JonnyGators
Experienced Member
No change. The process seems to have run as it should, but the device remains unbootable.
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A tip for those designing new hardware for vintage machines...
- Thread starter JonnyGators
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Chuck(G)
25k Member
That's very strange. Obviously after you've copied files to the disk, you can read them back and compare them with the originals, right?
JonnyGators
Experienced Member
Yes, after partitioning and formatting, I can store files and make use of the device no problem. It just won't boot. I suspect this texelec card is garbage at this point.
I just found a nice set of PC speakers just like the ones I had on my Pentium in college, so I'm about to lose interest in the BC88's and return them to storage, and retrieve the parts I have in a box somewhere to build a Pentium and set it up with Win95. If I don't get this working before the speakers arrive, I'll probably just ask for a refund and return the thing, and deal with this next time I dig them out of storage. Maybe by then someone will have designed something that works more consistently.
Chuck(G)
25k Member
I looked through the posts, and I don't believe that I see the actual type (model, CPU, etc.) of the system you're using.
JonnyGators
Experienced Member
ComputerLand BC88. *waits for Werner Erhard reference*
Chuck(G)
25k Member
Surely you jEST.
syzygy
Experienced Member
Is it correct that you bought theXT-CF-lite rev.2 - right? Seems like the post where you said you just ordered it had two items in the quoted post.
You should see a J1 containing numbers - can you tell us what positions they are in? Not trying to be a smart guy here but you have had a ton of good advice from a lot of people and there are a whole bunch of people on here that use those kinds of boards with out much problem....so the devil is in the details.
I am looking here and seeing:
This occurs because the boot sector written by the CompactFlash card manufacturer is not compatible with 8088 CPU in most cases. This can be resolved in one of two ways:
Wipe the boot sector using the Lo-tech WIPEDISK utility and then start over - boot from a floppy (press A when the XTIDE Universal BIOS message appears) then run FDISK to create a primary and active partition, then reboot again from a floppy and run FORMAT /S to copy on the DOS files. Note that this method will completely erase all data on the device.
If using MS-DOS 6.22, boot from a floppy (press A when the XTIDE Universal BIOS message appears) then run FDISK /MBR. This will re-write the executable boot-sector code, leaving the partition table and partition data intact.
Seems like you got through most of that already, so I ask about J1 because I am reading this here"
JP1 provides the ROM and IO port base address selection, ROM enable, and LED output.
Default settings are ROM enabled, IO port 300h and ROM base address C800h.
Note that the IO base address is set within the XTIDE Universal BIOS ROM image via the Universal BIOS Configuration and Flashing utility. The IO address set within that utility must match that configured on the card via the DIP switches. Should the IO port address be changed for any reason, the BIOS must be updated and re-flashed (using the lo-tech XT-CF flash utility).
Device activity LED output is provided at JP1 position 4. Do not short the output. Observe polarity ('+' side is noted on board silkscreen). The LED output is provided through a 270R resistor (R1), providing approx. 12mA.
You should see a J1 containing numbers - can you tell us what positions they are in? Not trying to be a smart guy here but you have had a ton of good advice from a lot of people and there are a whole bunch of people on here that use those kinds of boards with out much problem....so the devil is in the details.
I am looking here and seeing:
The Machine Hangs at 'Booting C'
This occurs because the boot sector written by the CompactFlash card manufacturer is not compatible with 8088 CPU in most cases. This can be resolved in one of two ways:
Method 1
Wipe the boot sector using the Lo-tech WIPEDISK utility and then start over - boot from a floppy (press A when the XTIDE Universal BIOS message appears) then run FDISK to create a primary and active partition, then reboot again from a floppy and run FORMAT /S to copy on the DOS files. Note that this method will completely erase all data on the device.
Method 2
If using MS-DOS 6.22, boot from a floppy (press A when the XTIDE Universal BIOS message appears) then run FDISK /MBR. This will re-write the executable boot-sector code, leaving the partition table and partition data intact.
Seems like you got through most of that already, so I ask about J1 because I am reading this here"
Board Configuration
JP1 provides the ROM and IO port base address selection, ROM enable, and LED output.
| Position (per silkscreen) | Function | Open | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ROM Base Address | D800h | C800h |
| 2 | IO Port Base Address | 320h | 300h |
| 3 | ROM Function | Disabled | Enabled |
| 4 | Activity LED | - | - |
Default settings are ROM enabled, IO port 300h and ROM base address C800h.
Note that the IO base address is set within the XTIDE Universal BIOS ROM image via the Universal BIOS Configuration and Flashing utility. The IO address set within that utility must match that configured on the card via the DIP switches. Should the IO port address be changed for any reason, the BIOS must be updated and re-flashed (using the lo-tech XT-CF flash utility).
Device activity LED output is provided at JP1 position 4. Do not short the output. Observe polarity ('+' side is noted on board silkscreen). The LED output is provided through a 270R resistor (R1), providing approx. 12mA.
JonnyGators
Experienced Member
The only working method I've had to wipe the CF card is deleting the existing partition using a USB adapter on my computer.Is it correct that you bought theXT-CF-lite rev.2 - right? Seems like the post where you said you just ordered it had two items in the quoted post.
You should see a J1 containing numbers - can you tell us what positions they are in? Not trying to be a smart guy here but you have had a ton of good advice from a lot of people and there are a whole bunch of people on here that use those kinds of boards with out much problem....so the devil is in the details.
I am looking here and seeing:
The Machine Hangs at 'Booting C'
This occurs because the boot sector written by the CompactFlash card manufacturer is not compatible with 8088 CPU in most cases. This can be resolved in one of two ways:
Method 1
Wipe the boot sector using the Lo-tech WIPEDISK utility and then start over - boot from a floppy (press A when the XTIDE Universal BIOS message appears) then run FDISK to create a primary and active partition, then reboot again from a floppy and run FORMAT /S to copy on the DOS files. Note that this method will completely erase all data on the device.
Method 2
If using MS-DOS 6.22, boot from a floppy (press A when the XTIDE Universal BIOS message appears) then run FDISK /MBR. This will re-write the executable boot-sector code, leaving the partition table and partition data intact.
Seems like you got through most of that already, so I ask about J1 because I am reading this here"
Board Configuration
JP1 provides the ROM and IO port base address selection, ROM enable, and LED output.
Position (per silkscreen) Function Open Closed 1 ROM Base Address D800h C800h 2 IO Port Base Address 320h 300h 3 ROM Function Disabled Enabled 4 Activity LED - -
Default settings are ROM enabled, IO port 300h and ROM base address C800h.
Note that the IO base address is set within the XTIDE Universal BIOS ROM image via the Universal BIOS Configuration and Flashing utility. The IO address set within that utility must match that configured on the card via the DIP switches. Should the IO port address be changed for any reason, the BIOS must be updated and re-flashed (using the lo-tech XT-CF flash utility).
Device activity LED output is provided at JP1 position 4. Do not short the output. Observe polarity ('+' side is noted on board silkscreen). The LED output is provided through a 270R resistor (R1), providing approx. 12mA.
I am setting this up with DOS 3.30, there isn't an /mbr option for the fdisk command on this version. I do not have DOS 6.22 disks.
I tried running the wipedisk app, it appears to run as it should and indicates it has wiped the disk, but then if I check the contents, it's all still there, it didn't wipe the card at all.
I've yet to find anything that actually works with this card. I've tried to follow all suggestions here, but nothing has worked.
JonnyGators
Experienced Member
Jumpers are configured exactly as it arrived, J1, J2, and J3 all have jumpers on them. If I'm supposed to remove any of those, no instructions have been provided or starting guide indicating to me that this is required.Is it correct that you bought theXT-CF-lite rev.2 - right? Seems like the post where you said you just ordered it had two items in the quoted post.
You should see a J1 containing numbers - can you tell us what positions they are in? Not trying to be a smart guy here but you have had a ton of good advice from a lot of people and there are a whole bunch of people on here that use those kinds of boards with out much problem....so the devil is in the details.
I am looking here and seeing:
The Machine Hangs at 'Booting C'
This occurs because the boot sector written by the CompactFlash card manufacturer is not compatible with 8088 CPU in most cases. This can be resolved in one of two ways:
Method 1
Wipe the boot sector using the Lo-tech WIPEDISK utility and then start over - boot from a floppy (press A when the XTIDE Universal BIOS message appears) then run FDISK to create a primary and active partition, then reboot again from a floppy and run FORMAT /S to copy on the DOS files. Note that this method will completely erase all data on the device.
Method 2
If using MS-DOS 6.22, boot from a floppy (press A when the XTIDE Universal BIOS message appears) then run FDISK /MBR. This will re-write the executable boot-sector code, leaving the partition table and partition data intact.
Seems like you got through most of that already, so I ask about J1 because I am reading this here"
Board Configuration
JP1 provides the ROM and IO port base address selection, ROM enable, and LED output.
Position (per silkscreen) Function Open Closed 1 ROM Base Address D800h C800h 2 IO Port Base Address 320h 300h 3 ROM Function Disabled Enabled 4 Activity LED - -
Default settings are ROM enabled, IO port 300h and ROM base address C800h.
Note that the IO base address is set within the XTIDE Universal BIOS ROM image via the Universal BIOS Configuration and Flashing utility. The IO address set within that utility must match that configured on the card via the DIP switches. Should the IO port address be changed for any reason, the BIOS must be updated and re-flashed (using the lo-tech XT-CF flash utility).
Device activity LED output is provided at JP1 position 4. Do not short the output. Observe polarity ('+' side is noted on board silkscreen). The LED output is provided through a 270R resistor (R1), providing approx. 12mA.
But I suspect the problem is that no working method has been provided to properly prepare a CF card to work on this device with versions of DOS that PCs of the vintage this device is designed for would typically use.
cjs
Experienced Member
That will almost certainly not wipe the card.
I can't help with Windows, if that's what you're using, but with Unix it's fairly trivial: insert the device, see what device has appeared (
lsblk before and after insertion will work well under Linux, otherwise check your console/dmesg log) and use dd if=/dev/zero of=... bs=64K count=32 to write zeros on to the first 2 MB, then the same command with if as your drive and of=file to read the first 2 MB back off it. Verify using od to dump the file that it's all zeros.With Windows it seems to be much harder to do direct operations like this on block storage devices.
syzygy
Experienced Member
This is difficult for me to understand clearly. Did you try this....
Download their wipe utility from here. Extract it and copy the executable file to the CF card using your USB adapter on your modern computer. Do not run it yet.
Put the CF card back into the PC. Boot 3.3 from floppy. Copy the executable wipedisk TO the floppy, FROM the CF card (which you seem to say works normally except it is not bootable). Run wipedisk from your 3.3 bootable floppy.
Then start the correct process of preping the CF card anew.
If "This occurs because the boot sector written by the CompactFlash card manufacturer is not compatible with 8088 CPU in most cases." Then, you are doing this to solve THAT problem. WipeDisk is a simple utility to erase the partition table from a fixed disk. This is useful on MS-DOS powered PCs, where the partition table contains non-DOS partitions since MS-DOS's FDISK utility will not delete such partitions.
I don't know if this will solve the problem, but I think you are *very* close because the CF card seems to be working, except for booting. That may be the case because of the CF card manufacture, as they state can happen.
BTW: It seems like J1 is set to the default since each of the three 'hats' is connected to both pins and that is the default - it was worth checking.
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JonnyGators
Experienced Member
I have already tried this.
The WipeDisk app does not work! After running it, the CF card still contains it's content. Even if I do proceed with removing the partition, creating a new partition, formatting, and using one of previously mentioned methods of applying system files to the device that are supposed to make it bootable, it continues to not boot.
syzygy
Experienced Member
OK, so when you say "The only working method I've had to wipe the CF card is deleting the existing partition using a USB adapter on my computer." You mean that you have a USB adapter on your 8088 and that is how you used wipedisk? Or do you mean that you have a USB adapter on your modern PC and ran wipedisk from there (something I am NOT advising). It sounds like that is what you did, but now you are saying that you extracted and copied THEIR wipedisk to the CF card and then to the floppy and executed it from the floppy and with the CF card installed. So is it both ways or ?
I read that you have said "After running it, the CF card still contains it's content." I want to make sure that you ran it correctly. I am not trying to give you a hard time, but these details are a big deal. I am not seeing what you are doing.
JonnyGators
Experienced Member
When I say I ran the wipedisk app, I mean that I ran the file from a floppy disk on the 8088 computer that is using the CF card as the C: drive. Running the file appears to work as it should, no error is returned. But, if I browse back to the C: drive, the contents are still there. It hasn't wiped the disk.
When I referred to using a USB adapter, I was referring to that when I first started using the CF card, I connected it to my modern windows PC with a usb adapter, and removed the existing partition the CF card came with, to start with a "blank" device on the 8088. Obviously, this isn't adequate, and apparently, there is no known method to blank this properly using Windows.
syzygy
Experienced Member
ok, thank you.
Did you examine the first 64 sectors of the CF after you ran wipedisk appropriately (and it sounds like you did)? If you did, then you could ask that specific question to texelec...."I ran your wipedisk on my board xxx that bought from you and then I looked at the first 64 sectors of the CF card and they are unchanged." I would like to know their response.
If I were you, I would buy a different CF card - something like a cheap sandisk 64 mb card and try again.
I just have trouble believing that a brand new board, with a good reputation is bad, right after a blue lava board (and I use one from them without any problem) that had been working went bad....and there is no intervening activity. It is not impossible, but it is difficult to accept.
PS: I use DOS 6.2 but I do have a 3.2 bootable floppy around here somewhere. Maybe I will do some experimenting.
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JonnyGators
Experienced Member
How would one look at the first 64 sectors of a CF card and determine if they are changed or unchanged?
I have tried other CF cards. The results are consistent. This includes a card that was previously working on the blue lava board.
I have tried other CF cards. The results are consistent. This includes a card that was previously working on the blue lava board.
syzygy
Experienced Member
a sector editor
Seems like you have tried everything I can think of. I mean it is truly puzzling. Had the blue lava board NOT worked earlier, I would have thought, at this point, there is something funky with your 8088 mb. But, that had been working.
JonnyGators
Experienced Member
A sector editor?
My god, how many gd hoops do I have to jump through to get this thing to work?
I wanted to buy a storage device for my computer, not a rubik's puzzle.
I would expect that one selling devices like this ought to have a responsibility to provide the required tools, or at the very least detailed documentation on the requirements and how to obtain and use the required tools to make the device work. Texelec has not done that at all, they just took my money and sent me a device that is completely useless to me as is, and have provided no response nor direction as to how to use it.
syzygy
Experienced Member
I get it, but reality is a harsh mistress....life is tough, wear a helmet, and all that crap.
I linked to what I bought...it CAME with a DOS 6.2 formatted CF card (I had been using 3.2 before I gave up on the ST-225). It worked the first time and has every time since. I bought a few cards on the bay and each one has worked as with formatting and so on. I have made several back ups. No problems at all. The reason I got what I got was partially availability, but also because I didn't want to become an expert in CF cards...BUT I have done PLENTY of that kind of stuff before. It has served me well to go deep, but it is a lot of time and effort.
I guess you have to like to figure things out...I mean, it is a great feeling when it does finally work.
JonnyGators
Experienced Member
I like figuring things out, but I don't like figuring things out that get in the way of figuring out the things I actually want to figure out. If that makes any sense.
I've initiated a return, I'm done with this. I'm getting ready to put these back in storage for a while and move over to another project. Being ADD, I tend to be happier just having a bunch of unfinished projects that I can switch between as my interests change. Although it results in a lot of unfinished things cluttering up the place.
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