Few options:

Use a drive type that is the closest match. You may loose capacity.

Use a Dynamic Drive Overlay(DDO) software on the drive. I use EZDrive. Here's an image(1.44meg) of the EZDrive disk

Just rename it EziDrive.img and use RawWrite for Windows to create the disk http://www.chrysocome.net/rawwrite Works on modern versions of Windows including 10. Set in the bios hdd1 to drive type 2, then save and reboot with the EZDrive disk in the fdd. It load and install EZDrive on your MBR. It will ask for a system disk so have a Dos installation set handy. Just follow the prompts. If you do use this on a drive remember that you put a boot disk in after EZDrive is loaded. It'll show you a keystoke, do that and it'll give the option to boot to floppy.

Get a IDE controller such as the Promise EIDEPro which has its own bios to see larger drive types up to 8gig.

Use an XT-IDX Bios eprom in the bootrom socket of a network card.

Buy an XT-IDE hard Drive controller like https://monotech.fwscart.com/XT-IDE_Bootable_ … 4_19478732.aspx

All of the above options work.

Trying the closest match did not work for my drive. It would get past the POST checks, but it would hang at the memory check screen when I did this. I will try the other options tommorow.

What are the specs of your system? There's plenty of us here that have one. Mine is a Zenith Z268LP Plus.

Here's another DDO https://modelrail.otenko.com/retro/anydrive-u … ur-bios-permits Never tried it myself. Some DDOs need a 386 up to install but once put it on the drive can be swapped around on different setups.

I have an AST Bravo 286 Model 5:
Specs:
AST 286 bios
640k RAM
6/8 Mhz AMD 80286
D-Link ethernet card
Maxlogic MX 677 SVGA video card
270 mb Conner hard drive

I'll try all the solutions, but it will probably be when I get back from vacation. Thanks for the help so far.

Does it have Type 47 as an option? Kind of weird that a BIOS like that doesn't allow custom drive entries.

Found a site that shows the different drive types with the following data:

Cylinders Heads WPC Ctrl (if applicable) LZ Sectors/Track Capacity (in MB).

http://vintage-pc.tripod.com/types.html

bjwil1991 wrote:

Kind of weird that a BIOS like that doesn't allow custom drive entries.

It was not uncommon for early 286s not to support custom drive types. Especially from established manufacturers, generic clones from local assemblers most of the times did (I guess because of the generic BIOS and the many different clients/configurations they targeted)

bjwil1991 wrote:

Does it have Type 47 as an option? Kind of weird that a BIOS like that doesn't allow custom drive entries. […]
Show full quote

Does it have Type 47 as an option? Kind of weird that a BIOS like that doesn't allow custom drive entries.

Found a site that shows the different drive types with the following data:

Cylinders Heads WPC Ctrl (if applicable) LZ Sectors/Track Capacity (in MB).

http://vintage-pc.tripod.com/types.html

Yes, it does have type 47 as an option. Type 47 is the last option supported by the BIOS.

Does it show anything on there, or is it all zeros?

Old PC Hunter wrote:

I am trying to connect a 270 mb Conner hard drive to my 80286 machine. It cannot auto see drives.

How old is the BIOS òf that 286 PC, if I may ask ? 😀
If it's from '87 or so. there's a chance your fancy new 270MB drive won't wort.
Yes, by 80s standards, that rusty old Conner IDE is the equivalent of what an 2TB drive would be for Pentium III PC. 😉

Thing is, ATA-2 changes certain things, that are subtle normaly. However, the usual 286 BIOS doesn't even know ATA, let alone the original IDE.
286 BIOSes often only support the WD1003 instruction set (WD100x was a line of controllers for ST-506 and ST-412 type MFM/RLL disks).
In somes cases things work fine, sometimes the PC wouldn't even boot with an ATA-2 drive installed.

Edit: In such bad cases, XTIDE Universal BIOS or any other Option-ROM of that kind is about the only workaround, since original BIOS service routines for fixed disks aren't handling things.
Things like EZDrive or OnTrack may not work in such cases, because they still require the PC/AT BIOS to access the fixed disk.

The BIOS is from 87' and the board has an onboard IDE controller. I am not using a IDE card of any sort. The PC is from 89'. Guess I might have to use XT-IDE or an alternate hard drive. I hope I can return it if that is the case.

bjwil1991 wrote:

Does it show anything on there, or is it all zeros?

I believe it shows something, I am not home right now so I can't check.

Does the hard disk work in another PC ? If so, you can run S0Kill on that PC and wipe the complete hard disk, including track 0, which stores boot sector and partition information.
After this, the HDD should look like new to the PC / Operating System. The program only does high-level stuff, so don't worry about breaking the disk.
Anyway, it's just an idea. You can also use something other, say Linux for this, of course. If the 286 still locks-up or refuses to see the disk, using XTIDE BIOS would be the easiest.

Edit: Speaking of XTIDE BIOS, some people apparently sell complete sets (pre-configured ISA NIC + XTIDE BIOS) on eBay.