Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!microsoft!philba
From: philba@microsoft.UUCP (Phil BARRETT)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
Subject: Re: Windows 3.0 and Disk Manager (SCSI)
Keywords: windows, disk manager
Message-ID: <56921@microsoft.UUCP>
Date: 26 Aug 90 23:15:40 GMT
References: <3983@monu1.cc.monash.oz>
Reply-To: philba@microsoft.UUCP (Phil BARRETT)
Organization: Microsoft Corp., Redmond WA
Lines: 30

In article <3983@monu1.cc.monash.oz> ins317y@monu4.cc.monash.edu.au (mr       ho yuen keen) writes:
>
>
>1) I have heard that Microsoft only tested Windows 3.0 with MS DOS 4.01,
>and there are major problems with running it under hard disks formatted
>with programs like disk manager, speedstor etc etc. My hard disk is a 
>Quantum 84M SCSI, and I  am led to believe that it was formatted with Disk
>Manager. 

No, MS tested Windows 3.0 with MS-DOS Versions 3.1 and higher.  It would
be exceedingly stupid to claim support and not do any testing...

The issue isn't formatting but rather what partitioning driver, if any,
is installed.  If you dont have DMDRVR in your config.sys, then there is
no problem.  If you are loading DMDRVR from config.sys, you will have a
problem only if the drive type isn't supported by the ROM BIOS.  If this is
the case, then simply remove SMARTDRV.SYS (which comes with Windows 3.0)
from your configuration.  Windows itself doesn't have a problem with DMDRVR,
SMARTDRV does.

>
>The way I understand it, Windows does a direct (not via bios) write to the
>HD, using it's own routines. Thus, if the HD isn't formatted with DOS, it
>might very well fry the  HD, scrambling it's entire contents.

no, as pointed out above, SMARTDRV is the problem, not windows.


Phil Barrett
No, I dont speak for Microsoft.