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SMS FAB 0005476 REV B MFM controller - not detected

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First post, by kotel

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Hi,

This is my first time ever seeing irl and using an MFM controller, so please excuse me 😀
Recently got an SMS FAB 0005476 REV B MFM controller card. No visible damage.
Plugged it into my ms6163 board correctly. BIOS didn't show any extra controller cards besides the intel one. Same as 98se (tried add new hw wizard). Weirdly the Zilog chip and the eeprom close to it get warm while the rest stay cold.
I don't have any MFM drives to test this card, so I at least want to see if this one is detected. I have no idea what I did wrong. Is this supposed to be an IBM pc or compatible MFM controller?

You say you've got me outnumbered
I say you've evened the odds
You doubt the strength I hold within
Just one bounce back is all I need to win!

Reply 1 of 7, by Grzyb

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That controller is ISA 8-bit, primarily for XT-class PCs.
Your board is Slot 1, several generations later.

There's still a chance for them to work together, but:
- BIOS won't detect that controller as an ISAPNP or PCI device
- Windows 9x won't detect it, either

Without an appropriate drive, probably all you can do is to try to enter the Low Level Format utility contained in the controller's BIOS...

See also:
https://arvutimuuseum.ee/th99/c/S-T/20181.htm
https://arvutimuuseum.ee/th99/c/S-T/20182.htm
https://arvutimuuseum.ee/th99/c/S-T/20921.htm
https://arvutimuuseum.ee/th99/c/S-T/20922.htm

In 2003, I voted in favour of joining the European Union. However, due to recent developments - especially the restrictions on cash usage - I'm hereby withdrawing my support. DOWN WITH THE EU!

Reply 2 of 7, by kotel

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Weird how there's no pop up "detecting drives..." with that MFM controller. Oh well. Guess I'll wait tilt I get my hands on an IBM XT or clone PC.

You say you've got me outnumbered
I say you've evened the odds
You doubt the strength I hold within
Just one bounce back is all I need to win!

Reply 3 of 7, by Grzyb

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MFM drives aren't detected.

If the controller's BIOS is enabled, it *may* display some message during POST.
But for anything more, you need to enter the utility from DEBUG.

In 2003, I voted in favour of joining the European Union. However, due to recent developments - especially the restrictions on cash usage - I'm hereby withdrawing my support. DOWN WITH THE EU!

Reply 4 of 7, by kotel

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I don't see any jumpers for BIOS enable/disable other than HDD activity LED(?) and W1-8 jumpers.

You say you've got me outnumbered
I say you've evened the odds
You doubt the strength I hold within
Just one bounce back is all I need to win!

Reply 5 of 7, by Grzyb

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kotel wrote on 2025-01-19, 08:32:

I don't see any jumpers for BIOS enable/disable other than HDD activity LED(?) and W1-8 jumpers.

See the links I posted - W7 enables/disables the BIOS.

In 2003, I voted in favour of joining the European Union. However, due to recent developments - especially the restrictions on cash usage - I'm hereby withdrawing my support. DOWN WITH THE EU!

Reply 6 of 7, by kotel

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W7 is opened, so the BIOS is enabled, or at least should be.

You say you've got me outnumbered
I say you've evened the odds
You doubt the strength I hold within
Just one bounce back is all I need to win!

Reply 7 of 7, by Grzyb

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You can try to run DEBUG, and then:

G=C800:5

AFAIR, for some BIOSes the correct address may be C800:4 or C800:6

In 2003, I voted in favour of joining the European Union. However, due to recent developments - especially the restrictions on cash usage - I'm hereby withdrawing my support. DOWN WITH THE EU!

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