Problems with Floppies and SCO XENIX-386 2.3.3

[W. Paul Zola]

In article <178 at nat-3.UUCP> root at nat-3.UUCP (nat-3 System Administrator) writes:
}
}Hello --
}
}	I have a 25 MHz 386 clone running SCO XENIX-386 2.3.3 (I bought
}2.3.2 and upgraded it with UFJ and various other SCO SLS's).  I have a
}WD1006V-SR2 RLL hard/floppy disk controller.  I am having problems
}writing to my 1.2 and 1.44 Mb floppies and the symptoms are these:

[ problems in using floppys deleted ]

}
}John R. Meyer			Path:   ...!uunet!nat-3!root
}10208-C Ashbrooke Ct.		Domain: root at nat-3.UUCP
}Oakton, VA  22124-3106		Phone:  (703) 281-5157 (H)
}USA					(703) 802-1872 (O)



The following article from the SCO Information Tools database should help 
with your problem.   I'm posting because I think this may be of general
interest.

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Mkdev fd does not work properly with some video adapters.

KEYWORDS: mkdev fd video adapters 16 bit floppy disk filesystem root boot xenix unix vga paradise

RELEASE: SCO XENIX System V Operating System Generic
         SCO UNIX System V/386 Operating System Generic

PROBLEM: Both 16 bit video adapters and the floppy drives use DMA channel
         2. Therefore, when writing to, or reading from, a floppy disk drive
         the video adapter controller may add or intercept characters from
         the floppy disk data stream, thereby corrupting the floppy.

SOLUTION: Move the video adapter to an 8 bit slot.

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I hope this helps you with your problem.

-
Paul Zola			Software Support Engineer 
				paulz at sco.COM 
Gotta tend the earth if you want a rose.  - Emily Saliers
    DISCLAIMER: I speak for myself, and not for SCO.