Which 'Fixed' CF Card for IDE CF Adapter \ VOGONS

Which 'Fixed' CF Card for IDE CF Adapter

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First post, by p6889k

Posted on 2019-11-30, 14:29

p6889k Offline

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Bought me an IDE to CF adapter, but since my existing SanDisk 256MB and 32GB cards are setup from manufacturer as "removable" media, Windows won't let me install on them. I tried to convert them to fixed mode with SanDisks ATCFWCHG, but it didn't work, the utility refused to change these specific cards.

So, can anyone recommend any readily available for purchase CF cards that would work and are reasonably priced (less than $30 ?). I looked at some of the Transcend 32GB and 64GB industrial CF cards and they're fairly expensive. Can you recommend cheaper alternatives. If it's not possible to buy cheaper, then what else would you recommend that works and is reasonably fast - heard that some CF cards can be fairly slow.

This is the adapter I have: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000TMDE6G/ref=twis … ding=UTF8&psc=1

Thank you.

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Amiga 1200, 68030/40mhz
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etc.

Reply 1 of 12, by MAZter

Posted on 2019-11-30, 17:31

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Try EZ-Drive first, my Sandisk cf works with EZ-Drive fine.

Doom is what you want (c) MAZter

Reply 2 of 12, by GigAHerZ

Posted on 2019-11-30, 18:00

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There are tools in the internet that can flip the "removable bit" on memory cards. 😉

"640K ought to be enough for anybody." - And i intend to get every last bit out of it even after loading every damn driver!
A little about software engineering: https://byteaether.github.io/

Reply 3 of 12, by Jo22

Posted on 2019-11-30, 18:32

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^That's right. Though from what I found by testing various OSes on CF cards, only Windows NT really cares about it.
Other OSes simply either don't know or care about the the state of this single bit.
DOS, Windows 3.1, Windows 9x and OS/2 run off on any media, fixed or not.

With exception of OS/2 maybe, OSes boot from media without any partitions, even. 😀
"Super Floppy" style media so to say. Including ZIP diskettes, LS120 diskettes, USB pen drives, Disc-on-Chip modules (DOCs) and so on.
Bottom line: The CF cards don't make any use of that bit for themselves, they simply remember it. That's all.

Edit: There's special stuff for installing Windows XP embedded on CF cards.
It contains a write filter and a special INF driver. It was used by car PC enthusiasts 15 years ago or so.
If there's any interest, please let me kniw. I'll check by backups then and see if I can find out some details.

Last edited by Jo22 on 2019-11-30, 18:39. Edited 3 times in total.

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Reply 4 of 12, by p6889k

Posted on 2019-11-30, 18:33

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GigAHerZ wrote:
There are tools in the internet that can flip the "removable bit" on memory cards. 😉

I tried Lexar's BootIt - didn't work, card stayed 'removable'
I tried SanDisk ATCFWCHG - didn't work, gave me errors.

Any other tools to try?

Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48k, 48k+, 128k, +2
Amiga 1200, 68030/40mhz
386DX/33, ET4000, SBPro2, MT32
Dual PPro/200, Millennium II, Voodoo 2, AWE32, SC-55
etc.

Reply 5 of 12, by GigAHerZ

Posted on 2019-11-30, 18:34

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https://www.partitionwizard.com/disk-recovery … r-disk-006.html

diskpart of windows itself should be able to do it.

NB! I have ordered my CF cards from aliexpress. The cheapest ones, 4-8GB and they work great on old computers.

"640K ought to be enough for anybody." - And i intend to get every last bit out of it even after loading every damn driver!
A little about software engineering: https://byteaether.github.io/

Reply 6 of 12, by dingdang

Posted on 2025-01-13, 10:13

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I just spent $7 on an iPod Video.
While the hard drive is in good condition, I've seen many SSD modification cases, and I have a lot of SanDisk 32GB CF cards on hand. I
'm considering replacing the HDD with a CF card.
However, in China, there is only one type of CF to ZIF converter card. After trying it, the iPod does not recognize the CF card.
I found out that I need to convert the CF to IDE mode, and I'm wondering if the software provided by SanDisk will support the 32GB card.

Reply 7 of 12, by Intel486dx33

Posted on 2025-01-13, 15:21

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Don’t go Cheap on CF card drive readers.
I like this one it has a bracket to mount in rear of case or front of case
Good build quality.
I use 133 CF cards or better.

Reply 8 of 12, by douglar

Posted on 2025-01-13, 16:17

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Intel486dx33 wrote on 2025-01-13, 15:21:
Don’t go Cheap on CF card drive readers. I like this one it has a bracket to mount in rear of case or front of case Good build q […]
Show full quote

Don’t go Cheap on CF card drive readers.
I like this one it has a bracket to mount in rear of case or front of case
Good build quality.
I use 133 CF cards or better.

I think he was looking for a zif-cf adapter for an old ipod

The attachment IMG_2796.jpeg is no longer available

Reply 9 of 12, by GigAHerZ

Posted on 2025-01-13, 21:45

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Intel486dx33 wrote on 2025-01-13, 15:21:
Don’t go Cheap on CF card drive readers. I like this one it has a bracket to mount in rear of case or front of case Good build q […]
Show full quote

Don’t go Cheap on CF card drive readers.
I like this one it has a bracket to mount in rear of case or front of case
Good build quality.
I use 133 CF cards or better.

These are passive adapters. Unless they actually have some disconnected lines, there are no other differences between adapter A and adapter B.

"640K ought to be enough for anybody." - And i intend to get every last bit out of it even after loading every damn driver!
A little about software engineering: https://byteaether.github.io/

Reply 10 of 12, by douglar

Posted on 2025-01-14, 02:52

douglar Offline

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GigAHerZ wrote on 2025-01-13, 21:45:

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2025-01-13, 15:21:
Don’t go Cheap on CF card drive readers. I like this one it has a bracket to mount in rear of case or front of case Good build q […]
Show full quote

Don’t go Cheap on CF card drive readers.
I like this one it has a bracket to mount in rear of case or front of case
Good build quality.
I use 133 CF cards or better.

These are passive adapters. Unless they actually have some disconnected lines, there are no other differences between adapter A and adapter B.

I use the cheapest ones. That said, there are differences. The cheap ones:
1) sometimes have bad solder spots
2) no voltage regulator for 3.3v operation ( needed by the type 1 cf adapter)
3) lack slave/master jumpers
4) no support for pin 20 power
5) dont come with a 3.5 adapter or front panel
etc….
But what do you expect for $3 vs $30?

Reply 11 of 12, by dingdang

Posted on 2025-01-14, 03:20

dingdang Offline

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Intel486dx33 wrote on 2025-01-13, 15:21:
Don’t go Cheap on CF card drive readers. I like this one it has a bracket to mount in rear of case or front of case Good build q […]
Show full quote

Don’t go Cheap on CF card drive readers.
I like this one it has a bracket to mount in rear of case or front of case
Good build quality.
I use 133 CF cards or better.

It seems that it's cheaper in China; this adapter only costs 2 dollars there and includes free shipping.

Reply 12 of 12, by dingdang

Posted on 2025-01-14, 03:25

dingdang Offline

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douglar wrote on 2025-01-13, 16:17:

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2025-01-13, 15:21:
Don’t go Cheap on CF card drive readers. I like this one it has a bracket to mount in rear of case or front of case Good build q […]
Show full quote

Don’t go Cheap on CF card drive readers.
I like this one it has a bracket to mount in rear of case or front of case
Good build quality.
I use 133 CF cards or better.

I think he was looking for a zif-cf adapter for an old ipod

The attachment IMG_2796.jpeg is no longer available

Haha, I just tested this ZIF, and it doesn't support it. I also tried shorting the 9 pin of the CF card to the 1 pin, but the iPod couldn't recognize it.
When I shorted it to the 50 pin, the iPod got stuck on the Apple logo and couldn't boot into the system.
The only kind of ZIF that works is the one with a switch, but I've searched the Chinese market and can't find it.
It seems that this type of adapter might also be under patent protection, so it can't be sold in China.

Regarding replacing the iPod's hard drive, you can buy a 120GB hard drive in China for just 4 dollars with free shipping.
I spent 2 dollars on a mSATA adapter with free shipping, but here comes another problem: many mSATA drives don't consume much less power than HDDs, so from a cost perspective, switching to SSD isn't really worthwhile.

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