Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC

On 09/26/2017 09:53 PM, Mike Stein via cctalk wrote: > Ah yes, the interesting 11MB IMI 7710. Cromemco also used them in their Z-2H; > I still have one somewhere, not a bad drive when it worked ;-) The really crazy thing is that we were taking our hardware over to Viking Labs to do

Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC

- Original Message - From: "Chuck Guzis via cctalk" To: "Jules Richardson via cctalk" Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2017 8:38 PM Subject: Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC > On 09/26/2017 03:53 PM, Jules Richardson via cctalk wrote: >>

RE: HP 2108A key

I bought 2! One to use and one to loose... Ed# Sent from AOL Mobile Mail On Tuesday, September 26, 2017 CuriousMarc via cctalk wrote: And indeed, the H2007 key from eBay works perfectly! Thanks a lot for the link. I also have two kinds of 21 MX's, one with the double

Re: HP 7970E - interest to split?

Well there goes my evening, thanks Chuck! -- Anders Nelson +1 (517) 775-6129 www.erogear.com On Tue, Sep 26, 2017 at 10:09 PM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk < cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > On 09/26/2017 06:45 PM, Anders Nelson via cctalk wrote: > > Cool, is there documentation available for this

RE: HP 2108A key

And indeed, the H2007 key from eBay works perfectly! Thanks a lot for the link. I also have two kinds of 21 MX's, one with the double sided on/off H2007 key, and one with a regular HP 1000 key and front panel arrangement. That key opens the front panel. However, the second 21MX actually says

Re: HP 7970E - interest to split?

On 09/26/2017 06:45 PM, Anders Nelson via cctalk wrote: > Cool, is there documentation available for this formatting and > error-check/correction algorithm and structure? I'd like to take a look! A good place to start is the HP "Introduction to Magnetic Tape" in bitsavers:

Re: HP 7970E - interest to split?

Cool, is there documentation available for this formatting and error-check/correction algorithm and structure? I'd like to take a look! =] -- Anders Nelson +1 (517) 775-6129 www.erogear.com On Tue, Sep 26, 2017 at 12:26 PM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk < cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > On

Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC

On Tue, 26 Sep 2017, Chuck Guzis via cctalk wrote: I remember quite vividly evaluating the then-new IMI hard drive--the thing with a smoke-black plexiglas top and about the size of a shoebox. I think Corvus sold them as Apple II addons. It used a voice-coil positioner. If you lifted the front

Re: Alspa ACI-2 Info?

There is a 40 pin connector to which you can connect a Corvus drive. I lost my systems, but may have the media with the BIOS for that somewhere.  I've got a corvus subsystem with it on it, but no Alspa. I'd love to have one again if you part with it. Mine was lost in a storage theft. thanks

Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC

On 09/26/2017 03:53 PM, Jules Richardson via cctalk wrote: > On 09/26/2017 01:19 PM, Ethan via cctalk wrote: >> I don't know if it's a good idea to low level format a drive or not. > > I remember at least one manufacturer recommending it for their drive(s) > if they were ever tilted through 90

Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC

IIRC, the first time I had problems with the low level format was with one of the early IDE controllers and a 230MB Maxtor. Crapped out the entire firmware, was never able to get it to admit who it was again. Seemed to work okay with earlier MFM/RLL 40 MB and 80 MB Conner drives (I think, it's

Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC

On Tue, Sep 26, 2017 at 5:53 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk < cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > > I remember at least one manufacturer >recommending it for their > >> drive(s) if they were ever tilted through 90 degrees - >presumably > there >> were tiny effects on the head positioning and so not >doing

Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC

> I remember at least one manufacturer >recommending it for their > drive(s) if they were ever tilted through 90 degrees - >presumably > there were tiny effects on the head positioning and so not >doing a > LLF would result in problems. On Tue, 26 Sep 2017, Ali via cctalk wrote: This was

Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC

>I remember at least one manufacturer >recommending it for their drive(s) if >they were ever tilted through 90 degrees - >presumably there were tiny >effects on the head positioning and so not >doing a LLF would result in >problems. This was pretty common wisdom back in the day. Not

Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC

On 09/26/2017 01:19 PM, Ethan via cctalk wrote: I don't know if it's a good idea to low level format a drive or not. I remember at least one manufacturer recommending it for their drive(s) if they were ever tilted through 90 degrees - presumably there were tiny effects on the head

Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC

On 09/26/2017 12:52 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote: > Get SpeedStor  (SSTOR.EXE) and use it. > Once you do, you will never want to go back to the "Advanced > Diagnostics" nor the BIOS routine. That'll work. You can also scribble up your own formatter using the BIOS calls--or check the SIMTEL20

Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC

g=c800:5 On Tue, 26 Sep 2017, Chuck Guzis via cctalk wrote: Unfortunately, I agree with Fred. The stock IBM WD1003 controller ROM did not have a format routine. Other models of the WD1003 did, however--you'll see that the controller is a WD1003-something and that may shed some light on its

Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC

One other trivial thought, . . . A FAST AT could handle 1:1 interleave. On many slower ones, an interleave could give dramatic improvement in throughput. Not having the optimum interleave will not interfere with usage, it is entirely a performance optimization. There were even programs that

Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC

On Tue, 2017-09-26 at 14:19 -0400, Ethan via cctalk wrote: > I don't know if it's a good idea to low level format a drive or not. Low-level formatting (which, at the time, was just called "formatting") used to be quite a routine operation on ST-506 MFM and RLL hard disks. They usually came

Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC

On 09/26/2017 11:57 AM, geneb via cctalk wrote: > g=c800:5 Unfortunately, I agree with Fred. The stock IBM WD1003 controller ROM did not have a format routine. Other models of the WD1003 did, however--you'll see that the controller is a WD1003-something and that may shed some light on its

Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC

Many hard drive controllers had a crude low level format program in their ROMs. With DEBUG, you could JMP to it, typically G=C800:5 although some were C800:0 or other offsets. U C800:0 to look at the code and find it. G=C800:5 or G_c800:800 for Western Digital controllers G=C800:CCC

Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC

On Tue, 26 Sep 2017, Ethan via cctalk wrote: Hi, trying to check some MFM drives I have on my shelf. Have an IBM PC AT, with an WD1003 controller in it. So, what is the best(?) or easiest piece of software, to format the drives, check for bad blocks, etc.? I think I remember something like

Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC

On Tue, 26 Sep 2017, emanuel stiebler via cctalk wrote: trying to check some MFM drives I have on my shelf. Have an IBM PC AT, with an WD1003 controller in it. So, what is the best(?) or easiest piece of software, to format the drives, check for bad blocks, etc.? I think I remember something

Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC

Maybe simply run the debug utility supplied with DOS and at the prompt enter this: G=C800:5 Normally, all the necessary tools to check and mark bad blocks are accessible by this way. However, you will have to encode manually the HDD specifications (heads, sectors, etc.) On 26/09/2017

Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC

On Tue, Sep 26, 2017 at 2:08 PM, emanuel stiebler via cctalk wrote: > Hi, > > trying to check some MFM drives I have on my shelf. > Have an IBM PC AT, with an WD1003 controller in it. > > So, what is the best(?) or easiest piece of software, > to format the drives, check

Re: formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC

Hi, trying to check some MFM drives I have on my shelf. Have an IBM PC AT, with an WD1003 controller in it. So, what is the best(?) or easiest piece of software, to format the drives, check for bad blocks, etc.? I think I remember something like "ontrack" for doing it, but didn't touch PCs for a

formatting MFM drives on a IBM PC

Hi, trying to check some MFM drives I have on my shelf. Have an IBM PC AT, with an WD1003 controller in it. So, what is the best(?) or easiest piece of software, to format the drives, check for bad blocks, etc.? I think I remember something like "ontrack" for doing it, but didn't touch PCs for

Alspa ACI-2 Info?

Google searches only turn up a print ad and a few ancient usenet discussions. Bitsavers doesn't have an Alspa directory. There do seem to be some boot disks in Gaby's archive. Does anyone have a line on documentation? If not, I'm stripping this sucker for parts (threat only intended to

Re: HP 7970E - interest to split?

On 09/25/2017 11:40 PM, Steve Malikoff via cctalk wrote: > Yes, you will need the controller to at least format, but not sure about just > reading/writing. Looking at the interface, it's pretty much a "raw" interface. As in a lot of things in life, timing is everything in tapes.Tape blocks

Re: I REALLY need a scrounger in Richmond, VA

Just a friendly bump. Did anyone post this on vcfed or any mac collector forums?  I went there. There was no Apple stuff that I saw, mostly 386 and 486 computers. He is a scrapper as a retirement job in RVA and does a lot of Hamfests, been doing the for many years. Prices are based on eBay

Re: HP 9845 complete system on auction in Sweden

On Tue, Sep 26, 2017 at 12:21 AM, Ed Sharpe via cctalk < cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > we see this same effect in large studio cameras on board monitors they > have. we have just left as us as the large all tube innards do not work > alas Ed# > > Sent from AOL Mobile Mail > > On Monday,

RE: HP 7970E - interest to split?

> Well, as others have pointed out, a "tape transport" is not the whole > ball-of-wax. You need the ability to format the tape into blocks and then > control tape motion in terms of those blocks. That's what you'd be > responsible for in your added electronics. From the Introduction in the

Re: HP 7970E - interest to split?

For generic drives of either 800 or 1600, there were Pertec formatters that drove the three cable Pertec interface (read / write / motion) and was compatible with the P1 P2 parallel formatted interface. The ones I had were one format or another.  And they had to be strapped to the speed of

RE: HP 7970E - interest to split?

Well, as others have pointed out, a "tape transport" is not the whole ball-of-wax. You need the ability to format the tape into blocks and then control tape motion in terms of those blocks. That's what you'd be responsible for in your added electronics. From the Introduction in the Kennedy