What size is the CF card? I assume you are trying to use DOS 6 with partitions < 2GB each, or are you using a version of DOS taken from Win 9x in order to support FAT32?

Also, make sure you run 'fdisk /mbr' in order to write the Master Boot Record to the CF card, they usually need that in order to boot DOS.

I am using a 2gb CF card, and I have tried fdisk /mbr a few times, but it doesn't seem to do anything (Should I assume the lack of any error messages means that it worked)? However, I will try again to see if anything changed. I am also using a W95 Boot Floppy.

Edit: I tried it again, this time restarting after every step of fdisk (after /mbr and after partition creation), but nothing seems to have changed (newly-created partitions disappear after reboot).

In this case I recommend to install WD EZ-Drive.

Earlier, I tried using OnTrack Disk Manager, being very similar, but it seemed to fail as well, I am starting to wonder if the CF Card got corrupted and needs a low-level format. Last time I tried zeroing the drive, it got stuck at 5% so I had to hard reset (no disk activity of any sort).

Do you have MS-DOS 6.22 installation floppies? If so, you can try this to let DOS do the partition creation:

- Boot from disk 1, run the FDISK version there and make sure there are no partitions in the CF card. If there are, delete them
- Reboot and let the installer run, once it detects that no partitions are available, it will create them for you and ask you to reboot again
- After reboot, it should start formatting and then copying the files

I do have DOS 6.22 installation disks, but it tells me that something along the lines of not being able to install to the drive (doesn't even get to formatting, can't create any partitions). Also, Ontrack Disk Manager is making progress on the Zer0-Fill. Would it be safe to low-level Format the CF card with the built-in tool, or would it damage it (I heard that several IDE drives weren't precise enough to low-level format)?

I had the same symptoms when I was trying to use any 2GB+ drives on my IBM 5170. It wasn't until I used an XTIDE bios that I was able to get the changes made in FDisk to stick. Even though you see the geometry available I wouldn't rule out that the bios is still having an issue with the size. Or maybe this has nothing to do with your problem.

I guess there is also the possibility that my controller has a smaller limit than the bios. I will have to see if I can get the CF card zeroed and low-level formatted. I am fine with using a ddo, but I hope that something will work on it.

I have had similar issues. If you have access to a Windows 7 or 10 computer and a CF Card Reader, you can use DISKPART and do a CLEAN command to completely wipe the drive and then try it again on your 486 computer.

Interesting, Ontrack now says that it can't finish zeroing the CF card because of a "Write Failure". It is at 99% too. Its like the last bit of the card is corrupted.

Edit: At least it says that the low-level format was successful

There is still no change. I even tried a smaller cf card (256mb) but it detects it wrong in the bios. Also, when using the ideinfo program for dos, it says that it found it in the bios, but that it couldn't find any drive. It seems to partition fine on another machine but then gets lost when reading it on the 486. I am half-wondering if my controller is misconfigured or broken. The floppy drive from it works fine, but the CF card has not worked yet (it worked on the last motherboard). Also, I have tried switching slots, which helped it to actually detect that the drive in the bios (the autotype would freeze up before). I have no clue what this could be. I have a 3com 3c509 that I can insert in there; would it be possible to network boot using a special bootdisk and load the files from a working machine? Would this still allow for driver loading? I guess I could just use the other machine, but I bought a lot of parts just for this 486. Another thing, does anyone know the jumper settings for a promise PDC20230c/Goldstar Prime 2C 9419? There are pictures of the identical model on this other post: My new old crusty 486 system One more thing: the Hard Disk Activity Led on the CF2IDE Card doesn't even light up (It used to on the old motherboard).

I have also tried the clearhdd tool (the 1.0 version) and it clears some sectors but ends quickly, leaving the rest of the disk untouched. Does anyone have any ideas???

Edit: I just saw that I may have actually cleared it. Maybe this is normal?

Edit 2: It still doesn't even recognize the drive after its "cleared" and a partition is made. Did I really set the type wrong?

Edit 3: Every time I change the head count in the bios and "save", it resets it back to the previous head count. I will probably clear the CMOS next. Also, is it possible that the CF card is dying? It is old and was used in my camera for years.

With the 256MB CF, you could copy the disk geometry over from the working PC. I would first use the 256MB one to ensure everything is working fine, before trying the 2GB one with Ontrack.

Ok, I was able to clear, partition, and format the disk on another machine which booted just fine. On the problem machine, I cleared the CMOS and reconfigured it. Unfortunately, after manually setting the disk geometry, for the 256mb CF card, it still will not boot. I even did fdisk to see if it could read anything, but it doesn't seem to (even though I know stuff is there). The next step I will take is to check if the cable really is faulty by using it in the other machine.

Edit: The cable seems to be fine. It may still be the controller or the bios.

It seems like the controller can see the CF card in the bios, can write to the CF card, but cannot read the data. It also doesn't seem to matter which slot I am in. Am I looking at a bad controller card?

Edit: I am still not sure what the jumpers are for this card (it may not be documented due to its generic nature).

Can the disk controller work with a normal HDD? And do you have any other disk controller to try out? Doesn't need to be VLB, just normal ISA one will do.

I do have a small enough hdd I could try, but I do not have a different controller. I hope the problem isn't with the motherboard.

I still believe its a bios problem.

I currently have my 256mb CF card set to User-defined C: 695 H:15 S: 48 LZ: 695 WP: None (I got these settings from another machine reading the CF card). I have also tried disabling the large disk support for the small CF card. It is currently on the master with no slave. Do these settings sound right? Is it possible I have some bus settings set wrong?