Creating 2gb partitions on 486 \ VOGONS

Creating 2gb partitions on 486

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First post, by Intel486dx33

Posted on 2022-12-23, 14:42

Intel486dx33 Offline

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Hey guys,
I need a little HELP here.
I upgraded my 486 computer with a 8gb Sandisk extreme CF card.
Previously I was using a 512mb IDE hard drive.
The 486 motherboard has an award bios dated 1993.

So the bios only supports 410mb hard drives.

I booted off the “WD Ontrack” bootable floppy and selected to automatically create 3 ( 2gb ) Partions on my 8gb CF card.
All went well but when I reboot the computer and run Fdisk all I see is a 754mb Partition.
The computer bios automatically detected my CF card as a 754mb drive.

How can I fix this ?……

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Reply 1 of 8, by weedeewee

Posted on 2022-12-23, 14:43

weedeewee Offline

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clear the CF card in linux using dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/<device of cf card> and try again with the ontrack stuff.

Right to repair is fundamental. You own it, you're allowed to fix it.
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Reply 2 of 8, by douglar

Posted on 2022-12-23, 15:02

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OnTrack kind of sucks.

I would use EZ drive.

Uses standard partition types so the drive can be read on other systems
V9.03 supports FAT16 for partitions up to 2 GB for DOS 6.22 and older
V9.09 supports FAT32 for partitions larger than 2 GB if you have an OS that supports fat32

http://www.vogonsdrivers.com/index.php?catid= … menustate=63,61

Reply 3 of 8, by Intel486dx33

Posted on 2022-12-23, 20:55

Intel486dx33 Offline

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Yeah, I would like to fix this using DOS supported tools if I can.

Never mind.

I have “Ontrack” working.

I am going to put 4 ( 8gb CF cards ) in this computer.
For a total of 24gb.

What is the Maximum disk space “Ontrack” and this 486 will support ?

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Last edited by Intel486dx33 on 2022-12-23, 22:06. Edited 2 times in total.

Reply 4 of 8, by Jo22

Posted on 2022-12-23, 21:51

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weedeewee wrote on 2022-12-23, 14:43:

clear the CF card in linux using dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/<device of cf card> and try again with the ontrack stuff.

S0kill can do these same on DOS, it's just not as, um, dangerous as dd. 😉

Re: IDE to Compact Flash as MS-DOS boot drive.

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Reply 5 of 8, by weedeewee

Posted on 2022-12-23, 22:38

weedeewee Offline

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Intel486dx33 wrote on 2022-12-23, 20:55:

What is the Maximum disk space “Ontrack” and this 486 will support ?

likely depends on the ontrack version.

Right to repair is fundamental. You own it, you're allowed to fix it.
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
Do not ask Why !
https://www.vogonswiki.com/index.php/Serial_port

Reply 6 of 8, by weedeewee

Posted on 2022-12-23, 22:40

weedeewee Offline

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Jo22 wrote on 2022-12-23, 21:51:

weedeewee wrote on 2022-12-23, 14:43:

clear the CF card in linux using dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/<device of cf card> and try again with the ontrack stuff.

S0kill can do these same on DOS, it's just not as, um, dangerous as dd. 😉

Re: IDE to Compact Flash as MS-DOS boot drive.

You can even do it with the standard dos debug tool and some assembly.

Right to repair is fundamental. You own it, you're allowed to fix it.
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
Do not ask Why !
https://www.vogonswiki.com/index.php/Serial_port

Reply 7 of 8, by Horun

Posted on 2022-12-24, 01:39

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Agree ! EZ-Drive is the better tool for this scenario IMHO (though Drive Pro is also very good ;p)

Hate posting a reply and then have to edit it because it made no sense 😁 First computer was an IBM 3270 workstation with CGA monitor. Stuff: https://archive.org/details/@horun

Reply 8 of 8, by Intel486dx33

Posted on 2022-12-24, 05:15

Intel486dx33 Offline

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Well, I was having problems with “Ontrack” so I took your advice and used the “WD EZ-drive utility” and it worked great.
Thanks guys.

My 486 works better than ever. I am just sorry to see my conventual hard drive go but it became corrupt with bad sectors and clusters.

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