Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!rutgers!iuvax!silver!creps From: creps@silver.bacs.indiana.edu Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: Re: C: not a valid drive Message-ID: <15000025@silver> Date: Wed, 16-Sep-87 19:23:00 EDT Article-I.D.: silver.15000025 Posted: Wed Sep 16 19:23:00 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 19-Sep-87 12:22:12 EDT References: <239@tness1.UUCP> Organization: Indiana University BACS, Bloomington Lines: 313 Nf-ID: #R:tness1.UUCP:-23900:silver:15000025:000:10431 Nf-From: silver.bacs.indiana.edu!creps Sep 16 18:23:00 1987 I ran into (I think) the same problem. Is it doing that when you try the FDISK command? If so, that's what happened to me. You need to use the DEBUG program, and enter a goto address to jump to the controller's firmware. I have a file handy to tell exactly what to do. I'll upload it now and put it below. - - - - - - - - - Steve Creps on the VAX 8650 running Ultrix 2.0-1 at Indiana University. creps@silver.bacs.indiana.edu Cowhand: "How 'bout some more beans, Mr. Taggert?" Taggert (Slim Pickens): "Hell, I'd say you boys have had enough already!" Sparta PCBoard Hard Drive Conference (201) 729-5377 or (201) 729-7056 Auto-config Formatting Procedures Western Digital WD 1002S-WX2 The following information is taken directly from the Western Digital Installation Guide for the WD 1002S-WX2 HD controller. For clarity I have inserted my own notes on some portions of the procedures that WD has lightly touched. Step Instructions 1. Correctly install or remove jumper on SW1-5. This is the uppermost jumper on SW1. Note: This jumper tells the BIOS to read the jumpers 1-4 on SW1 for the corresponding table to use or to accept keyboard input for the various parameters. 2. At the A Prompt, insert the PC-DOS Supplemental Diskette; load and run the PC-DOS debug utility by typing DEBUG. A>DEBUG c/r 3. At the debug prompt, initiate the WD format program by typing the following command line. The debug prompt is the hyphen "-". -g=c800:5 c/r 4. The WD format program will display the following message: WX2 Format Revision T.8 (c) Copyright Western digital Corp. 1985 Key in drive no and interleave as follows: d ii where d = relative no (0-1) ii = interleave factor (1-16) Enter d and ii separated by a space and followed with a Return Example: 0 03 c/r NOTE: Drive C: = 0, Drive D: = 1. An interleave factor of 3 is standard. If formatting two drives, this option must be run twice; once with d=0 and again with d=1. 5. The following message will be displayed: Key in disk characteristics as follows: ccc h rrr ppp ee oo where ccc = total number of cylinders (1-4 digits) h = number of heads (1-2 digits) rrr = starting reduced write cylinder (1-4 digits) ppp = write precomp cylinder (1-4 digits) ee = max correctable error burst (1-2 digits) oo = CCB option byte (1 hex digit) Enter each value separated by a space and follow entry with a return Example: 306 4 128 128 11 05 c/r 6. CPU Response (did you know cpu's respond?) Are you virtually configuring the drive - Answer Y/N Enter a "Y" and c/r for yes or "N" and c/r for no. Sysop note: All this is asking is "Do you want to split the drive into more than one volume"? 7. If Yes, the following message is displayed. Key in virtual drive size list as vvvv where vvvv = virtual drive size (1-4 digits) Enter two cylinder numbers, followed by a space and c/r Note: The sum of these two numbers cannot exceed the maximum number of available cylinders on your hard disk. Example: 153 153 c/r If No, continue to next step 8. The following message will be displayed. Press "y" to begin formatting drive d with interleave ii. Note: d = drive number and ii = interleave factor. Type "Y" followed by a c/r 9. System Responses: If any key other than "Y" is typed, the program displays the following message and returns to DOS. CPU response: Nothing done exit A> If an error occurs while formatting, the program will immediately terminate, display the following error message, and return to DOS. XX is the hexidecimal S-WX2 BIOS completion code. CPU response: Error----completion code XX A> If "Y" is typed, formatting is initiated. If there are no resulting errors, the program displays the following message. CPU response: Do you want to format bad tracks - answer Y/N Respond with appropriate Y or N followed by a c/r The user is prompted to enter, via the keyboard, a bad track list. This list should be provided by the drive manufacturer. However, due to DOS limitations, this procedure is not remommended. Sysop note: Let the sucker format the bad tracks and then use Norton's DT immediately after partitioning and high level format is performed to pick up any bad track information and mark them appropriately in the FAT. Because of the logical addressing used by DOS, marking an entire track bad will result in more than one logical address being marked bad. As DOS can only accept a limited number of defects, a drive with excessive defects may cause the format program to termnate with an error. The displayed error is typically "TRACK 00 BAD - DRIVE UNUSABLE". As a recommended alternative, execution of the DOS utility program FORMAT should correctly locate and deallocate all media defects. 10. If Yes, the following message is displayed. Key in bad track list as follows: ccc h ...(repeat) where ccc = bad track cylinder number (1-4 digits) h = bad track head number (1-2 digits) Type in the cylinder and head numbers for the bad tracks, separate them with spaces, and follow with a c/r Example: 160 1 161 1 304 3 223 4 223 2 c/r The bad track message will be displayed again. To terminate bad gtrack entry, type "N" followed by a c/r 11. The following message is displayed. Format successful - Returning to system If a second drive is to be formatted, repeat steps 4 through 13 with d = 1, otherwise continue. RUNNING THE FDISK UTILITY The FDISK utility partitions the drive for DOS. Please refer to the PC-DOS operating manual for detailed instructions regarding this utility. 12. Load and run the FDISK utility to set up the disk partitions. 13. CPU Response: IBM Personal Computer Fixed disk Setup Program Version 2.00 Copyright IBM Corp. 1983 FDISK Options Choose one of the following: 1. Create DOS Partition 2. Change Active Partition 3. Delete DOS Partition 4. Display Partition Data [5. Select Next Fixed Disk Drive] Enter Choice: Note: When two disk drives are installed, the system will automatically add a fifth choice on the menu: "5. Select Next Fixed Disk Drive". The first drive is partitioned using choice number 1. Then, the second drive is partitioned starting with choice number 5. All subsequent steps are the same for both drives. Select "Create DOS Partition" and enter a 1 followed by a c/r. 14. The following message will be displayed: Create Dos Partition Do you wish to use the entire fixed disk for DOS (Y/N)...........? Type a Y followed by a c/r 15. CPU response: System will now reboot Insert DOS diskette in Drive A: Press any key when ready.. RUNNING THE FORMAT UTILITY 16. Load and run the PC-DOS utility program FORMAT to write the DOS structure and syustem files to the disk. At the A prompt, type FORMAT C: /S/V followed by a c/r 17. The CPU will respond with: Press any key to begin formatting C: 18. The System will respond with: Formatting....Format Complete system transferred Volume Label(11 Characters, ENTER for none)? 19. Either enter the optional volume name and press c/r or just press c/r 20. When the FORMAT program is finished, the hard disk is ready to be booted from. It will contain the file COMMAND.COM and the two system files which are hidden. Note: This is known as the "high level" format process. If a second drive, or Drive D:, is to be formatted, repeat steps 12 through 19. When running FDISK on the second drive, enter choice [5] first, then continue as before. 21, To verify that the hard disk will now boot, open the door of the floppy drive and do a warm boot by simultaneously pressing CTRL, ALT, and DEL (We call this the three finger salute). The system BIOS first examines Drive A for a system diskette. If it doesn't find one, then it will try to boot from the C drive, the hard disk. If the hard disk boot is successful, the system will assert the date, time, and C> prompts in order. Other files may now be copied to the hard disk. Sysop Note: I am going to throw some technical mumbo jumbo in here just to make you feel comfortable with the info you are typing into the questions asked by WD's program. The HD controller provides a system interface to the hardware and onboard BIOS through direct and indirect i/o. Direct access is accomplished by reading and writing to four I/O ports. Indirect access is achieved by executing pre-written I/O subroutines contained in the BIOS on the controller. Commands are issued by the CPU to the controller over the host buss using a pre-defined protocol (known as ST506/412). The CPU issues a command sequence by selecting the controller. The controller accepts the selection, and requests the appropriate command bytes. Upon command completion, the controller issues completion status to indicate whether the command was successfully completed or terminated because of an error. Direct access operations are controlled through four I/O ports (assigned default addresses 320H, 321H, 322H, and 323H). Each port is assigned one Read register and one Write register as follows: Registers Port Read Write 320H Data IN Data OUT 321H Status Reset (function) 322H Configuration Select (function) 323H N/A Mask The CPU specified the operation or command to be executed by the controller by sending a 6 or 10 byte Command Descriptor Block (CDB). The CCB we were asked for earlier in the WD formatter routine is called the Command Control Byte and is the last byte in the CDB. It specifies the error recovery procedure during the command execution. The ECC is comparable to CRC on a floppy drive. It is known as Error Correction Code and is set on or off by one of the bits in Byte 5 of the CDB. My fingers are tired at this point and I am not going to get into a further detailed discussion of each bit and its values in the CDB. If you wish to obtain further information, give us a call at Sparta PCBoard, join the HD conference, and fire away at us. We may not have the answer, but we can usually get it. Richard Driggers SysOp - Sparta PCBoard -eof-