Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!psuvax1!psuvm!bhb3
From: BHB3@PSUVM.BITNET
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: RE: 1.2 Meg floppy on XT HELP
Message-ID: <89347.140530BHB3@PSUVM.BITNET>
Date: 13 Dec 89 19:05:30 GMT
References: <19651@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu>
Organization: Penn State University
Lines: 55

In article <19651@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu>, JLI@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu says:
>
>I believe that you need a different floppy controller which
>can handle high-density drives (such as 1.2M and 1.44M), if
>your floppy controller on the multi-function XT I/O board
>does not support high-density drives (they usually don't,
>except some new products).  The regular XT multi-function
>board only supports 360K drives and 720K (3.5", and with
>DOS 3.2 or above) drives.
>
>There many newly designed (not very new actually, we have
>seen this kind of controller since two years ago) floppy
>controllers you can buy through mail-order or at local
>computer stores.  However, you may run into a problem, that
>is, since you already have a controller, you cannot put in
>another controller with the same I/O address unless you can
>disable the controller on your original multi-function board
>(which may not be achievable for most older designs).
>
>There are some floppy controllers that can co-exist with the
>original controller.  They configured themselves as the
>secondary controller (such as the CompatiCard, etc.).  With
>this kind of controller, you can keep your original floppy
>controller and drives and add additional drives (either low-
>density or high-density) to your system.
>
>So, there are many ways to handle this situation, but in my
>opinion, the following two approaches might suit you.
>
>    (1). Trade in your multi-function board, and buy a floppy
>         controller that can handle high-density drives. Since
>         most this kind of controllers does not have Clock,
>         Serial/Parallel ports, etc., you have to buy an XT
>         multi-I/O board.
>
>    (2). Buy a floppy controller that can be configured as
>         secondary controller (we use the CompatiCard a lot,
>         but it is not the cheapiest one), and add a high-density
>         drive to your system.
>
>I am not familiar with the recent prices of these products, but
>you can easily find them in Computer Shopper, Byte, PC Magazine,
>and many other publications.
>
>I hope my observations answers most your questions.  Good Luck!

Jameco Electronics and JDR microdevices make cards for XT's that will control
1.44M, 720K, 1.2 M, and 360K floppy drives.  They run about $50 for the 2 drive
model and $60 for the 4 drive model.  The Jameco 4 drive card I have in an
8 Mhz clone has the annoying problem of having to switch the PC to 5 Mhz
speed to format other than 1.44M disks.  I would buy the Western Digital
Fox controller if you are looking for quality.  PC Connection carries it
even though it is not listed in their add.

                                          Brent H. Besler