Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!samsung!rex!uflorida!mlb.semi.harris.com!trantor.harris-atd.com!charybdis!sonny
From: sonny@charybdis.harris-atd.com (Bob Davis)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: How to partition a drive on AT without drive table entry?
Message-ID: <5854@trantor.harris-atd.com>
Date: 18 Mar 91 20:39:54 GMT
References: <5831@trantor.harris-atd.com> <1991Mar15.134518.10866@bwdls61.bnr.ca>
Sender: news@trantor.harris-atd.com
Reply-To: sonny@trantor.harris-atd.com (Bob Davis)
Organization: Advanced Technology Dept., Harris ESS, Melbourne, FL
Lines: 36

In article <1991Mar15.134518.10866@bwdls61.bnr.ca> coop4y44@bwdla28.bnr.ca (Takis Skagos) writes:
>In article <5831@trantor.harris-atd.com>, sonny@charybdis.harris-atd.com (Bob Davis) writes:
>> 
>> 	I have an AT clone for which I am trying to partition
>> an MFM drive using DOS's FDISK command. Apparently FDISK only
>> knows to assume Cylinders and Heads for the drive as those selected
>> during Setup of CMOS RAM. But there is no match of Cyls/Hds available
>> during Setup on my machine to match my hard drive.
>> 	Is there some way that I can partition this MFM drive without having
>> the right drive type in BIOS? Is there software available to do whatever
>> my Adaptec controller BIOS did before?
>
>   On my machine there is a blank entry in my drive table that
>can be set up by the user.  You might want to check that out.
>
>						Taki

	Thanks for the reply. This weekend, I heard the rumor that both
AMI and Award BIOSes have such a wild card Drive Type entry. Can
someone enlighten me on how to access and use these to specify any desired
number of Cylinders and Heads for a non-standard disk drive?

	This sounds extremely useful to me and I have never heard or
read of this before. And I HAVE read me some books...Have I ever
read me some books...And the books have failed me...and failed me...:-)

	Anyone know details about this "wild card" drive table entry?
I would be very grateful to know about this. (Ecstatic, even).

	Thanks.
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