VOGONS

Can't access IDE to CF on a 486

Topic actions

First post, by dennisE

Posted on 
User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

The installed hardware is:

Chaintech 486CCLB motherboard
CPU Intel 486 DX 33
PTI-227B disk controller with Winbond W83757F chip

Summary:

I have installed a IDE to CF on my PC 486 without satisfactory results.

The configuration in the BIOS detects the card as a hard drive but does not detect it when MS-DOS boots. It is formatted in FAT, I have copied files into the CF. I have also tried several CFs from various manufacturers, 256 MB and 512 MB.

Could it be an incompatibility problem with the disk controller?
Do you have any ideas?

Thank you so much

Reply 1 of 7, by kmeaw

Posted on 
User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

It could be a geometry translation mismatch - try chaning a setting which says either Large, LBA or Normal.

Also your CF might be not bootable - some vendors provide a tool to flip the "removable media bit" that you need to be '0' to boot directly from the card.

Reply 2 of 7, by dennisE

Posted on 
User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

I tried a 1GB CF card and it booted the operating system. Once booted I tried to run any software and it showed a sector not found error. The CF card works perfectly in another PC. I show you the configuration in the BIOS.

The attachment Imagen_20240918_204906.jpg is no longer available

What can happen?

Reply 3 of 7, by kmeaw

Posted on 
User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

That also can be caused by a 3D geometry translation mismatch. You are telling that the CF card works perfectly in another PC - can you compare the cylinders/heads/sectors configuration with that other PC?

Also some old BIOSes cannot access sectors beyond the 528MB limit - try creating and formatting a 500MB partition leaving another 500MB unpartitioned at the end of your CF card.

Reply 4 of 7, by dennisE

Posted on 
User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

I have compared the configuration of the cylinders and heads of the other PC that works, and they are different. I have tried to change the configuration but then it does not start.

Reply 5 of 7, by konc

Posted on 
User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t
dennisE wrote on 2024-09-19, 07:14:

I have compared the configuration of the cylinders and heads of the other PC that works, and they are different. I have tried to change the configuration but then it does not start.

As a general good practice to avoid problems, prepare the CF on the machine you intend to use it. Set it up in BIOS, boot from floppy and fdisk /mbr, fdisk to create the partition(s) and set it to active, format /s.

The opposite, preparing the card on another computer, is doable most of the times but unless you know exactly what you are doing and what the potential problems are it's just asking for trouble.

Reply 6 of 7, by Jo22

Posted on 
User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Re: 512mb CF card cylinder values ?

Edit: CMOS Setup Utility ≠ BIOS. Setup is GUI, BIOS is firmware.

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//

Reply 7 of 7, by dennisE

Posted on 
User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

I have noticed that there are CF cards that are incompatible with the IDE system. For example, Transcend brand cards give problems such as sector failures, the operating system does not boot. I have tried others that work well but up to 512 MB. Starting from 1 GB they give problems no matter how compatible they are.

Go to top of page Go to top of page
Back to General Old Hardware
Close window
Close window