Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!ccu.umanitoba.ca!herald.usask.ca!alberta!ubc-cs!uw-beaver!cornell!batcomputer!caen!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!mcs.kent.edu!kentvax.mcs.kent.edu!toerting From: toerting@kentvax.mcs.kent.edu (Tim Oerting) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware Subject: 8inch floppy help needed Message-ID: <1991Jun28.165413.8640@mcs.kent.edu> Date: 28 Jun 91 16:54:13 GMT Sender: news@mcs.kent.edu (News Administrator) Organization: Kent State -- In other words no organization here Lines: 29 Nntp-Posting-Host: kentvax.mcs.kent.edu I want to hook up an 8" drive to my '386 (no I don't need it..this is just for the heck of it). My problem is this: I have a CMOS setup which only allows me to specify 3.5 or 5.25" drives [unless I somehow set it up as a hard drive.. is this possible? problems? I can use a non-standard setup for HDs on the CMOS and can set the following: # cyl, # heads, write precomp cyl?, landing zone cyl, physical sectors per track]. My other problem would be that I don't know how many tracks, cylinders, sectors/track, etc.. are on the HD. Are there standards for this? I believe the drive is 2S but don't know on density...any ways to check this out easily? If I decide to try to hook it up as a 5 1/4 inch floppy then could I just connect it using the standard 34 pin cable (anyone done this?). Looking at the pinout signals for the 34pin and 50pin (8inch), it seems like I could make the connection except for the following which I am uncertain about: 34 pin pin number 50 pin connector pin number ------------------------- ----------------------------- 16 Motor on -->to ?--> 22 Drive ready 4 In use --->to------> 16 In use &(?) 8 Drive Busy 8 Index ------------> 20 Index & (?) 24 Sector / 2 Head Current Switch (?) I need to know what these <- 11 2 Sided do exactly and what their \ 24 Sector active states are. Thanks for your help, Tim ---> toerting@mcs.kent.edu