How to replace 50 MB HD in old computer?

On Mon, 28 Nov 2005 20:24:38 -0800, Someone wrote:

> This is a unique situation. The computer is from around 1992 (a '386) and
> is used for a DOS telephone voice mail system. The Chips & Technology
> motherboard has only ISA slots.
>
> The 50 MB hard drive is starting to fail, and they don't make them that small
> anymore. All the telephone interface cards are ISA, so a contemporary
> motherboard won't work. And I don't think they make any ISA controller
> cards which might make a larger HD usable.
>
> So, any ideas? Just go to the local recycler for a replacement hard drive?
>
> Thanks.

If I was trying to get out of this in the easiest, fastest, cheapest way
possible, I would just go out to the garage and retrieve one of the 8 gig
IDE hard drives I have stored there. If your old motherboard has an IDE
controller, it should recognize the 8 gigger. It might only see the first
512 megs of the drive, but what do you care? The 8 gigger is basically
just a paper weight anyway.
 >> Stay informed about: How to replace 50 MB HD in old computer? 

Someone wrote:

> This is a unique situation. The computer is from around 1992 (a '386) and
> is used for a DOS telephone voice mail system. The Chips & Technology
> motherboard has only ISA slots.
>
> The 50 MB hard drive is starting to fail, and they don't make them that small
> anymore. All the telephone interface cards are ISA, so a contemporary
> motherboard won't work. And I don't think they make any ISA controller
> cards which might make a larger HD usable.
>
> So, any ideas? Just go to the local recycler for a replacement hard drive?
>
> Thanks.
>
>
It might make more sense to look for an ISA card that will interface to
modern drives -- you might still find yourself dealing with a recycler,
but it could allow a simultaneous increase in capacity.

I'm pretty sure such cards were made -- I might even have one around
here somewhere.

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form che... DeleteThis @prodigy.net.
 >> Stay informed about: How to replace 50 MB HD in old computer? 

Someone <someone.TakeThisOut@somewhere.net> wrote

> This is a unique situation.

Nope.

> The computer is from around 1992 (a '386)

Fark, WAY past its useby date.

> and is used for a DOS telephone voice mail system.
> The Chips & Technology motherboard has only ISA slots.

> The 50 MB hard drive is starting to fail, and
> they don't make them that small anymore.

You can still buy them off ebay.

> All the telephone interface cards are ISA,
> so a contemporary motherboard won't work.

You can still get much more recent systems with ISA slots.

> And I don't think they make any ISA controller
> cards which might make a larger HD usable.

Wrong.

> So, any ideas? Just go to the local
> recycler for a replacement hard drive?

I'd get a much more recent system with ISA slots.
 >> Stay informed about: How to replace 50 MB HD in old computer? 

Michael Cecil wrote:
> "Someone" wrote:
>
>> This is a unique situation. The computer is from around 1992 (a
>> '386) and is used for a DOS telephone voice mail system. The Chips
>> & Technology motherboard has only ISA slots.
>>
>> The 50 MB hard drive is starting to fail, and they don't make them
>> that small anymore.

You can put in a modern drive. You might only see a fraction of its
true capacity (may be limited to 4Gig) , but it'll work.

> You could always install a modern motherboard that does have ISA slots
> such as the Supermicro P4SCA-B. That'll cost you a bit more and you'd
> need new RAM, an ATX case & power supply and a P4 processor, but at
> least you could use your ISA telephone card (a modem?).

....and would achieve nothing other than money burn if all he needs is
to slot in a fresh HDD.

> Can't just upgrade the phone system, eh?

Maybe all the staff is used to the existing system ,and it works well?

--
Mike
 >> Stay informed about: How to replace 50 MB HD in old computer? 

Mike Redrobe wrote:

> Michael Cecil wrote:
>> "Someone" wrote:
>>
>>> This is a unique situation. The computer is from around 1992 (a
>>> '386) and is used for a DOS telephone voice mail system. The Chips
>>> & Technology motherboard has only ISA slots.
>>>
>>> The 50 MB hard drive is starting to fail, and they don't make them
>>> that small anymore.
>
> You can put in a modern drive. You might only see a fraction of its
> true capacity (may be limited to 4Gig) , but it'll work.

It _should_ work. That doesn't mean that it _will_. The IDE spec didn't
have all the parameters nailed down in its early releases and a machine
that old may not work with a given brand and model of newer drive.

>> You could always install a modern motherboard that does have ISA slots
>> such as the Supermicro P4SCA-B. That'll cost you a bit more and you'd
>> need new RAM, an ATX case & power supply and a P4 processor, but at
>> least you could use your ISA telephone card (a modem?).
>
> ...and would achieve nothing other than money burn if all he needs is
> to slot in a fresh HDD.
>
>> Can't just upgrade the phone system, eh?
>
> Maybe all the staff is used to the existing system ,and it works well?

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)
 >> Stay informed about: How to replace 50 MB HD in old computer? 

Any IDE drive under 500MB will work. All my 10 year old drives still work.

The IDE BIOS is in your system BIOS, so swapping ISA IDE cards has no effect.

"Someone" <someone DeleteThis @somewhere.net> wrote in message news:11onlupdr9n1cd9@news.supernews.com...
> This is a unique situation. The computer is from around 1992 (a '386) and
> is used for a DOS telephone voice mail system. The Chips & Technology
> motherboard has only ISA slots.
>
> The 50 MB hard drive is starting to fail, and they don't make them that small
> anymore. All the telephone interface cards are ISA, so a contemporary
> motherboard won't work. And I don't think they make any ISA controller
> cards which might make a larger HD usable.
>
 >> Stay informed about: How to replace 50 MB HD in old computer? 

In article <11onlupdr9n1cd9 DeleteThis @news.supernews.com>, someone DeleteThis @somewhere.net
says...
> motherboard won't work. And I don't think they make any ISA controller
> cards which might make a larger HD usable.
>
> So, any ideas? Just go to the local recycler for a replacement hard drive?
>
> Thanks.
>

get a used scsi controller for isa and you will have access to gb-hdd !

--
gruss , wolfgang
--<-@
gravity is still alive
 >> Stay informed about: How to replace 50 MB HD in old computer? 

Previously Someone <someone RemoveThis @somewhere.net> wrote:
> This is a unique situation. The computer is from around 1992 (a '386) and
> is used for a DOS telephone voice mail system. The Chips & Technology
> motherboard has only ISA slots.

> The 50 MB hard drive is starting to fail, and they don't make them that small
> anymore. All the telephone interface cards are ISA, so a contemporary
> motherboard won't work. And I don't think they make any ISA controller
> cards which might make a larger HD usable.

> So, any ideas? Just go to the local recycler for a replacement hard drive?

Have a look at industrial PC offerings. They should have ISA
controllers and disks that work with them. In this size range
you might even get an affordable flash-disk (IDE or DOM).

Alternatively look on ebay. Any ISA controller with a BIOS should
work.

Arno
 >> Stay informed about: How to replace 50 MB HD in old computer? 

Mike Redrobe <mike.DeleteThis@redrobe.net> wrote
> Michael Cecil wrote
>> Someone wrote

>>> This is a unique situation. The computer is from around 1992 (a '386) and
>>> is used for a DOS telephone voice mail system. The Chips & Technology
>>> motherboard has only ISA slots.

>>> The 50 MB hard drive is starting to fail, and they don't make them that
>>> small anymore.

> You can put in a modern drive. You might only see a fraction of its true
> capacity (may be limited to 4Gig) ,

More likely to be limited to 512MB. No big
deal, thats still 10 times the current drive.

> but it'll work.

>> You could always install a modern motherboard that does have ISA slots such
>> as the Supermicro P4SCA-B. That'll cost you a bit more and you'd need new
>> RAM, an ATX case & power supply and a P4 processor, but at least you could
>> use your ISA telephone card (a modem?).

> ...and would achieve nothing other than money burn if all he needs is to slot
> in a fresh HDD.

>> Can't just upgrade the phone system, eh?

> Maybe all the staff is used to the existing system ,and it works well?
 >> Stay informed about: How to replace 50 MB HD in old computer? 

J. Clarke <jclarke.usenet DeleteThis @snet.net.invalid> wrote
> Mike Redrobe wrote
>> Michael Cecil wrote
>>> Someone wrote

>>>> This is a unique situation. The computer is from around 1992
>>>> (a '386) and is used for a DOS telephone voice mail system.
>>>> The Chips & Technology motherboard has only ISA slots.

>>>> The 50 MB hard drive is starting to fail, and
>>>> they don't make them that small anymore.

>> You can put in a modern drive. You might only see a fraction
>> of its true capacity (may be limited to 4Gig) , but it'll work.

> It _should_ work. That doesn't mean that it _will_.
> The IDE spec didn't have all the parameters nailed
> down in its early releases and a machine that old may
> not work with a given brand and model of newer drive.

Very unlikely to not work.

>>> You could always install a modern motherboard that does have ISA
>>> slots such as the Supermicro P4SCA-B. That'll cost you a bit more
>>> and you'd need new RAM, an ATX case & power supply and a P4
>>> processor, but at least you could use your ISA telephone card (a
>>> modem?).

>> ...and would achieve nothing other than money burn if all he needs is
>> to slot in a fresh HDD.

>>> Can't just upgrade the phone system, eh?

>> Maybe all the staff is used to the existing system ,and it works well?
 >> Stay informed about: How to replace 50 MB HD in old computer? 

wolfgang schneider <schnusi DeleteThis @gmx.net> wrote

>> motherboard won't work. And I don't think they make any
>> ISA controller cards which might make a larger HD usable.

>> So, any ideas? Just go to the local
>> recycler for a replacement hard drive?

> get a used scsi controller for isa and you will have access to gb-hdd !

What is the point when any IDE will give atleast 10 tims what the current drive
has.

Lot easier to find a replacement IDE.
 >> Stay informed about: How to replace 50 MB HD in old computer? 

Eric Gisin <ericgisin.RemoveThis@hotmail.com> wrote

> Any IDE drive under 500MB will work.

Any IDE over 500MB should work fine
too with the CHS for a 512M drive.

> All my 10 year old drives still work.

I've got a few of those Indian ones that are now dead.

> The IDE BIOS is in your system BIOS,
> so swapping ISA IDE cards has no effect.

> "Someone" <someone.RemoveThis@somewhere.net> wrote in message
> news:11onlupdr9n1cd9@news.supernews.com...
>> This is a unique situation. The computer is from around 1992 (a
>> '386) and is used for a DOS telephone voice mail system. The Chips
>> & Technology motherboard has only ISA slots.
>>
>> The 50 MB hard drive is starting to fail, and they don't make them
>> that small anymore. All the telephone interface cards are ISA, so a
>> contemporary motherboard won't work. And I don't think they make
>> any ISA controller cards which might make a larger HD usable.
 >> Stay informed about: How to replace 50 MB HD in old computer? 

For the archive's sake, I'll reply to my own post.

I installed a new 20 GB ATA IDE hard drive and assigned CHS values for it
(1024 cylinders) in the BIOS (the original disk was "Type 14".) This
made the machine see it as a 504 MB drive.

Next, I used a DOS 6.22 boot disk to FDISK it without large drive support,
making it FAT-16, and formatted it with /S to write the boot files.

Next, I jumpered the new drive as "master with non-ATA slave," hooked up
the old hard drive jumpered as slave, and specified "Type 14" for the primary slave
drive in the BIOS.

When the machine booted up, it saw the newly formatted drive as C and
the old hard drive as D.

Next, I used XCOPY /E to copy the entire contents of the old drive (D) to
the new hard drive (C), making sure not to overwrite IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS,
or COMMAND.COM. (The original disk was also DOS 6.22.) The first two
of these files must occupy specific sectors on the hard drive for it to boot,
so overwriting them will cause boot problems.

Finally, I re-jumpered the new drive simply as "master", removed the old
hard drive, changed the primary-slave in the BIOS back to "None" and
I was done. The machine works better than ever!
 >> Stay informed about: How to replace 50 MB HD in old computer?