Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!ames!pacbell!rtech!cpsc6a!wrdso!hoffman
From: hoffman@wrdso.ATT.DSO (Paul R Hoffman)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Dumpster diving pays off (sorta)
Summary: Might Need new ROM BIOS
Message-ID: <208@wrdso.ATT.DSO>
Date: 27 Feb 90 04:04:34 GMT
References: <19768@nuchat.UUCP> <476@compnect.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Data Services, Pleasanton CA USA
Lines: 34

In article <476@compnect.UUCP>, dave@compnect.UUCP (Dave Ratcliffe) writes:
> In article <19768@nuchat.UUCP>, seven@nuchat.UUCP (David Paulsen) writes:
> > I recently rescued an ancient IBM-PC from the dumpster.. and it works!
> > My question: what exactly do I have to do to this beast to install a
> > harddrive?  Installing the drive in my AT clone was easy.. I don't
> > have any documentation for this sucker, and don't even know where
> > to begin. 
>      I'm using the very same machine with a 40meg hard card in it. No
> need to do anything exotic, just plugged in the card and formatted it.
> It won't fly with the speed of an AT but it's adaquate for most medium
> memory tasks. Biggest gripe is the 512k RAM limit. BTW, when you get a
> hard drive on that thing, you'll notice a little   +   in the upper
> right hand corner of the display every time the hard drive is accessed.
> Normal, so don't worry. 

I also have an old IBM-PC, vintage 1981, with a 04/*/81 ROM BIOS (the first)
which only supports a total of 544K RAM and knows NOTHING of hard drives. 
(It has 64K on systemboard w/ 16K RAM chips, cassette interface, 2 full
height 5.25" floppies,etc.) If yours is this vintage you will have to
upgrade the BIOS on the motherboard, since it was the next release (11/*/81,
I think) which first could recognize such things as hard drives. (Western
Digital Hard Drive Controllers have a way to bypass system ROM BIOS and use
BIOS on the controller card, I think, but the details are fuzzy...)

I think the official BIOS upgrade can still be purchased, probably in the
$45-$50 range...But keep you eyes out in computer surplus stores if you are
willing to risk some bucks...A few weeks ago, for example, HALTEC in 
Mountain View, CA had a sale where they were selling (new) old XT-Clone
System Boards including ROM BIOS for $37.
-- 
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Paul Russell Hoffman	UUCP/Email:  att!fswest!hoffman or  attmail!phoffman
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/* Suck up to everyone, you never know who you're going to work for. */