Can't read CF formatted in DOS with WinXP \ VOGONS

Can't read CF formatted in DOS with WinXP

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First post, by tangles

Posted on 2018-03-27, 23:54

tangles Offline

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Joined: 2016-10-24, 22:56

Hi all,

I have a 486 machine (pics below 😊) which I'm using type 47 to set up a 128mb CF card with, as the motherboard does not support auto-detect. I can successfully format the CF card using fdisk/format (while booted from floppy 6.22 boot disk) and read/write to it in DOS, but then when connecting it to my Win XP machine via a USB card reader, it insists I need to format it before I can use it.

As I have to manually specify the Cylinders, Heads, and Sectors, could it be that I have the values wrong?

I've tried to google this but can only really find instances of people not getting the CF to work under DOS at all, which isn't my issue. I don't know much about the filesystems of the era, is it actually possible to read a 6.22 formatted disk under winxp?

Thanks,
Tangles

PS. Pics of the old beast!

Last edited by tangles on 2018-03-28, 01:11. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 1 of 3, by tangles

Posted on 2018-03-28, 00:46

tangles Offline

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Joined: 2016-10-24, 22:56

I formatted the disk with the FAT filesystem under winXP, then used the command 'wmic diskdrive' which reported:

15 cylinders
255 heads
63 sectors per track

I was able to specify this on the FX3000 but it hangs for a long time then says 'drive failure'

It detects and formats successfully under DOS using

978 cylinders
8 heads
32 sectors

Reply 2 of 3, by Jo22

Posted on 2018-03-28, 01:19

Jo22 Offline

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tangles wrote:
I formatted the disk with the FAT filesystem under winXP, then used the command 'wmic diskdrive' which reported: […]
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I formatted the disk with the FAT filesystem under winXP, then used the command 'wmic diskdrive' which reported:

15 cylinders
255 heads
63 sectors per track

Hi, good morning, I'm afraid these parameters are out of range. 🙁

For the old CHS addressing, the limit was:

1024 cylinders (0-1023),
16 heads (0-15),
63 sectors (1-63),

For an overview, I posted a chart at M321 BIOS HD limitation question

To find out an LBA-firendly CHS geometry
you may want to give WHATIDE or IDE-Diag a try.

I've mentioned IDE-Diag in this older thread.

Sorry, that's all I can help so far.

Anyway, I hope you get it going!

Good luck! 😀

Best regards,
Jo22

"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

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Reply 3 of 3, by tangles

Posted on 2018-03-28, 10:03

tangles Offline

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Rank: Newbie
Posts: 4
Joined: 2016-10-24, 22:56

Thank you! I'll give that tool a go and see what it comes up with. I have managed to get a 64mb Cisco CF working in the meantime, which was good enough to get win95 over onto the original HDD, meaning I now have a working CD ROM drive.

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