5.25" drive, SCSI, ISA/PCI, on brand new PCs...

[leguerri]

Hello,
I'm planning to buy a brand new PC and I have some questions before making
my mind.

- How can I install a 5.25" drive? Can it be set as A:? Can it be either
360K or 1.2M drive? Which BIOS allow to swap A: and B: without changing
cable position?

- Is SCSI still the best regarding hard disk and CD-ROM performances? Currently
I find SCSI is far ahead IDE on my current Pentium 166MMX.

- What kind of slots are on the new MBs? Is ISA and/or PCI still available?

I'm looking at something in the 3 GHz range, possibly faster. Any suggestion
on the most versatile and backward compatible MB/BIOS regarding the above?


Thanks....
Louis-Luc

 

[Rod Speed]

I'm planning to buy a brand new PC and I
have some questions before making my mind.

- How can I install a 5.25" drive?

Just plug it in to a suitable ribbon cable with many motherboards.
Not all tho, some will only support a single floppy drive now.

Can it be set as A:?
Yes.

Can it be either 360K or 1.2M drive?

Its the physical floppy drive that determines that.
Its not very satisfactory using a 1.2MB floppy drive
for 360K floppys, tho it is possible if you are careful
to never write on the 360K floppy with the 1.2MB drive.

Which BIOS allow to swap A: and B: without changing cable position?

Most modern bios do. Most motherboards from the decent manufacturers
have their manuals online now so you can check that before buying.

- Is SCSI still the best regarding hard disk and CD-ROM performances?

Nope, lousy value and very few cdrom drives available in that format now.

Currently I find SCSI is far ahead IDE on my current Pentium 166MMX.

It aint true anymore unless you spend heaps on the SCSI subsystem.

And a modern IDE drive will leave your current SCSI drive for dead.

- What kind of slots are on the new MBs? Is ISA and/or PCI still available?

There are very few motherboards with ISA slots anymore.
There are a few, but very few and they are quite limited.

Virtually all motherboards still have PCI slots.

I'm looking at something in the 3 GHz range, possibly faster. Any suggestion
on the most versatile and backward compatible MB/BIOS regarding the above?

I like the Asus motherboards myself. I wouldnt claim that all the rest are duds tho.

 

[leguerri]

Just plug it in to a suitable ribbon cable with many motherboards.
Not all tho, some will only support a single floppy drive now.


Its the physical floppy drive that determines that.
Its not very satisfactory using a 1.2MB floppy drive
for 360K floppys, tho it is possible if you are careful
to never write on the 360K floppy with the 1.2MB drive.

Thanks for the info.
I think most 1.2M floppy drives can reliably read and also write 360K
floppies. I've done so for years. I write to 360Ks with my various
1.2M drives, even create old IBM PC/XT era boot disks with the 1.2, and
then boots perfectly on the XT!
I've just found 1 exception, though: It's a very old Epson 1.2M drive. This
one can't read/write 360K disks from other 360K or 1.2M drives. It can
create some 360K disks, but they can't be read on other 360K OR 1.2M drives.
That's very strange, but I think it's the oldest 1.2M I have. It has a
head load/unload system like some 8" drives...

 

[Rod Speed]

Thanks for the info.
I think most 1.2M floppy drives can reliably read
and also write 360K floppies. I've done so for
years. I write to 360Ks with my various 1.2M drives,

Yes. The problem is that when you write to the 360K floppy
using a 1.2M drive, the much narrower head in the 1.2M
floppy drive writes down the original much broader track
and leaves fragments of the original much wider 360K
track on either side of the new narrow track. Thats only
going to be a problem when its read in a 360K drive again.

even create old IBM PC/XT era boot disks with
the 1.2, and then boots perfectly on the XT!

Yes, that works with a floppy that hasnt been formatted in a 360K
drive, but not reliably with one that has, due to that head width problem.

I've just found 1 exception, though: It's a very old Epson
1.2M drive. This one can't read/write 360K disks from
other 360K or 1.2M drives. It can create some 360K
disks, but they can't be read on other 360K OR 1.2M
drives. That's very strange, but I think it's the oldest 1.2M
I have. It has a head load/unload system like some 8" drives...

Its likely just a drive that is out of alignment.