Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!orion.oac.uci.edu!ucivax!megatek!fridge!hollen From: hollen@megatek (Dion Hollenbeck) Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.misc Subject: Re: AT Hard Disk Tables and CMOS Message-ID: Date: 23 Dec 90 16:45:41 GMT References: <59398@aurs01.UUCP> <2971@pensoft.UUCP> <1990Dec22.191039.15435@sun1.ruf.uni-freiburg.de> Sender: hollen@megatek.UUCP Distribution: comp Organization: Megatek Corporation, San Diego, California Lines: 37 In-reply-to: hartnegg@sun1.ruf.uni-freiburg.de's message of 22 Dec 90 19:10:39 GMT In article <1990Dec22.191039.15435@sun1.ruf.uni-freiburg.de> hartnegg@sun1.ruf.uni-freiburg.de (Klaus Hartnegg) writes: In article <1990Dec22.191039.15435@sun1.ruf.uni-freiburg.de> hartnegg@sun1.ruf.uni-freiburg.de (Klaus Hartnegg) writes: > lwb@pensoft.UUCP (Lance Bledsoe) writes: > > >Go get a package called SPEEDSTORE. Speedstore will allow you to > >"add your own disk parms" by inserting them into the boot sector > >on the disk. This will allow you to use any MFM, RLL, ESDI, etc. > >disk without having the correct parms in CMOS. Another benifit > >is that there are no special drivers required. > > My disk was formatted with SpeedStore but I HAVE to write > device=\sstor.sys > in config.sys otherwise Norton's NDD (Version 5.0) hangs > when analyzing the partition table of this drive. > > Why is there such a driver contained on the SpeedStore-Disk when > it is not needed? With packages like SpeedStore and Ontrak Disk Manager, the driver is usually not needed if you are dealing with a drive that DOS and application programs can deal with directly. If not (i.e. partitions greater than 32mb or drives bigger than 32mb with multiple partitions on DOS prior to 3.3), then the driver IS needed. When you go this route, be SURE that you set up the CMOS to have "NO HARD DRIVE INSTALLED". In this manner, only the loaded device driver will be trying to access the disk. I HAD to do this with my OMTI controller card because it has an on-board BIOS and even though the drives were ones which could be recognized by the CMOS setup, they had to be accessed through the controller BIOS. -- Dion Hollenbeck (619) 455-5590 x2814 Megatek Corporation, 9645 Scranton Road, San Diego, CA 92121 uunet!megatek!hollen or hollen@megatek.uucp