Cauterize wrote:

I read somewhere that partitions cannot be larger than 512mb, is this true?

No, it's the size of the whole disk that can't exceed 504 MiB / 528 MB. This is a BIOS limitation typical for PCs from before ~1994.
There are ways around the limitation, but if you don't have much experience, I'd rather recommend getting a smaller CF card (up to 512 MB).

look at this vid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLuykrAIkfc

he had to add the heads and cylinders in the bios I dont know how you'd do that for a compact flash

I have been using for years large hard drives with my 386/486 builds thanks to OnTrack Disk Manager.
Sure you might lose 2-3kb of memory since it's a "software BIOS addon" but having plenty of space on a machine well worths the loss 😀
As a bonus you also get the ability to boot from CD-Rom, something that those old 386/486 BIOSes don't support.
Might worth looking into if you need more than 512MB of storage space... else a CF is great - quiet and speedy.

Thank you all for the quick replies. I have purchased a 512mb CF card following your advice (£1.99 from eBay), as I wouldn't mind going with the absolute basics for now to get my head round it all.

Davros, thanks for the video link. The guy in the video happens to be a friend of mine called Steve. I had no idea he had the same PC, so I might get in touch with him for further advice.

Regarding the heads and cylinders in the bios, is this something that can be worked out for a storage space of 512mb, or is this not required for a compactflash card? This bit is stumbling me at the moment 🙁

The values for a 512MB card should be 993 cylinders, 16 heads and 63 sectors.

For setting up/partitioning and format the CF card I'd suggest using the tools from the DOS version you want to run.

As for the needed steps, that depends on a few things:
- Which versions of DOS/Windows do you want to install?
- Do you already have a working operating system on a hard drive, or do you have to install from scratch?

Thanks for the values 😀 Most appreciated.

I have MS-DOS 6.22 on floppy disk along with Windows 3.1, hoping to install both from scratch onto the compactflash card.

What I meant more by the formatting/partitioning was, is it possible to do on my laptop using something like DOSBox beforehand, or is it best done in the original hardware?

Yes, it is possible to set it up on a modern computer, and there are tools to accomplish this, however configuring it in the right way so that DOS 6.22 can work with it in an old machine is not exactly trivial.
Installing from scratch using the original hardware is the safest option in this case.
Also, you have to be careful when moving the CF card with your installed DOS/Win3.1 system to a modern laptop, especially if you intend to write on it.

I'd love to see some pics of this machine once you get it all up and running - do you have the original monitor so that the megadrive half can work?