ST11R in an IBM 5170

[Scrawner]

Hi -- When I attempt to use my ST11R RLL controller card in my IBM 5170, during POST the card appears "Seagate ST11 BIOS Revision 2.0.0".... then "This bios is not compatible with the system bios." It will hang there for a couple minutes, then eventually "ST11 controller failure" and the machine goes into BASIC. It occurs regardless of whether I remove the original IBM fixed disk controller or change jumpers for the card's address.

Has anyone run into this error before? I've looked online and in the old manuals for this card and can't find any other example of this message. I've owned this kit since the late 1980's and have a few old drives that I could have sworn I used to use in this specific system years ago!

 

[modem7]

When I attempt to use my ST11R RLL controller card in my IBM 5170 ...

Noting that:
1. For performance reasons, it is not 'normal' to fit an 8-bit hard drive controller into a 16-bit computer; and
2. The ST11R may not be compatible with an IBM 5170.

( Re point 2. I very recently sold my only ST11R to a member here, and so I cannot do a test. )

during POST the card appears "Seagate ST11 BIOS Revision 2.0.0".... then "This bios is not compatible with the system bios."

I've looked online and in the old manuals for this card and can't find any other example of this message.

I see "This bios is not compatible with the system bios." within version 2.0.0 of the ST11R's BIOS ROM.
Obviously, the 'system' BIOS is the motherboard BIOS.
Rhetorical: Is this Seagate detecting the IBM BIOS of an IBM 5170, or is it detecting an AT-class machine (but saying system BIOS) ?
Disassembling the ST11R's BIOS ROM would be one way to find out.

I've owned this kit since the late 1980's and have a few old drives that I could have sworn I used to use in this specific system years ago!

I have learned not to trust my old-age memory.
A bit like dynamic RAM where the refreshing has become intermittent.

It occurs regardless of whether I remove the original IBM fixed disk controller or ...

When you did that, did you set the hard drive number in CMOS SETUP to zero (or 'none'), per the comment in the bottom right corner of [here] ?
If not, perhaps that is what the ST11R BIOS is complaining about (but giving you a misleading error message).

 

[jafir]

There is a manual here: https://usermanual.wiki/Document/SeagateST412InterfaceControllerST11MST11R.925393426/view which seems to suggest that at least some versions of the card support the PC/AT if jumpered correctly.

I’m assuming it was more common to use an ST21 or ST22 in a AT class machine since those were 16 bit ISA cards.

I’ve got an ST11 and ST21 or 22 I don’t recall which, but they are both the M version for MFM drives.

 

[modem7]

There is a manual here: https://usermanual.wiki/Document/SeagateST412InterfaceControllerST11MST11R.925393426/view which seems to suggest that at least some versions of the card support the PC/AT if jumpered correctly.

That document includes "ROM Version 2.0 or higher", and so we know that it applies in this case.

And also present is, "If you are installing your drive in a PC/AT ...", and so there is definitely IBM 5170 compatibility indicated. And the document is copyrighted 1990, and so the IBM 5170 compatibility must be for all 6 MHz and 8 MHz versions of the 5170. Timeline.

I wonder if the OP's motherboard has had the IBM BIOS swapped out for a third-party one.

 

[Scrawner]

Thanks all for the ideas!
I have tried disabling the CMOS hard drives as well, no difference.
It is a late build IBM 5170 Type 1 motherboard, stamped March 05, 1985 underneath with the 6181028/29 1/10/84 BIOS chips; I wasn't the first owner but it's been in my care since 1988 or so and hasn't been modified to my knowledge. This box powered a Fidonet node from about 88-1991.

I don't have equipment to flash the later BIOS but maybe that's worth a shot.