Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!uupsi!sunic!ugle.unit.no!ugle.runit.sintef.no!thoger From: thoger@solan.unit.no (Terje Th|gersen) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware Subject: Re: 3.5" drive for Sperry IT Message-ID: Date: 4 Jan 91 00:35:49 GMT References: <1991Jan1.223725.29088@mstr.hgc.edu> <1030@pdxgate.UUCP> Sender: news@ugle.unit.no Organization: Institute of Physical Chemistry, NTH Lines: 53 In-Reply-To: berggren@eecs.cs.pdx.edu's message of 3 Jan 91 00:07:03 GMT In article <1030@pdxgate.UUCP> berggren@eecs.cs.pdx.edu (Eric Berggren) writes: nmiller@mstr.hgc.edu (norman miller) writes: >Although I know that a 3.5" drive can be added to the Sperry (I've >seen it done), I haven't yet succeeded in finding either the drive >or the board that works. I've tried a number of vendors, including >CompuAdd and JDR Microdevices, all cooperative but without result. >Does anyone out there have a suggestion? Thanks. Hmmm, welcome aboard the sinking ship of good ole' Mitsubishi. I have tried several times myself, with ROM ver 1.57 and the latest 1.58. So far, the closest I've come (with the use of DRIVPARM), is the ability to read and write 720k disks, but due to the funny strapping on the drive, I was unable to access my other floppy drive. (sigh). There is a particular type and brand I believe that works. I will try to get the name and specs for you (and anyone else). Hmm.. Interesting.. I've abandoned my own ship by now, but one of my last exercises with it was trying to add a 3.5"-drive.. After a lot of trouble, I found out that the PD program-package "FDFORMAT 1.5" (current version 1.6) contained a driver called "FDREAD.EXE" (can be loaded as a TSR or a device driver). With this driver loaded, I was able to access my TEAC 235 as a 1.44MB drive. Depending a bit on the tide, the phase of the moon and the color of my shirt etc, I sometimes was able to read a 720 floppy, too. Trying to *write* a 720k disk always ended up in disaster, turning the disk bad. ("General failiure (sp?) reading drive B:"). I had to format the disks with "FDFORMAT" from the same package. My BIOS version was 1.57, and the DOS version MS-DOS 4.01. I hung the drive off the regular MB-based FDC. I'm a bit uneasy about this FDformat package, as the FDformat.exe-program seems to do things to the FDC that is not set back after the program terminates. Some times, disks formatted by DOS's format or a program called "diskdupe" after fdformat.exe had been used, were unreadable on other systems. This did not happen unless FDformat had been used first. FDformat is a neat little program, but in my experience it's advisable to reboot after using it. (No, I never got around to registering FDformat, I avoided the trouble by selling the Sperry and getting a 386 :-)) Regards, -Terje -- ____________________________________________________________________________ thoger@solan.unit.no | Institute of Physical Chemistry THOGER AT NORUNIT.BITNET | Div. of Computer Assisted Instrumental Analysis | Norwegian Institute of Technology