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Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!cca!ima!johnl
From: johnl@ima.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.micro.pc
Subject: Re: Two hard disks on the PC... Help!!
Message-ID: <38700011@ima.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 15-Jul-85 12:25:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: ima.38700011
Posted: Mon Jul 15 12:25:00 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 19-Aug-85 23:32:54 EDT
References: <188@ihlpl.UUCP>
Lines: 19
Nf-ID: #R:ihlpl:-18800:ima:38700011:000:1013
Nf-From: ima!johnl    Jul 15 12:25:00 1985


Just for the record, the standard disk controller that comes inside a
PC XT supports two drives.  There isn't enough space and power inside
an XT for two IBM hard disks and a floppy; IBM sells you a rather expensive
expansion chassis to hold two hard disks.  I suspect that a pair of low
power half-heights or a half-height and the standard hard disk would work.

It also turns out that the IBM controller card was designed to support
other sizes of disks (5MB, 15MB, and 26MB, it appears from the BIOS listing)
based on some switch settings on the card.  But then they left the DIP
switch off the card.  If you carefully solder on the missing switch, you
can plug in different sizes of disks.  Amazing what must go in Boca.

John Levine, ima!johnl

PS:  People who like real disks might consider the Maverick controller
from Interphase, which can control two Fujitsu Eagle drives, giving you
roughly a gigabyte of storage on your PC.  Be the first on your block to
have logical disks going all the way up to Z:.