Make sure the CF card is properly inserted. If this doesn't fix it then there is some kind of hardware problem (since the CF card is not detected by the BIOS). Also, in case you don't know this, the CF cards can not be removed/inserted while the machine is running (they are not hotpluggable). So remember to always power down before removing or inserting the card.
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XTIDE Universal BIOS v2.0.0 beta testing thread
- Thread starter aitotat
- Start date
Make sure the CF card is properly inserted. If this doesn't fix it then there is some kind of hardware problem (since the CF card is not detected by the BIOS). Also, in case you don't know this, the CF cards can not be removed/inserted while the machine is running (they are not hotpluggable). So remember to always power down before removing or inserting the card.
bettablue
Veteran Member
The XT-CF Lite is one of yours. The CF card is a SanDisk 32 MB. When jimmy (in the forums) was putting the system together for me, he had a LOT of problems getting it to work with a CF card ANYTHING larger than 32 MB. He attempted to use a 100 MB, and a 1 GB drive, and neither would work at all. The only one he was eventually able to get working was the 32 MB card he sent me.
The funny thing is that the card and system were working fine one day, then the next it wouldn't, and the computer went into BASIC on the computer's ROM.
Great Hierophant
Veteran Member
How much time does the current XT-IDE BIOS add to the boot time of an 8088 system?
That's a peculiar question. It's like asking "how long is a rope?". The answer is it depends. How many controllers and drives are in the system (under the control of XUB)? Which drives are being used (CF or harddrives, older or newer drives)? Which modules were included in the build (if using a custom build) and what settings are used (is the serial drive detection set to always scan and if so, how many serial ports are in the machine and is there a server connected, etc)?
It also depends on what you're comparing with. An earlier version of the BIOS? Booting from floppy? Generally speaking I would expect the boot time to be reduced in the latter case.
I'm also curious to know why it matters. Is there a problem with excessively long boot times?
Bettablue,
I installed a 256mb compactflash card in my xt-cf lite card. I wasn't able to use more than 32mb until i realized that dos 3.3 was the problem. I din't know that dos 3.3 has a 32mb limit for hard drives. I switched to dos 7 and now it is working great wih full 256mb access in my 5150. Hope you have the same problem so you can solve it easily.
I installed a 256mb compactflash card in my xt-cf lite card. I wasn't able to use more than 32mb until i realized that dos 3.3 was the problem. I din't know that dos 3.3 has a 32mb limit for hard drives. I switched to dos 7 and now it is working great wih full 256mb access in my 5150. Hope you have the same problem so you can solve it easily.
Great Hierophant
Veteran Member
I like to keep boot times to a minimum. I would just use one CF card and no serial anything.
bettablue
Veteran Member
Yeah, thanks. I had figured that out too. However, I do have DOS 6.22 to play around with. From what I gather by reading what I could find, I can use up to an 8 GB flash card without any issues, AND with minimal partitioning.
I'm currently waiting for mine to get back to me. James Pearce asked me to return it to him so he could diagnose it for other problems it was experiencing. Since he offered to either repair/replace the card at no cost to me, how could I refuse? The XT-CF Lite was missing a capacitor, and one of the card readers pins was bent, so he fixed those issues, solidifying the bent pin with hot glue. (Nice touch to keep it from happening again). I'm just waiting for it to get back so I can reinstall it to my 5150 and begin transferring software and data to Alice, my other 5150, with attached expansion unit.
Woo Hoo!!! I can't wait.
Thanks again for the insight. Have a great weekend.
Tom
I'm currently waiting for mine to get back to me. James Pearce asked me to return it to him so he could diagnose it for other problems it was experiencing. Since he offered to either repair/replace the card at no cost to me, how could I refuse? The XT-CF Lite was missing a capacitor, and one of the card readers pins was bent, so he fixed those issues, solidifying the bent pin with hot glue. (Nice touch to keep it from happening again). I'm just waiting for it to get back so I can reinstall it to my 5150 and begin transferring software and data to Alice, my other 5150, with attached expansion unit.
Woo Hoo!!! I can't wait.
Thanks again for the insight. Have a great weekend.
Tom
Stone
10k Member
Actually you could use all 256 MB with DOS 3.3. You just need 8 32MB partitions.Originally Posted by mac512
Bettablue,
I installed a 256mb compactflash card in my xt-cf lite card. I wasn't able to use more than 32mb until i realized that dos 3.3 was the problem. I din't know that dos 3.3 has a 32mb limit for hard drives. I switched to dos 7 and now it is working great wih full 256mb access in my 5150. Hope you have the same problem so you can solve it easily.
rittwage
Veteran Member
I had all sorts of problems until I realized that while the IDE to CF adapters get enough power to "sort of" work sometimes, it is unreliable until you plug in the little mini-molex to power, instead of getting it the from the IDE connection.
Works fine now...
Works fine now...
bettablue
Veteran Member
Thanks stone, I remember reading about some of the limitations of different versions of DOS, and their largest accessible partition size.
What is the largest partition size DOS 6.22/7.0 can access without problems? Is there a table showing the largest partition size for the various versions of DOS?
As of right now, I want to locate a few smaller capacity CF cards so I can load different operating systems, software, and documents etc. I think the smallest one I have right now is 2 GB. There are several on E-Bay selling for about $5.99 with free shipping, but those are coming from China.
SkydivinGirl
Veteran Member
I've run into a problem with R567 XTIDE Universal BIOS 2.0.0 BETA 3+. Pressing F6 to search for serial drives no longer works on my XT-IDE Rev 2 with UART board. It works fine if I set the BIOS to always scan for serial drives, but that significantly slows down boot time when I'm not using it.
It worked perfectly on the older 2.0.0 BETA 3 bios that's on the Google code page. However, the boot menu didn't work when using that version.
Any thoughts?
Heather
It worked perfectly on the older 2.0.0 BETA 3 bios that's on the Google code page. However, the boot menu didn't work when using that version.
Any thoughts?
Heather
Stone
10k Member
DOS 6.xx (FAT16) has a 2.15 GB partition limit.
DOS 7.xx (FAT32) has a 127.53 GB volume limit.
Of course there are hardware limits that could prevent you from even realizing these DOS limitations on certain hardware.
It's not something I've really taken much notice of, I usually switch on and go off to make coffee and a snack but I just fired my XT 5160 up and watched the clock, From switch on to C:> prompt was about 35 seconds, That's with a Minimal Custom build R567 Bios, XT-IDE R1 card with dual CF adapter and 2 128 MB CF cards fitted ( C and D ), Dos 6.22 on C:, 16-Bit VGA card, Floppy controller / Clock / Serial / Parallel card, Twin FH 360K floppy drives, Pretty good for an old girl me thinks.
bettablue
Veteran Member
Again stone... Thanks. Now, if I try to use these as a guide, can I use a 2 GB CF card on a single partition, and load it up with all of the software I intend to run on that particular PC running DOS 6.22?
The PC is a standard IBM 5150 with a second version 64 - 256 Kb mother board, with an AST Six Pack Plus with all components installed and enabled. So now it has 640 Kb of RAM, a single floppy drive, CGA video controller; really nothing special other than the fact that it will have the XT-CF Lite installed when it arrives sometime during the week.
Are there any other recommendations anyone could suggest for using the XT-CF card in this setup? Eventually, I'm thinking about buying another of these cards for Alice, the other 5150 in my small collection of IBM machines. Will it work in combination with the dual floppy drives, and dual hard discs in this particular system? If you need more info regarding Alice, and what makes it up, in order to answer my question, please feel free to send me a private message.
The PC is a standard IBM 5150 with a second version 64 - 256 Kb mother board, with an AST Six Pack Plus with all components installed and enabled. So now it has 640 Kb of RAM, a single floppy drive, CGA video controller; really nothing special other than the fact that it will have the XT-CF Lite installed when it arrives sometime during the week.
Are there any other recommendations anyone could suggest for using the XT-CF card in this setup? Eventually, I'm thinking about buying another of these cards for Alice, the other 5150 in my small collection of IBM machines. Will it work in combination with the dual floppy drives, and dual hard discs in this particular system? If you need more info regarding Alice, and what makes it up, in order to answer my question, please feel free to send me a private message.
rittwage
Veteran Member
I think DOS 6.22 will use too much RAM for a 5150. I think you don't want to go higher than DOS 3.3 with a 640k machine...
Stone
10k Member
How much is it going to use that you say it will be too much? How much do you need on a 5150? And, with DOS 3.3, there is a 32 MB limit on partition size? Isn't that going to be a PITA on a 2 GB disk?
bettablue
Veteran Member
With command.com in DOS 3.3 coming at 25308 bytes, and the same file in DOS 6.22 at 54645 bytes, the difference of 29337 seems to be all that terrible, and with most applications running on machines with 512Kb, or 640Kb,those differences aren't all that bad.
Now when it comes to games however, and some software titles that require more than 640 Kb minus the command.com in whatever version of DOS the system will be running, it may be more useful to run those titles directly from floppy. Then again, if the software takes up that much real estate in memory, then you probably want a computer that is capable of running it more effectively, like an IBM 5170 AT with 2 or 4 Mb of RAM. My personal preference for software I intend to run on my 5150, or 5160 XT computers, is that if I can't run it effectively without the need for running from floppy, then it needs to go onto a more powerful computer and I won't pretend that it was made for the environment. Ill look for another software title that does about the same thing but using the landscape that 640 Kb of RAM will support.
I'm definitely not trying to tell anyone what is best for them, just explain my own viewpoint on running software in a 640Kb environment. Hope it helps.
Thank you for reporting this bug, Heather. I've confirmed it but still haven't found when or where it broke (which revision). In case you don't know, you can use the ALT key during the end of drive detection to accomplish the same thing when needed.
Note that the boot menu code is included in the large builds only. I just tried the large AT build of beta 3 (ide_atl.bin) in Bochs and that works. What build were you using?