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How do I add different hard drive types?

Not entirely true, if there are unused entries in the table you CAN add NEW entries, not necessarily an easy task but it is possible. However it would be much easier to just use a pre-existing entry and use drive overlay software.

Additionally I know that many old drives used to list alternate head/sector/cylinder settings that could be used to configure the drive for use in a system that does not necessarily have table entries that exactly correspond to the actual settings for the drive.
 
I don't know if this will help but my 5th edition of 'Upgrading & Repairing PC's' lists the following information for the ST-157a drive:
Cyls: 560
Heads: 6
Write Precomp: -1
Park Cyl: 560
Sectors Per Track: 26
Capacity: 44.7 Mb
Total Sectors: 87360


It goes on to list Optional CMOS Values (alternate configuration) as:
Cylinders: 733
Heads: 7
Write Precomp: 733
Park Cyl:733
Sectors Per Track: 17
Capacity: 44.7 Mb
Total Sectors: 87227

Maybe you can use the Optional CMOS Values I listed, not sure if maybe there might be an entry that has those same characteristics or not.

From what I can see from the Compaq Hard Disk Table entries in the Appendix A of the Upgrading & Repairing PC's book, it looks like entry 21 is the same in just about all versions and is very close to the settings you need to use though the Write Precomp is different (listed as 256 in the drive table instead of 733), and the Park Cyl (Landing Zone) is listed as 732 instead of 733, but the Heads, Cylinders, and Sectors Per Track all match up with the alternate configuration I copied from the Drive Specification list for the ST-157a.

Hope this helps,
bartman2589
 
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bartman2589 said:
Additionally I know that many old drives used to list alternate head/sector/cylinder settings that could be used to configure the drive for use in a system that does not necessarily have table entries that exactly correspond to the actual settings for the drive.
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bartman2589 said:
I don't know if this will help but my 5th edition of 'Upgrading & Repairing PC's' lists the following information for the ST-157a drive:
Click to expand...
I don't think that you realise that you are repeating the information provided in post #8.
 
bartman2589 said:
My bad, sorry, didn't catch that post when I skimmed over the posts.
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Although there is always a temptation to 'skim' over threads, it can result in embarrassment for some people. I've been caught out myself.
Another example: Your post at #24 was already addressed at post #13.
 
WinImage has been around for a VERY VERY long time as a program for manipulating 'disk images' and is one of the most desirable methods for most people to transfer exact duplicates of floppy disks electronically over great distances, there are provisions for making 'self extracting' disk images or for simply making disk images that you can use WinImage on another computer to write to a new floppy disk (note that WinImage is not limited to only working with floppy disk images and also supports a few CD/DVD ROM image formats as well!). One of the OP's problems may be due to a 'bug' in the way versions of Windows from Windows 95 on up to present handle non-write protected floppy disks, for some reason Windows feels a need to make a minor modification to any non-write protected floppy disk which in some cases can cause problems (in particular it can render disks for PS/2 systems inaccessible by those systems). Additionally versions of DOS prior to a certain version (unknown when the change was made) ABSOLUTELY required that a pair of hidden system files that are written to the diskette when formatting with system files be written to SPECIFIC locations of the diskette.
 
modem7 said:
Another example: Your post at #24 was already addressed at post #13.
Click to expand...

Sounds like someone is nitpicking a bit, personally I'd rather see duplicated posts than no posts at all. At least it tells me that people are actively trying to help then.
 
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Ole Juul said:
I'm sure "Winimage" has some great functionality, however in this case it's obviously not up to the task, so why not use DOS?
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Just tried that and DOS works MUCH better. And hey Modem7 and Bartman2589, the posts are there to stay, and it doesn't help to argue about it.
 
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Another thing, since the Portable III is a portable computer, and you have to park the hard drive before you move it, does that mean that I have to park the hard drive every single time I move it?
 
A few more problems have came up since I started on this.

1. Whats the correct jumper settings for the ST-157a. I want to make sure I have it cooperating with the computer.

2. When low level formatting in SpeedStor, do I change the type before formatting or vice versa. And what does it mean when it wants me to select a "Sector-Interleave"?

3. Kind of off topic, but I want to mount the hard drive to the top inside of the machine, right next to the floppy drive. How does the top cover come off so I can access the screwholes?

At least the new Dallas battery keeps a charge!
 
Here is the jumper setting information for the ST-157a from the Seagate Disc Drive Reference (a Windows help file with jumper setting information and other hard drive information from Seagate, http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?locale=en-US&name=Seagate_Downloadable_Disc_Drive_Reference_for_Windows&vgnextoid=4fef4a3cdde5c010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD):

5831083186_b70fbf6bae_b.jpg

5831083560_7f67792793_b.jpg


I would have posted just in text format but it uses a special line drawing font to draw the connectors and if I had just posted the text it would have just looked like a bunch of garbage characters instead of looking like the connectors.
 
As for the Sector-Interleaving setting that's a little trickier and actually depends largely on the capabilities of the controller itself, for example according to my 5th edition Upgrading & Repairing PC's the standard interleave used in IBM XT systems with hard drives was 6:1, while on AT systems it was 3:1, the article goes on to say that

"The best interleave for these systems actually is one lower than what was set up as standard in each case: In other words, the best interleave for the Xebec 1210 controller in a 4.77-MHz IBM PC or IBM XT is 5:1, and the best interleave for the Western Digital 1002 and 1003 controllers in a 6-MHz or 8-MHz IBM AT system is 2:1."

The program CALIBRATE.EXE from Norton Utilities can check and change the interleave settings on some drive/controller combinations supposedly. I guess what I would do is to start with an interleave setting around 6:1 and run some read/write tests timing how long it takes to complete, you could probably find a utility program to do this I'd bet, then try working your way down towards 1:1, the way I understand it you can't actually damage a drive or controller by specifying an incorrect interleave setting all that happens is that either the controller is successfully able to read the data without having to wait between reads, or it has to wait between reads, the amount of time it waits will vary with what interleave setting produces the best results. This article on Wikipedia may help to explain it a bit better, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interleaving#Interleaving_in_disk_storage

Hope this helps a bit,
bartman2589
 
I'm finally in the homestretch!! The ST-157A wouldn't work, so I substituted in a ST-1144A that works much beter. It has DOS on it. However, the computer won't boot from it even though it has COMMAND.COM on it. It seems to want to boot from the floppy drive instead of the hdd. Why won't this Portable III do something beneficial and boot from the hdd?

EDIT: When I ran Scandisk, it converted a lot of files to FILEXXXX.CHK (XXXX is any number) and said that the root has reached its limit of 512 files. How can I move all of these .CHK files into a folder? There is at least 415 of them!!
 
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DOS lives on!! said:
I'm finally in the homestretch!! The ST-157A wouldn't work, so I substituted in a ST-1144A that works much beter. It has DOS on it. However, the computer won't boot from it even though it has COMMAND.COM on it. It seems to want to boot from the floppy drive instead of the hdd. Why won't this Portable III do something beneficial and boot from the hdd?

EDIT: When I ran Scandisk, it converted a lot of files to FILEXXXX.CHK (XXXX is any number) and said that the root has reached its limit of 512 files. How can I move all of these .CHK files into a folder? There is at least 415 of them!!
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Looks like your SYSTEM files may have been corrupted. Attempt to boot from a SYSTEM floppy. Enter "FDISK" and delete the existing partition. Now create a new primary partition and reboot with the SYSTEM floppy. You will now need to format your HD. Enter FORMAT C: /S to format your HD. The /S switch will put the system files on your HD and enable you pc to boot. On completing the format procedure, reboot and you should observe the C:\ prompt.
 
Thank you all!!! My Compaq Portable III is now working! I was sad to loose all of the neat but corrupted programs. Oh well, a reformat and DOS reinstall is what fixed it. Now I can tage Norton Disk Doctor and Wheel of Fortune wherever I go.
 
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