Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!iuvax!cica!mr
From: mr@cica.cica.indiana.edu (Michael Regoli)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Upgrading original IBM AT hard disk (summary - long)
Keywords: IBM AT hard disk
Message-ID: <136@cica.cica.indiana.edu>
Date: 31 Aug 89 00:41:10 GMT
References: <7600@ecsvax.uncecs.edu>
Organization: Indiana University, Bloomington
Lines: 44

mvolo@ecsvax.uncecs.edu (Michael R. Volow) writes:

>Thanks to all who responded to my query about upgrading a hard disk
>on the original IBM AT.

(damn!  i'm sorry i missed this.  --mr)

here was one recommended solution:

>>I too have an original AT.  I have been quite satisfied with my
>>Seagate 251-1 since my old CMI croaked 2 years ago.  It is a 
>>relatively fast ~28msec 42meg drive and does not require BIOS or
>>controller changes (comes with OnTrack partitioning software
>>that works just fine).
>>+ Ronald S. Woan                             ron@woan.austin.ibm.com   +
>>+ outside       @cs.utexas.edu:ibmaus!auschs!woan.austin.ibm.com!ron   +

yes, that's what we did too, to our original IBM-AT when our
CMI began developing alzheimer's...  the 251-1 is a swift
drive for this "voyager (tm)" of a PC in today's world...

however, OnTrack formats this drive into two, and, as far as
my experiments go, CANNOT accept DOS 4.01 since the old BIOS
table doesn't support drives whose IDs are >15.

there *has* to be a better way around this.

of course Big Blue has abandoned support for this machine and
replacement updated ROMs are scarce as "hen's teeth."

has anyone experimented with a phoenix or award BIOS to put
into this machine to extend its drive table?  i've got DOS
4.01 ready and waiting to use that 42Mb as one drive...

(as a side note, our CMI 20Mb disk *just* departed:  it 
served us amicably for almost FIVE YEARS.  this from a 
drive (according to PC MAGAZINE) wouldn't last one year.
[remember the pictures of the guys in florida dumping the
drives into the ocean?!])
--
michael regoli
mr@cica.indiana.edu 
regoli@iubacs.bitnet
...rutgers!iuvax!cica!mr