Did you remember to configure the patched version of XTIDE first with it's config program? If so it generally should flash as per any other version. Don't append anything to it, just ensure it fills the EPROM you are using which with an 8KB chip it should do fine.

As to how well the patch works though -
I tried a patched version and never managed to sort the Windows 95 issue. I did have it working, but then it was suddenly back in MS-DOS compatibility mode. Haven't gotten around to playing with it since however, it may have been something I did wrong.

PTherapist wrote on 2020-02-05, 11:05:

Did you remember to configure the patched version of XTIDE first with it's config program? If so it generally should flash as per any other version. Don't append anything to it, just ensure it fills the EPROM you are using which with an 8KB chip it should do fine.

As to how well the patch works though -
I tried a patched version and never managed to sort the Windows 95 issue. I did have it working, but then it was suddenly back in MS-DOS compatibility mode. Haven't gotten around to playing with it since however, it may have been something I did wrong.

Precisely that was the problem. The utility places some bytes at the end of the image, and that did the trick. Also Win95 protected mode disk is now supported, however with a second controller some times, the second one does not run with protected mode, but at least for one, runs great.
The menu version has the utility embedded inside it?

thanks

Kids, XTIDE Universal BIOS is great, but it's not the only solution in town. 😉
IDE Enhancer cards with their own Option-ROM existed years before XTIDE development had even started.
These looked like this -> Re: BIOS Limitations & Large Hard Drives
Search for "LBA-Enhancer-Card" to get some more information..
Mame project also mentiones such a thing @ https://github.com/mamedev/mame/pull/3465
Same for dosforum.de: http://www.dosforum.de/viewtopic.php?t=11204

Jo22 wrote on 2020-02-05, 14:12:

Kids, XTIDE Universal BIOS is great, but it's not the only solution in town. ;) IDE Enhancer cards with their own Option-ROM ex […]
Show full quote

Kids, XTIDE Universal BIOS is great, but it's not the only solution in town. 😉
IDE Enhancer cards with their own Option-ROM existed years before XTIDE development had even started.
These looked like this -> Re: BIOS Limitations & Large Hard Drives
Search for "LBA-Enhancer-Card" to get some more information..
Mame project also mentiones such a thing @ https://github.com/mamedev/mame/pull/3465
Same for dosforum.de: http://www.dosforum.de/viewtopic.php?t=11204

Thanks, I'll give that a try later this week.

Ok, the problem is a little more deep:

With one controller alone, everything works fine. VLB works fast AF, and everything is ok with protected mode, with windows 95. But when I put two (VLB second, because has a jumper, isa first because it hasn't) the secondary (VLB) don't work properly. I tested with XTIDE bios and didn't reported any problem, but the enhanced bios reported that thecondary channl interrupt does not work. What I can do in this case? the vlb one is a 82c711 based IDE VLB. I can't find the datasheet again. Its fairly simmilar to the prime2c. This could be that irq15 is taken or there are noises or cuts in the IRQ15 line.

It's getting REALLY tricky. The IRQ 15 line isn't even connected! that's the why it doesn't respond to driver when is put as secondary. Also has a nasty capacitor in the other side!

So, new plans:

Can the IDE interrupt be shared (and/or set by software)?

Is the sound blaster 16 IDE interface reliable?

update: the interrupt comes almost directly from ide cable. Therefore, is perfectly feasible a "jumper" to enable the other line. The problem is the finger is not there. it would be need to place a finger and then cut it to detour to a jumper board. No "nondestructive" mod is possible.

In order for Windows 9x to show 32bit access for the drives, you need to select one of the 47 pre-defined drives or put in any random CHS values in the "Custom Drive Size" in your BIOS. If you don't, the esdi_506 driver won't load and reverts to compatibility mode.

http://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?514 … ndows-95-issues

orcish75 wrote on 2020-02-08, 22:57:

In order for Windows 9x to show 32bit access for the drives, you need to select one of the 47 pre-defined drives or put in any random CHS values in the "Custom Drive Size" in your BIOS.
If you don't, the esdi_506 driver won't load and reverts to compatibility mode.

I second that. There once was something similar - data loss once was caused by old Dynamic Drive Overlays and the Win9x HDD Protected-Mode driver, if memory serves.
The Win9x driver was confused by the fake geometry delivered by the unsupported DDO and simply did things according to its own.
Which caused data corruption during the update process from Win3.1+DOS6+DDO to the then brand new Windows 95.
Anyway, gratefully, checking a drive's drive geometry is easy under pure DOS. Some utility, IDE DIAG, can be found here:
Re: IDE disk-on-module + 386

Well, summarizing

It's not XTIDE bios fault. I tested with a SB16 as a secondary ide controller, properly configured, and XTIDE bios can make it work very well, even with hardisks, in Protected Mode

The VLB card, despite the fact it has a jumper to switch to second IDE controller, It fails to be secondary because it hasn't the corresponding IRQ line so windows can't detect the disk properly (it works, but has strange lags and also just works in real mode).

I noticed also a strange behavior when the VLB card has 2 hardisks. The secondary lags a lot.

I formatted all things in LBA mode, so going back to CHS is not a good option. Also, the 2 previous points clearly expose that is a hardware problem.

The other cards I had are 2 holtek based. The problem is that neither has a jumper to select if its secondary or primary. Also neither has the IRQ15 finger, so physically they can't be secondary. The driver isn't prepared to share interrupts also, so there's no much I can do.

If you know some "better" hardware for ide, please tell me.

Jo22 wrote on 2020-02-05, 14:12:

Kids, XTIDE Universal BIOS is great, but it's not the only solution in town. ;) IDE Enhancer cards with their own Option-ROM ex […]
Show full quote

Kids, XTIDE Universal BIOS is great, but it's not the only solution in town. 😉
IDE Enhancer cards with their own Option-ROM existed years before XTIDE development had even started.
These looked like this -> Re: BIOS Limitations & Large Hard Drives
Search for "LBA-Enhancer-Card" to get some more information..
Mame project also mentiones such a thing @ https://github.com/mamedev/mame/pull/3465
Same for dosforum.de: http://www.dosforum.de/viewtopic.php?t=11204

Having looked into that, it's a nice alternative if you can find one of those IDE Enhancer cards. But unfortunately it doesn't seem that you can just put the BIOS onto a network card and have it work. I tried and it complained "no memory to store HDD parameters. BIOS skipped" so I'm guessing it needs the extra chips (a flash chip?) to write it's config.

You can also try this ROM:

https://drivers.dosreloaded.de/BIOS/Storage/A … sion%20BIOS.zip

PTherapist wrote on 2020-02-12, 14:11:

Jo22 wrote on 2020-02-05, 14:12:

Kids, XTIDE Universal BIOS is great, but it's not the only solution in town. ;) IDE Enhancer cards with their own Option-ROM ex […]
Show full quote

Kids, XTIDE Universal BIOS is great, but it's not the only solution in town. 😉
IDE Enhancer cards with their own Option-ROM existed years before XTIDE development had even started.
These looked like this -> Re: BIOS Limitations & Large Hard Drives
Search for "LBA-Enhancer-Card" to get some more information..
Mame project also mentiones such a thing @ https://github.com/mamedev/mame/pull/3465
Same for dosforum.de: http://www.dosforum.de/viewtopic.php?t=11204

Having looked into that, it's a nice alternative if you can find one of those IDE Enhancer cards. But unfortunately it doesn't seem that you can just put the BIOS onto a network card and have it work. I tried and it complained "no memory to store HDD parameters. BIOS skipped" so I'm guessing it needs the extra chips (a flash chip?) to write it's config.

Sorry to hear it doesn't work. 🙁 I could have sworn I tried it once on an ISA NIC and it worked the same as XTIDE BIOS.
This must have been several years ago by now. PC was a Pentium 133 or so, with a GA586S mainboard if memory serves.
Anyway, it was worth a try, at least. Maybe matze79's suggestion works instead. It serves a similar purpose, both are equally good on what they should do. 😀

I have one of those Isa Prototype boards. How crazy is to make a homebrew ide card with 2 channels and a ROM for XTIDE?