SCO Xenix 86 System V compatibility with RLL drives?

[bhtooefr]

I suspect I already know the answer to this, but I'm trying to install SCO Xenix 86 System V Release 2.1.3 (I know at least 2.2.1 exists, but the newest disk images I've found are 2.1.3) on my IBM 5155, which has a WD1002-27X controller and a Seagate ST-277R drive, and an existing DOS partition.

However, when fdisk tries to start, I get the following error:

Invalid Fixed Disk Parameter Table
cannot open /dev/rhd00

I get this error whether the controller is in XT or AT mode.

Looking over documentation, it's looking to me like everything supported is MFM, and the XT FDPT doesn't actually support specifying the number of sectors per track. Is that a correct assumption? If so, I'll have to downgrade to a MFM controller to use this, I suspect...

 

[bhtooefr]

For what it's worth, I had to downgrade to a MFM controller, and then LLF the drive using the built-in parameters for an ST-225, before Xenix would recognize it. Short-stroking the drive didn't work, even, so Western Digital's dynamic formatting doesn't seem to work with Xenix.

 

[resman]

Well, some good news is that Xenix 86 can use two drives if you have them. So you could have 40 Mb of ready-to-fail-at-any-moment storage available.

 

[bhtooefr]

Considering I was doing this in a 5155, that would've been quite ugly on the power supply, and I wouldn't have had enough room for a floppy drive.