition table is probably valid.

Another possibility is that you've clobbered the boot sector for the
DOS partition (absolute cylinder 0, head 1, sector 1; this is the first
sector of the DOS partition).  If the 55AA signature is missing the disk
is nonbootable.  This doesn't sound likely, however, since you said you've
re-installed DOS on the disk.  (The c/h/s=0/1/1 is valid only if the
DOS partition is the first on the disk.)

Use Norton Utilities to inspect absolute c/h/s=0/0/1 (the partition table)
and absolute 0/1/1 (the boot record for the first partition) to see if
they're contaminated; NU allows you to edit the partition table and set
the boot flag as appropriate.

Good luck.