IBM PC XT 5160 battery and boot discs

[VenomRolls]

Hey guys, I recently purchased a beautiful example of a 5160, with a hard disk and 5.25in drive.
This'll be my first IBM or even IBM compatible. So, I've got a bit if a conundrum. I don't have any boot disks, nor do I have any 5.25in drives that I could use to write. What are my steps from here in order to get some or alternatives to floppies entirely?

I've also heard about problems with the CMOS battery, and while this battery seems good, I'd rather not risk it. I know I can replace it with a few AAs, but I'd rather avoid breaking out the soldering iron unless I have too. What are my options?

 

[DDS]

Hey guys, I recently purchased a beautiful example of a 5160, with a hard disk and 5.25in drive.
This'll be my first IBM or even IBM compatible. So, I've got a bit if a conundrum. I don't have any boot disks, nor do I have any 5.25in drives that I could use to write. What are my steps from here in order to get some or alternatives to floppies entirely?

I've also heard about problems with the CMOS battery, and while this battery seems good, I'd rather not risk it. I know I can replace it with a few AAs, but I'd rather avoid breaking out the soldering iron unless I have too. What are my options?

You can lay your CMOS battery worries to rest. The 5160 doesn't have one. The configuration stuff an AT class machine stores in CMOS is "stored" in DIP switches in the 5160. You may have a battery associated with a real time clock if it has one, but they're usually a lithium coin cell and not prone to the kind of leakage you've read about.

There are a lot of good places to start your new journey. This link will take you to one of the best.

minus zero degrees (-0°)

minuszerodegrees.net

As for 5.25" 360k floppy media, they're still pretty common. Just stay away from the 1.2m variety for now. There are subtle incompatibility issues that can bite in unpredictable ways.

Lot of 10 NOS Athana DSDD 360K 5.25" Floppy Disks New Old Stock Double Density | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Lot of 10 NOS Athana DSDD 360K 5.25" Floppy Disks New Old Stock Double Density at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

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You should also plan on getting a cleaning diskette. You're going to need one sooner or later.

 

[jafir]

There were some multifunction cards with RTC functionality that had barrel batteries instead of coin cells. If you’ve got one of those you should probably remove it.




I can mail you a boot floppy if you need. Just let me know what you want on it.

Does the XT boot to the hard drive currently?

There are also some steps at minuszerodegrees for using a 3.5” drive with a 720K formatted disk. And then you can use that to get your hdd going and then eventually make your own 5.25” floppies.

 

[VenomRolls]

Does the XT boot to the hard drive currently?

Haven't quite received everything from the seller, but based on what the seller was saying, it would boot from floppy, but not disk. I haven't tested it just yet.
As for what I'd want on a boot disk, I'd have to do more research. What do you recommend?

 

[VenomRolls]

You can lay your CMOS battery worries to rest. The 5160 doesn't have one. The configuration stuff an AT class machine stores in CMOS is "stored" in DIP switches in the 5160. You may have a battery associated with a real time clock if it has one, but they're usually a lithium coin cell and not prone to the kind of leakage you've read about.

There are a lot of good places to start your new journey. This link will take you to one of the best.

minus zero degrees (-0°)

minuszerodegrees.net

As for 5.25" 360k floppy media, they're still pretty common. Just stay away from the 1.2m variety for now. There are subtle incompatibility issues that can bite in unpredictable ways.

Lot of 10 NOS Athana DSDD 360K 5.25" Floppy Disks New Old Stock Double Density | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Lot of 10 NOS Athana DSDD 360K 5.25" Floppy Disks New Old Stock Double Density at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

You should also plan on getting a cleaning diskette. You're going to need one sooner or later.

This is some awesome info! I'll have something to read waiting for shipping, thanks!

 

[modem7]

As for what I'd want on a boot disk, I'd have to do more research. What do you recommend?

To boot from the 360K drive, my recommendation:
A 360K sized DOS 3.3 boot disk containing the following DOS programs at a minimum.
* FDISK.COM
* FORMAT.COM
* DEBUG.COM

Because a boot from the hard drive isn't happening (according to the seller), good would also be the RAYXTMFM.EXE tool from [here], just in case it can assist in diagnosis.

There are also some steps at minuszerodegrees for using a 3.5” drive with a 720K formatted disk. And then you can use that to get your hdd going and then eventually make your own 5.25” floppies.

Yes, a preferred option. See [here].

 

[jafir]

Sorry for the delay. Send me your address and I'll put some floppies in the mail.

 

[VenomRolls]

jafir, looks like I don't have enough posts to start PMs; Just send me one when you're able