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PS/2 hard drives

L

~llama

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Joined
Jul 23, 2003
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Memphis
as you all know, the IBM ps/2 uses the microchannel architecture. What types of hard drive can i drop into a Model 30?

i ask because my 20mb Seagate just died. I would like to continue operating my Model 30, but with no OS on the hard drive and a 720k floppy drive, its not very useful :?

Can i use a normal IDE drive for this, or do i have to find a custom Seagate microchannel hdd?
 
You can't use a regular IDE harddisk unless you install an IDE controller card of some sort. At least I think so... :roll:

You'd have to get a MCA-compatible harddrive, which would probably be both easiest and cheapest to dig out of another old PS/2.

At least, that's as far as I think...I'm not too sure :oops:
 
Re: PS/2 hard drives

~llama said:
as you all know, the IBM ps/2 uses the microchannel architecture. What types of hard drive can i drop into a Model 30?

i ask because my 20mb Seagate just died.
Click to expand...

Which Seagate drive? ST-225? ST-125? Equivalents are fairly easy to find.
 
I have a PS/2 Model 25 (all-in-one) which uses a standard ST151 MFM HD with two ribbons cables connected to a WD standard 8 bit controller card.

I always thought the model 30's were setup the same way and used standard componets. You mentioned your old HD was a ST225. Does it have a 34 pin and 20 pin connected between a plug in controller board and the HD? If so, it is probably a standard MFM HD and you should be able to use any type of MFM HD.

You might also try a low level format on the old HD. Sometimes this will make an old HD usable again.

Old PC Man
 
Yes. My ST151 is a Seagate 3.5" 40MB MFM HD with a 34Pin and a 20Pin cable.

Again, you may want to try a low level format on your ST225. Some years back, my brother's ST225 crashed. I performed a low level format on the drive and it is still in good working order today.

If your controller is a WD, it may have an onboard chip which will allow you to perform a low level format via a debug routine. Otherwise, you will need a program such as "Disk Manager". Additionally, IBM may have furnished a Setup Floppy Disk with your system which will do a low level format.

Old PC Man
 
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