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ST-225. Post detects it. Fdisk detects it but won't form a partition.

fjk61011

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ST-225. Post detects it. Fdisk detects it but won't form a partition.

XTPC. Super BIOS. Post says 1 hard drive, FDISK detects it but FDISK hangs when making a partition.

Any pointers for answers.
 
The ST-506 interface has no way to "detect" a hard disk. So without any more detailed information, I would guess the drive parameters are not set correctly. On an XT, this is done either by entering the controller's firmware or by a setup disk.

What controller is the hard disk connected to?

Also, before FDISK comes the low-level format.
 
I'm not so sure about the controller. 8-bit short card.

How dow I low level format?
Take a picture of the card, or look the model name/number, if it's a short card there's a good chance of being a Seagate ST11M (for MFM) or a Seagate ST11R (for a RLL certified drive, not the ST-225 case). This is the first step, those drives and card should be matched, you can't use another card on a already low level formatted drive. With the card name we can continue. Also, what is the computer?
 
Did the low-level format utility ask for the drive parameters? They could still be wrong.

But wait for the format to complete. The drive itself may just have lots of bad sectors.
 
Did the low-level format utility ask for the drive parameters? They could still be wrong.

But wait for the format to complete. The drive itself may just have lots of bad sectors.
I went with the default options. Finished formating. installing dos 3.30
 
I went with the default options. Finished formating. installing dos 3.30
If it was "defaults" then hopefully it was a controller that was configured using jumpers, and those shouldn't magically change, assuming it's been paired with that drive for a while. Because as Timo mentioned these type of controllers don't "detect" anything. They have to be specifically told what the drive is, either with a jumper selecting from a table in the ROM or from a dynamic method where you type in all of the values.
 
If it was "defaults" then hopefully it was a controller that was configured using jumpers, and those shouldn't magically change, assuming it's been paired with that drive for a while. Because as Timo mentioned these type of controllers don't "detect" anything. They have to be specifically told what the drive is, either with a jumper selecting from a table in the ROM or from a dynamic method where you type in all of the values.
This is a "new" drive paired with a controller I've had for years.

Have to refresh my knowledge of EDLIN
 
This is a "new" drive paired with a controller I've had for years.
Then you certainly need to set the drive parameters correctly. The bad sectors are most likely because the values don't match.

If possible, tell us what controller it is. If you can't upload a picture, just write down what the card says. Some cards can only work with certain drives, as they are not freely configurable. As pointed out by @lucasdaytona, the controller can also be RLL, in which case you can not use it with the ST-225. Well, you can, technically, but the drive is not certified for RLL and will not work reliable.
 
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