ANYDRIVE a tool to fix the Drive-Parameters settings ---------------------------------------------------- Version 1.0 27.February 1993 Introduction: ------------- Have you ever tried to install a new Hard disk in your PC and found that the BIOS did not support it? I was faced with that situation lately. I got advice to buy a new BIOS or to buy a special controller. All of that costs $ and is a lot of hassle. The BIOS might not be compatible with your Motherboard etc. This piece of Software fixes the problem WITHOUT any additional Hardware and allows you to run your old stable BIOS. How it works: ------------- When the PC is booted, BIOS sets up Interrupt Vectors (0x41 and 0x46) which point to the parameters for the Hard disks 0 and 1. DOS picks up the Drive Information from the addresses given in these Vectors. A normal BIOS sets the Vectors up to point to a Drive-Table in ROM, but the newer BIOSses that allow customisable Cyl/Head/Sector settings store the Drive-Parameters in the BIOS Memory Area at Segment 0x40 and therefore they point to RAM. ANYDRIVE simply does the same with the old BIOSes. Since ANYDRIVE is not resident in ROM some other place was needed for the Code to built the Drive-Parameters in the BIOS Area. This must be done before DOS is started because DOS builds up its own parameter blocks from the BIOS Drive-Parameters. The only place I could find was the Master Boot Block of the Hard drive. It contains the Partition-Table for the first Drive but is otherwise empty. ANYDRIVE inserts Code into the Master Boot Block to set up the Drive-Parameters in the BIOS Memory area and points the Interrupt-Vectors (0x41 and 0x46) to the new Parameters. DOS will look it up there and build its Disk Control-Blocks based on them and not on the settings in ROM. This means that ONLY after running the Master Control Block will the Drive-Parameters be correct. This is no problem when booting from the Hard disk since the Master Boot Block must be executed anyway. But if you insert a Floppy Disk and then boot the Machine the old BIOS-Parameters will be in effect! BE CAREFUL! You can avoid this by deactivating the DOS-Partition in Drive 0. Then the Master Boot Block will be executed but no active Partition will be found. ANYDRIVE will ask you to insert a Floppy and then allow you to boot with the correct Drive-Parameters. This feature is especially important for the first Boot as we will see later. Pressing LEFT-SHIFT while booting results in the same because it might be too inconvenient to deactivate the DOS-Partition. I remember that FDISK doesn't support that yet (Classical Microsoft behaviour). Hold LEFT-SHIFT while booting and ANYDRIVE will ask you to insert a Floppy for booting. Remember that there must be NO DISK in the Drive when you boot. Insert it when asked to. If you boot from Floppy and you did not have to press a Key to Boot YOU WILL HAVE THE INCORRECT BIOS-SETTINGS. Procedure for installing a primary Hard drive: ---------------------------------------------- 1. Low Level Format if necessary (Use WDFMT, it allows you to specify all desired formats.) and perform Surface Scan if desired. 2. Configure some smaller Hard drive-Size in the BIOS Setup. 3. Run ANYDRIVE 0 ...... This will create the Master Boot Block and partition the Drive to contain ONE partition for all of it. The Partition is not activated! 4. Reboot without a Disk in the Drive. The Master Boot Block will be executed and since no Partition is active, ANYDISK will ask you for a Floppy Disk to boot. Insert the DOS Disk and press a Key to boot again. 5. Perform High-Level Format. Change the Partitions if you want. 6. Run FDISK and activate the Primary Partition 7. Reboot from Hard disk. ANYDRIVE will only ask you for a Disk if you press LEFT-SHIFT while booting. Procedure for installing for a Secondary Hard drive --------------------------------------------------- 1. Run ANYDRIVE 1 ...... 2. Reboot from Hard drive and run BIOS Setup. Change DriveType for Second Drive to something, so BIOS will know that there are two Drives. 3. Perform Lowlevel / Highlevel formatting as usual. You might choose to run LowLevel Formats before running ANYDRIVE if DOS or BIOS gives you trouble booting without format. Money Matters ------------- Please send me $5 if you find this ANYDRIVE useful. This is only possible for PRIVATE use. If you want to use it commercially or in a company please contact me first. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Registration of Anydrive for European users: You can register Anydrive using the following means in Europe: 1. Send a Eurocheque in the amount of 10 DM (German Marks) and include your full address on a letter to: Christoph Lameter c/o VDM, POB 1305 27211 Bassume Germany 2. Send Money using the European Banking System in the amount of 10 DM to the following Account at the Verbraucherbank in Hamburg, Germany BLZ(Bank-Number): 202 203 00 Konto(Account): 550005306199 Please be sure to include your COMPLETE ADDRESS in the transaction! Alternative Currencies: If you prefer to use other currencies then please send cheques in the following amounts in other currencies to the above address. Sorry, but this includes some fees for converting funds. Pounds: 5 ECU: 7 Dollar: 5 Swiss Francs: 9 My US-Address will change in the next months. Please sent all mail to the given address above. My E-Mail addresses will also change. Here is a list of them: Christoph.Lameter@f961.n102.z1.fidonet.org I will try to keep reading mail at this address in the future. I might just get my mail once a week though. clameter@netcom.com Currently the fastest. But I will cancel this I think in June 1995 or before. clameter@waterf.org My own BBS on the net. I will try to keep this. But since I might be moving to a different country I might not be allowed to keep the name. Christoph Lameter, January 10, 1995 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (C) 1993 Christoph Lameter, All Right reserved except as explicitly granted here. You may use the Software for 30 days to test it. Then either delete it or send $5. The $5 is the fee for using this Program on one PC as long as you wish. ANYDRIVE does not become your own. Commercial inquiries welcome. As usual there is no guarantee that this Software will work. It might not run because of incompatibility with Software or Hardware. By using this Software you accept the consequences that it will not work as intended. Send Check to Christoph Lameter, 244 N. Oakland Ave#6, Pasadena, CA You can reach me on Fido: 1:102/961 InterNet: Christoph.Lameter@f961.n102.z1.fidonet.org *** warning - see above "European registration" for possible change of addresses. If you have any question or if you need support remember that I was not paid for this program in any way. I am a student right now and cannot afford to spend long times helping people out without payment. I am deeply opposed to anyone taking profit from this software without my participation. Therefore distribution as ShareWare on Disk or CD is only allowed if the price of a CD is less than $10 and of a Disk less than $1. Should you find that anyone has sold you this software on any medium exceeding these prices contact me immediately. Join the protest against ShareWare ripoffs.